JC1945 wrote:
Look, I just think that folks on this forum should be aware of history, and not just jump on Mayor Healy. I do agree that the city should have done more oversight on the Loew's, but the reality is that the city now spends about $90,000 a year on utilities.

geologically speaking, can this area stand the stress that hi rise towers put on the land. Can someone chime in? I'm thinking of areas like the canyon.

InsideStraight wrote:
Quote:

K-Lo wrote:
From Augie Torres' column --
The city has never paid a dime for renovations, operations or most everything else. In fact, Urban Enterprise Zone monies were used to pay for required building code repairs. All other costs were by donations or what the volunteers can make by leasing the space or putting on movies and concerts. For years, city government's role in the Loew's has been disgraceful.
Of course the administration could always use another empty lot on Journal Square that could one day become parking.

It's really hard to understand why Jersey City government has not taken a more active role. Movie palaces have anchored redevelopment in many other cities.

The current [Healy] administration's record at Journal Square ranges from false promises, to neglect, to policies which have discouraged development. Any fair assessment would say they are an impediment to progress in the area.

Fulop could not do worse, but you would think he might do better in Ward C with a plan to move the area forward - including the Loews.

The political complication is that Rich Boggiano has staked out an anti-development approach (despite having a developer run his campaign and donate office space). The neighborhood has seen so many failed plans (most recently Healy's) and the disaster which is PATH Plaza, that residents are understandably skeptical of any development plans.

hero69 wrote:
someone said the government should stick to basic services - so i guess museums, zoos, even perhaps parks should be privatized. heck, let's privatize all the roads and highways too.

K-Lo wrote:
From Augie Torres' column --
The city has never paid a dime for renovations, operations or most everything else. In fact, Urban Enterprise Zone monies were used to pay for required building code repairs. All other costs were by donations or what the volunteers can make by leasing the space or putting on movies and concerts. For years, city government's role in the Loew's has been disgraceful.
Of course the administration could always use another empty lot on Journal Square that could one day become parking.

EthanCrane wrote:
The Loew's is a treasure and we're lucky to have it. The movies are imaginatively curated. No one wants to see the theater in full, active, and regular use more than the hundreds of volunteers who have given their time and money to take it this far.

I'm stunned by the disdainful posts in this thread. Somehow this gorgeous theater has survived all these years. Let's fully rehab it and help it become the cultural showplace that Jersey City needs.

OneSkirt wrote:
Quote:

Bravislava wrote:
Are you kidding me?
The theatre does classic movie screenings 1 weekend a month - do you know how expensive it is to screen current films - it's not fiscally possible for the Loews to transform into an AMC or Regal Cinemas.
The Loews can be rented out for social/cultural events, festivals and concerts by civic organizations who do not have a space of their own, or are seeking to host at a venue that is accessible to many people.
As for the arts and history not being worth funding, take a look at successful arts and historic districts, they have to be supported by taxpayers until they can stand on their own.
Just because events are not popular with you personally, doesn't mean they are not valued by the community at large. Journal Square is underserved, the neighborhood as well as the residents -old and new, and the theater provides an historic setting and preserves a piece of Jersey City's diminishing commercial architecture.
The city provides a small but important percentage of funding for the theater, which is run by 2 part time staff members as well as a slew of volunteers. Personally, I'd rather see my $$$ go into the theater rather than another private "park" on the Newport waterfront. Shame on Mayor Healy!

And to add to this well put post, each movie screening regularly attracts several hundred, sometimes even 1000-1500 people. I was at one of the silent film screening with live organ that had well over 1200 people there (maybe more - they stated this at the event, which was 'Nosferatu').

And I guess all of you griping about how it should be live music only are two new to the area to recall that Bright Eyes & Beck (Guero tour) each played separate shows here about 6-7 years ago. I'd love to see more music shows like this. But we don't have the traffic/market to fill that place with live music all the time/as the sole programming. Let's be real.

Bravislava wrote:
Are you kidding me?
The theatre does classic movie screenings 1 weekend a month - do you know how expensive it is to screen current films - it's not fiscally possible for the Loews to transform into an AMC or Regal Cinemas.
The Loews can be rented out for social/cultural events, festivals and concerts by civic organizations who do not have a space of their own, or are seeking to host at a venue that is accessible to many people.
As for the arts and history not being worth funding, take a look at successful arts and historic districts, they have to be supported by taxpayers until they can stand on their own.
Just because events are not popular with you personally, doesn't mean they are not valued by the community at large. Journal Square is underserved, the neighborhood as well as the residents -old and new, and the theater provides an historic setting and preserves a piece of Jersey City's diminishing commercial architecture.
The city provides a small but important percentage of funding for the theater, which is run by 2 part time staff members as well as a slew of volunteers. Personally, I'd rather see my $$$ go into the theater rather than another private "park" on the Newport waterfront. Shame on Mayor Healy!

jackp wrote:
Hello...its not downtown and not in the Heights so why would the Mayor be interested? Might as well be in Greenville....

user1111 wrote:
Terrence T. McDonald/The Jersey Journal
?I am not committing more taxpayers dollars to the Loew?s theater,? Healy said Tuesday afternoon at the tail-end of his two-hour debate with Fulop. ?We need another source of funding.?

JerseyCityFrankie wrote:
Funding for the arts is important and I hate to see another example of a cultural place getting left out in the cold. What other cultural projects are receiving city money, and which of them are anywhere near the oft overlooked Journal Square?
The management at loews has proven it can deliver cultural resources to the community, they have been doing it since their feet hit the ground back when they saved the building from destruction many years ago. What other cultural resources in the city have such a proven track record? Most of you will remember the debacle of the ?Jersey City Museum? which failed spectacularly, had zero transparency and sucked up Millions of city dollars. Loews Jersey apparently uses a tiny fraction of that sort of city funding and has been consistently delivering culture and quality of life in a neighborhood which appears to have very little else in the way of city sponsored ANYTHING. If the Loews Jersey is shuttered what cultural stuff will remain in the area?