As I've posted earlier, the hard work was done ten to fifteen years ago by a dedicated and hard-working group of volunteers who believed in the theatre. One by one, they all left and were disgusted with the "management" in charge.

If it weren't for film shoots, many other things (carpeting, cove lighting, marquee underside, etc) would never have gotten done.

Colin's method of lighting was bare bulbs hanging on pig tails. When the public events began, that didn't pass code so cheap fixtures were bought at Kohl's or Home Depot.

If people knew the truth, their current lies and spin wouldn't get the management a hot dog at Boulevard Drinks!

So for FOL, is this really about;

Doing what's best for Journal Square, the theater and its restoration?

Keeping their lucrative jobs?

Not hurting their pride and ego?

The original core group of volunteers (who did the dirty work and heavy lifting to open the theater) and Board members recognized a decade ago that experienced management needed to come in to move the project forward.

It's frustrating that it's taken this long for it to happen but we couldn't be more pleased.

This is at least the third time that you are accusing me of shilling for the Mayor.

I've never met the man and don't know anybody within his administration.

However, I am acutely aware of FOL and their inadequacies.

After spending eleven years on a project, you learn a lot. How many years have you worked with FOL?

No offense to the Bronies but if this is the kind of show that FOL brings to the table...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqpWKpLYOUI

You don't need funds to install seats. Volunteers installed all of the newer seats on the orchestra level about 15 years ago.

FOL used donated monies to have the balcony seats reupholstered and they've been sitting in sealed boxes all over the building for the past dozen years.

Tony Bennett was in the building for a photo shoot about ten years ago and offered to do a benefit to raise money to open the balcony (by installing new fire escapes) and FOL never took him up on his offer.

Have another drink of the FOL kool-aid!

The restoration of the organ was not done by Egan or anyone with FOL. It was the Garden State Organ Society and they deserve all the kudos and credit.

If it had been done by FOL, it would still be sitting in a storage area waiting to be installed, just like the balcony seats and the ornate railing from the grand staircase.

What about the bronze Louis B. Mayer plaque which was removed from the outer lobby in the 1970's and returned to FOL in the 1990's? They still have not put it back in place where it belongs. Somebody told me that it's sitting in Egan's living room in his house!

Their spin mode is going top speed now. They're deleting all comments from their Facebook page that question their ability to restore and program the theater.

The PR spin that FOL has done on this situation is just that: a spin.

My friend spent a decade volunteering on this project and witnessed many things firsthand which proved beyond any doubt that Colin Egan and Patti Giordan should not be running this project.

For example:

Most of the restoration they are taking credit for now was done by a large team of volunteers in the first few years of the project. Many of those people wound up leaving in disgust when they saw the direction the theater was heading.

The theater has not been "restored." It's been made barely functional. Surfaces have been cleaned where they can be easily reached. Scaffolding has not been put in place to truly bring back the beauty of the lobby or auditorium. If you go more than ten feet off the ground in the theater, there is a ton of dirt/nicotine on the ornate surfaces. You can barely see the mural in the proscenium cove because of all the dirt.

There's a huge net on the ceiling on the north side of the auditorium to catch loose plaster. (This water damage happened in the 1980's when the building was closed and the netting has been in place for 20 years.) I can't believe this damage has not been fully stabilized after all this time. Thank goodness no plaster has gotten loose with the low notes from the organ. That would be a disaster.

What has been accomplished in restoring the theater over the past decade? Very little. In fact, things that were fixed (such as the clock and St. George slaying the dragon) are now broken again.

Look at the marquee. Half of the bulbs are burnt out and the chaser lights are no longer working. It looks like one of the grindhouse 42nd street marquees in its final days.

The tiles have been off the walls in the men's room for roughly 14 years now. They finally took down the "Excuse this temporary condition as restoration is ongoing" sign put up in 2001 around five years ago.

The primary reason that some things have gotten painted or fixed, such as the underside of the marquee and the cove lighting in the auditorium, is because film shoots have come in and had their technical crews do the work. In fact, that's how the moldy lobby carpet was replaced: for a film shoot. It had nothing to do with FOL.

The 35mm projection booth and organ were restored by professional volunteers putting in time and donating equipment because they believed in the theatre, not in the management.

There's a great deal more I can say but I'll leave it at this: the current management in charge of the theatre has no experience whatsoever in restoring a theater or running an arts center.

It's time to close their little clubhouse and get some professionals in there who really know how to do it. Just look at the Loew's Kings restoration in Brooklyn for a glimpse of what the future could hold for the Jersey...

http://www.nycedc.com/project/loews-kings-theatre