LI theaters, concert halls snag another $12 million in federal grants 

Three dozen Long Island entertainment venues and arts organizations have together snagged another $12.2 million in federal grants, getting in on the second round of a program to help them recover from COVID-19 losses.

That's on top of $57.1 million secured in the first round by more than 100 organizations across Long Island, data from the U.S. Small Business Administration shows.

In late 2020, the federal government allocated $16 billion for Shuttered Venue Operators Grants to assist concert halls, theaters and other entertainment and cultural groups. After issuing a first round of aid, the SBA invited recipients to apply for a second grant if they hadn't received the maximum award in the first round, SBA regional spokesman Matt Coleman said.

SBA began notifying applicants about their second awards last week.

To qualify, organizations must demonstrate their first quarter revenue in 2021 was no more than 30% of their earnings in the first quarter of 2019, SBA said. Recipients may get up to half the amount allocated in their first grant. Between the two rounds, applicants can receive up to 45% of their gross revenue in 2019 or $10 million, whichever is less.

A second $365,000 grant is critical for The Suffolk Theater, an Art Deco cinema in Riverhead that hosts live entertainment and private events, according to Dan Binderman, general and artistic director. The theater previously received a $730,000 grant.

"Our income from last year was negative," Binderman said. "Everybody was just taking their tickets back because shows were getting rescheduled time and time again."

He said the industry is getting back on its feet, but "we would have been in trouble" without the grants.

Mulcahy's Pub and Concert Hall in Wantagh may not have survived without the aid, according to Tim Murray, who owns the venue with his father, John Murray. Their business received $897,000 in the first round, SBA records show.

"The debt might have been too large to get out from," the Mulcahy's owners said in a statement released by SBA, thanking elected officials and advocates for the industry. "Without everyone’s joint efforts — and that of thousands of venues across the country — many of us would no longer be in business."

The Murrays declined further comment.

Statewide, SBA issued about 1,370 initial grants and 425 supplemental grants, for a total of $1.6 billion, Coleman said.

SBA will continue reviewing applications for the second round of grants until the initiative's $16 billion is spent. As of Monday, about $5 billion remained, according to Coleman.

Art venues have been particularly hard hit by COVID-19, SBA administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman said.

"The majority of the Shuttered Venue Operators Grants have gone to businesses with 50 employees or less — which means we’re reaching our smallest businesses, who suffered disproportionate impacts from the pandemic and were often left out of early rounds of relief," Guzman said in a statement.

By Sarina Trangle

sarina.trangle@newsday.comSarinaTrangle

Sarina Trangle covers affordability and cost of living issues and other business topics. She previously worked as an editor and reporter at amNewYork.