Diner Activist Hopes to Help Landmarked Queens Theater

The January landmarking of Queens' Ridgewood Theater may have been overshadowed by the more controversial designation of West-Park Presbyterian Church, but the Myrtle Avenue theater still has its ardent defenders.

Like diner activist Michael Perlman, who sends out a plea on behalf of the Thomas Lamb-designed theater, at one time the country's oldest continuously operating cinema.

The building's owners told the Landmarks Preservation Commission they would reopen the theater as a three-screen cinema with first-floor shops last July, but now we're looking at that deadline in our rearview mirrors.

And Perlman and his Friends of the Ridgewood Theatre don't seem too optimistic that the owners' plan is still in progress, because they're looking for "an individual or group(s) with a creative vision, who value its architectural and cultural history, and will make it an economically viable venture for the up & coming neighborhood of Ridgewood, and accompanying neighborhoods to enjoy."

Since the landmarking means it's too late to move to the place to NYC-in-Alabama, any takers?

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