“Main Street is going to look a bit different within the next few months.”
Those were the words Patchogue Deputy Mayor Jack Kreiger before a vote Monday night to move forward with plans to build an LED marquee outside Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts.
The Patchogue Village Board then awarded an $184,915 bid to Going Sign & Servicing Company, Inc., located in Plainview. Work is expected to start in mid-April.
Kreiger mentioned the current marquee is about 20 years old.
“One of the problems is they don’t service them anymore,” he said. “So we’re going to make a change.”
He described the coming marquee as “state of the art.”
“It’s going to look really cool,” he said.
A huge chunk of the money for the marquee, about $104,000, came through a county downtown revitalization grant helped along by county Legislator Rob Calarco.
Calarco announced the grant award in December 2016.
The theater also hosted a fundraiser in October 2016 that featured legendary Broadway actress Bernadette Peters. That event raised an additional $10,000 for the theater, theater officials and said.
And last year the theater ran a raffle contest for a free getaway at Davis Park.
Theater-goers were also asked to donate.
Although Patchogue Theatre is operated by a nonprofit group, the property is owned by the Village of Patchogue, which received the grant award and needed to approve the bid.
“This new technology will be a visible presence on Main Street and announce to everyone that a world class performing arts center is inside,” said Christopher Capobianoc, who chairs the nonprofit’s board of directors.
“A lot of people have worked hard on this project so far and I’m so glad for their help and happy to see it moving forward,” he added. “Suffolk County and the Village Of Patchogue have been great partners with us to help bring this project to fruition.”
Photo: Above is a graphic rendering of what the new marquee would look like.
