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Emergency responders rushed to Bay Shore’s Main Street Saturday afternoon after the Great South Bay YMCA’s Boulton Center’s marquee collapsed.
Police, ambulances and volunteers with local fire departments responded.
No one was injured at the time of the collapse.
The cause is still under investigation.
Anne Brigis, president and CEO of the YMCA Long Island, said the marquee was removed and road access on Main Street reopened later that day.
Brigis credited Bob Pettersen, the YMCA Great South Bay’s executive director, and Dan Roan, facilities director, for staying on top of the situation from “start to finish.”
The area surrounding the Boulton Center was deemed safe after first responders handled the collapse for over an hour.
The Town of Islip Fire Marshal closed the building and an engineer plans to conduct a safety inspection.
The YMCA Boulton Center for the Performing Arts remains shuttered now over two years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020.
Recently, the exterior of the Boulton Center received a fresh paint job, which Brigis told Greater Bay Shore was to keep the “centerpiece of the downtown” looking pristine in the community while it’s still closed.
She said a reopening date is still to be determined.
The residuals from pandemic shutdowns, during which the theater got no help from the federal government, remain the challenge.
“We really need an angel,” Brigis said in a previous report.
Follow greaterbayshore.com for updates on the Boulton Center’s reopening.
Top: Exterior of the Boulton Center after the marquee collapsed. Photo was taken by Matthew Lockwood.
