Abandoned theater to be knocked down

The Suffolk County Legislature Tuesday passed a resolution to lend Brookhaven Town $350,000 to help demolish the Plaza Theater, a move officials said cleared the way for the long-shuttered building to be knocked down.

Brookhaven officials have said the town took title to the abandoned movie house in January and will spend about $725,000 to demolish the East Main Street building in East Patchogue. The town will repay the county after the property is resold, town officials have said.

"The day that building comes tumbling down will be a very happy day for the people of Patchogue," County Executive Steve Levy said. "The folks in this community have waited close to two decades for this day to come and we're almost there."

The theater opened in 1962 and showed its last movie around 1985.

Suffolk began efforts to take over the property in 2006 and handed the process over to Brookhaven in 2009. The building owner, Manhattan real estate investor Edmondo Schwartz, has refused to negotiate a settlement price with Brookhaven, town officials said.

Attempts to reach Schwartz were not successful.

"The Plaza Theater has been a detriment to the quality of life in East Patchogue for too many years and now it's time to move on and rid our community of this eyesore," said Brookhaven Councilman Tim Mazzei, who represents the area.

Brookhaven Supervisor Mark Lesko added that "the revitalization of the East Main Corridor can move at a much quicker pace" once the building is gone.

Levy said the theater building will likely be torn down this summer.