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Sag Harbor Cinema restoration project didn’t reach fundraising goal, will still continue

It was $1.5 million short of the $6 million goal

By Grace Cassidy

Even though the $6 million fundraising goal for the Sag Harbor Cinema’s restoration project was $1.5 million short at the July 1 deadline, the project will still continue, reports the Sag Harbor Express.

Originally, the partnership’s fundraising campaign needed to raise $6 million in donations and pledges by July 1 in order to ensure the project. The total cost of the project is an estimated $8 million.

It was said that if the goal was not reached, all donors were to receive a refund and pledges will be canceled.

Nick Gazzolo told the Sag Harbor Express:

Our board met and looked at all of the funds raised so far, upcoming events, and new supporters contacting us every day and made a unanimous decision to go forward with the contract.

The Sag Harbor Partnership will give the current owner, Gerald Mallow, a $1 million down payment on the property on July 5. The down payment is non-refundable—regardless of the outcome of the project.

The remaining $7 million is due to be paid to Mallow in December.

The iconic Sag Harbor cinema, which was burned in a fire that ripped through Sag Harbor’s main street in December 2016, announced its restoration project earlier this year in April.

By mid-May, over $2 million had been pledged, including donations from names like Billy Joel, Martin Scorsese, and Harvey Weinstein—and a $1 million donation from artist Eric Fischl.

The historic building is going to be restored in a way that will maintain its Art-Deco architectural charm, but will have state-of-the-art equipment, including a new sound system. There are also plans to have equipment that will allow digital, 35mm, and even 16mm film to be viewed at high resolution so that the film will be shown in the way that it was intended.