The dinner hour was kicking into gear at Suffern’s Hacienda Don Manuel, a sort of secret favorite restaurant in western Rockland. One table in particular was animated in the colorful surroundings.
Members of the Suffern Chamber of Commerce were immersed in a serious discussion regarding one of the village’s anchors – the Lafayette Theater, which opened its doors in 1924 and has continued to evolve and attract visitors ever since. Currently, the Lafayette operates as a single-screen theater that features first-run films, with a sprinkle of alternative programming thrown in.
But the business is difficult when measured against multiplex theaters that can book multi-screen mega movies and sell pickup trucks of popcorn.
Recently, Town of Ramapo Supervisor Christopher P. St. Lawrence announced that Ramapo entered into an acquisition agreements with major movie companies such as Universal, Paramount, Fox, Sony, Disney, to support first run films. And Phil Tisi, who serves as both assistant to the supervisor and a sort of cultural ambassador for the town, was at the chamber meeting to help promote the new program, which is being undertaken at no cost to taxpayers. It’s a public/private partnership that shares services.
“The Lafayette has been called one of the oldest and best preserved examples of its genre in the country,” said Suzanne Daycock, recently elected as the new Suffern Chamber president and familiar to many in Sloatsburg for her work with Harmony Hall, where she serves as trustee on the board for the Friends of Harmony Hall. “In its current state, it is also one of the most important buildings in the Hudson Valley.”
Robert Benmosche, CEO of AIG, is the owner of the theater, which he bought in the late 1990s and proceeded to invest heavily to preserve and refurbish the building. Benmosche joined with Nelson Paige, who operates the Lafayette, as well as the Paramount theater in Middletown, NY.
Paige knows that the Lafayette is fighting a demographics battle, with its single-screen theater. But the trick is to draw attendance from locals by appealing to their sense of community. Get crowds into the theater who will appreciate the unique experience the Lafayette offers — and get younger people invested in going to movies in Suffern, instead of the mall multiplexes.
Daycock’s first chamber sit down with Tisi and other members was an effort to brainstorm on the town’s current first run movie initiative, and to figure out how to continue to support the Lafayette Theater and the village downtown as a whole.
“The Lafayette is simply too valuable to the western Rockland community,” said new Suffern Chamber of Commerce President Suzanne Daycock, during a recent discussion on how to draw local traffic to the historical theater. “It’s time for all of us to return to the movies in our own backyard.”
“Perhaps that is why it is so sad to see the town have to step in to save it one more time,” she said about about the town’s effort. “It’s time that local business realizes that the theater is responsible for bringing plenty of foot traffic, away from commercial eastern Rockland, and has amazing potential for drawing new visitors with a bit of elbow grease on the part of the local chamber.”
With small town theaters closing up shop across the country, Tisi is leading the town’s effort to make the Lafayette Theater a viable local entertainment experience. The town purchased and installed a digital projectors for use by the theater and Tisi himself has negotiated with movie companies to get first-fun movies.
Currently, the re-release of Jurassic Park 3D is playing at the Lafayette Theater. The theater will also screen Ironman 3 when it hits movie houses in early May. But to make the whole venture work, locals need to buy tickets and support the theater. The Town of Ramapo also just announced the 12th annual Ramapo Big Screen Classics Film Festival at the Lafayette.
With a sudden storm booming thunder overhead, the chamber discussion was sobering but had a buzz of excitement because the effort is so important to the future of what downtown village life will be and can be. Foot traffic is key to businesses and with restaurants and other shops, the Lafayette acts as an anchor to the whole street — there’s a reason the village center street is called Lafayette, where parades and street fairs are held.
“There is nowhere in this county that you can have a theater experience of any kind like you will have at the Lafayette,” said Daycock. “It’s time for all of us to return to the movies in our own backyard.”
Photo above shows Suzanne Daycock on the left with Phil Tisi across the table.
