Dear Max, My name is Ronald Scinto and I am a new part-time resident of Bridgeport. I contacted David Kooris and recommended I contact you. Here is my letter to him. Im also ccing David Mel, a friend I met on Facebook who is also concerned of the theater and its welfare. A few years back I had the privilege to go inside our Loews Poli Majestic Theater on Main Street. It is truly awesome as you know. At that time I was so inspired by its sheer beauty and immense size, I went home thinking I needed to form a grass roots campaign to raise awareness of this historic gem to get investors thinking about the potential Bridgeport offers, especially the downtown area which is still so beautiful compared to Norwalk and Stamford that both have destroyed their downtown with the lack of planning and zoning. Then recently it was posted on Facebook that extras were needed for a short film being produced in the theater. This time I said I need to start something. For a theater abandoned over 40 years ago, the theater is in fantastic condition. I looked for water damage and roof leaks and found nothing alarming as the plaster and decoration is still so beautiful. Please look into After the Curtain - its a website dedicated to the restoration of theaters like ours. Youll see the Loews Kings Theater in Brooklyn was just restored and will soon reopen after abandonment- EXCEPT ours is bigger having over 3,600 seats. Its the perfect venue for concert and theater events, private corporate presentations, the possibilities and endless and a strong large feather in Bridgeports cap. Imagine what PT Barnum would think? A little about myself, I was the pioneer (or visionary) who started the antique district in Stamford opening The Antique and Artisan Center on Jefferson Street in 1996. Ive also opened The Accessory Store, a lighting, lampshade and home accessory store. Both are still thriving although I sold the antique center this year to an antique dealer friend. I still own the Accessory Store and now own another lampshade store in NYC called Illume. I live full time in NYC and weekends in Black Rock, our new home. My partner Tim Finley and I love it. Back to the reason Im writing to you today. I and a friend I met on Facebook want to form a grass roots campaign as I said to raise awareness of our theater. I posted pictures of my most recent visit and again was in awe of just having it be in our city. I received over 300 likes in a 48 period. Ten people and a local gentleman names David Mel agreed and volunteered to help clean up the exterior. Wed like to paint over the graffiti and do some gardening of the weeds and make the theater more attractive to the area and business / corporations. As a business person creating perception, its all smoke and mirrors. This is what wed like to do with our Majestic. If we can clean up the theater, and its surrounding area, maybe an investor will want to make the effort in taking on a restoration project leading to a major gentrification of our downtown area. AND with the new housing residents courtesy of the restoration of the Mechanic and Farmers Saving Bank, potential residents will feel more comfortable when considering the new luxury housing. I will buy the paint and supplies needed and friends have offered to bring weed wackers and the tools needed to clean up the surrounding area. All we ask is that the city remove the debris we collect. Again it would not cost the city a penny. This is my donation to the city I am falling in love with. Id love to set up a meeting with you and discuss my effort. I would like to set up a 501-3C and raise dollars for awareness and establish a campaign to bring this theater back to its glory. Its quite involved and I believe now I need legal help to get the organization up and running. Im looking onto that now too. Btw, Did you know it will turn 100 years old Sept 4 2022? So please contact me when you can. Id love to hear the concerns of the citys and hear of past efforts to restore this theater. I know the city has no money, what big city does? Id like to set up a meeting with you, David Mel, David Kooris and me can think this thru. Of course there is great challenges and David and I are not capable of doing it ourselves but we need to at least start a movement. I have many contacts and maybe the potential for private donations... Im just looking to make a difference and so is David Mel. My email is restorethemajestic@gmail Sincerely, Ronald Scinto
Posted on: Fri, 29 Aug 2014 15:49:32 +0000
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