WPCNR SOUTHEND SENTINEL. From Council of Neighborhood Associations. August 9, 2004: The Council of Neighborhood Associations announces its monthly meeting will be held Tuesday, August 10 at Education House, 5 Homeside Lane, up for discussion will be “local association issues,” an airing of “taxi concerns in the city” and “possible actions to be taken by the Common Council.”
Attention NFL Fans: Parking Free on Sundays But ONLY on the Street in WP : DOP
WPCNR STREETS OF WHITE PLAINS. By John F. Bailey. August 9, 2004: Parking is not as free on Sundays in White Plains as residents and visitors may think it is, even though the Common Council has reversed itself reinstituting Free on-street parking on Sundays. What the Council failed to make clear was they will still require you to insert quarters into parking meters in muncipal off-street lots, according to the Department of Parking today.
The Council did not go out of its way to point out that the ordinance they passed last week restoring free on-street parking throughout the city only applied to parking meters on the street. Previously, parking was free at metered municipal openair lots, such as behind the popular football bars along Mamaroneck Avenue.
All NFL-lovers should be aware they should bring plenty of quarters if they expect to hang at Dooley Mac’s, The Thirsty Turtle and other popular football hangouts on Sunday. Patrons of restaurants along Mamaroneck will have to still bring plenty of quarters to feed meters in the open lots that will still be in effect 9 AM to 9 P.M.
The city fathers did not make it clear that the meters in open parking lots were not affected by their rollback legislation regarding Sunday “On Street” Parking. It fooled the CitizeNetReporter.
The meters in the lots, according to the Department of Parking will be enforced 9 AM to 9 P.M. on Sundays. WPCNR erred in not asking the question because the measure was touted to us as “going back to the way it was before.” Well, the new ordinance in no way returns it to the “way it was before,” it simply restores free parking on the street meters, a far smaller percentage of meters than in the parking lots which remain requiring coins, and may confuse patrons.
When the Common Council flip-flopped on city parking hours last week, by bringing back Free Parking in White Plains at on-street meters, they were not going back all the way to Free Parking on Sunday as it was, when you could park in any metered lot free and the meters read “Except Sundays.”
IMAX COMING TO CITY CENTER CINEMA DELUX
WPCNR SCREEN GEMS. By John F. Bailey. With National Amusements. August 9, 2004, UPDATED 11:45 P.M. E.D.T.: IMAX cinema magic will be coming to the City Center Cinema de Lux in November and is expected to premier with the showing of The Polar Express. Construction on the new state-of-the-art theatre will begin shortly at Cinema de Lux and is planned to open in November, 2004 according to National Amusements. Details of where the theatre will be located in the City Center have not been disclosed, though a National Amusements spokesperson is saying no new construction is involved.
The news came in a national press release announcing that IMAX Corporation and National Amusements Inc., have completed a multiple theatre deal to install as many as 18 IMAX® theatre systems over the next several years, including an IMAX MP theatre system at White Plains own Cinema de Lux.
City Hall was unaware of the deal when called at 10 this morning.
Cappelli Enterprises, owners of the City Center were contacted for details. Bruce Berg, Vice President of Cappelli Enterprises speaking to WPCNR said it was “an unsubtantiated rumor, we’re not talking to them. ”
Jennifer McGuire Hansen, spokesperson for National Amusements in a message to WPCNR confirmed the addition of IMAX to the City Center de Lux. She said the De Lux is being equipped with the technology “to view new IMAX first run films, it is not a new IMAX auditorium. it is IMAX technology that will enable patrons to view new IMAX first run films using IMAX technology. It’s pretty neat and White Plains is one of 4 new locations we announced. I wanted to make that distinction. It is not calling for new construction. “
A spokesman for IMAX in New York told WPCNR in an interview that the new theatre will house a screen 70 x 40 feet, and will be “retrofitted” into one of the existing Cinema de Lux theatres at a cost of $1.4 Million. The spokesperson said the White Plains IMAX would be ready to premier the new IMAX 2004 holiday extravaganza, The Polar Express, and would feature multichannel digital sound and be capable of showing new general theatre pictures that are being released in the IMAX format.
IMAX currently operates a IMAX MPX theatre in New Roc City, the development formerly owned by Cappelli Enterprises in New Rochelle.
Under the specific terms of the deal, National Amusements will install 4 IMAX MPX® theatre systems in 2004 and 2 additional systems in 2005 or 2006. As part of the deal, the parties reached agreement on terms under which National Amusements may purchase up to 12 additional systems, predominantly in the United Kingdom, beginning next year, as an integral part of National Amusements’ development plans in that market. National Amusements currently operates the IMAX Theatre at The Bridge Cinema de Lux at The Promenade at Howard Hughes Center in West Los Angeles.
The deal signals an important milestone for IMAX in the implementation of its commercial theatre growth strategy, which uses the combination of its proprietary IMAX DMR® (Digital Re-Mastering) technology to bring major Hollywood event films to the IMAX theatre network, and the IMAX MPX theatre system technology to drive signings and installations.
The first four IMAX theatres will be located at City Center 15: Cinema de Lux in White Plains, New York; Showcase Cinemas Buckland Hills, near Hartford, Connecticut; Showcase Cinemas Stonybrook, in Louisville, Kentucky; and Showcase Cinemas Springdale, near Cincinnati, Ohio, and are expected to open in November 2004, in time for the IMAX® 3D release of the Warner Bros. Pictures holiday film The Polar Express. The specific locations for the 2005-6 installations have not yet been determined, however, one of the theatres is likely to be located in the United Kingdom. All 18 potential IMAX theatres will utilize the revolutionary new IMAX MPX technology, which was designed specifically for multiplex operators, enabling them to add an IMAX theatre to a new or existing multiplex in a more cost effective and timely manner.
“National Amusements is committed to providing our patrons the ultimate movie going experience. We are excited to be partnering with IMAX and feel that its new DMR technology is consistent with a number of things we are working on throughout our circuit. Our new Cinema de Lux brand, our focus on alternative entertainment and this new IMAX technology we are now introducing will ensure that our patrons have an entertainment experience that is unrivalled elsewhere,” stated Shari E. Redstone, president, National Amusements, Inc.
“We are extremely pleased to expand our relationship with National Amusements, one of the most forward-looking exhibitors in the world,” said IMAX’s Co-Chairmen and Co-CEO’s, Richard L. Gelfond and Bradley J. Wechsler. “This multiple theatre commitment from National Amusements confirms our belief in the potential of IMAX theatres in commercial multiplexes and further advances our commercial strategy. The strong interest from National Amusements and other top multiplex theatre operators should help us attract even more digitally re-mastered Hollywood event films, which, in turn, can help us grow the IMAX network around the world.”
NEW YORK PHILOMUSICA PRESENTS ANNUAL FREE SUMMER WINDS CONCERT
Johnson’s Bobcats Perform Waltzes Across the Centuries
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Sunday, August 29, 2004 at 5PM – Tappan Memorial Park, Tappan, NY
For almost two decades, the annual free concert in Tappan Memorial Park by the New York Philomusica has been a highlight of summertime in Rockland County. Always in search of a new angle on familiar musical styles, this year the ensemble examines the impact of ¾ time on society over the centuries, as the waltz evolved from a peasant stomp, to upper class entertainment, and, finally into our own century as a familiar vehicle for intimate dancing. Surveying waltzes ranging from the 18th through the 20th Centuries, played by a talented group of ten musicians known as Johnson’s Bobcats, this will be a lively concert with wide appeal. The concert will take place in Tappan Memorial Park, at the intersection of Oak Tree Road and Main Street in Tappan, New York, on Sunday, August 29, 2004, at 5 p.m.
Dance has always played an integral part in society, reflecting current moral standards and allowing people young and old to interact socially and have some fun. Although now we may think of the waltz as an old-fashioned dance form, at one time it was considered quite risqué, offering couples contact normally not permitted in public. Over the years the musical waltz form has become so commonplace that now it can be found in genres ranging from show tunes to rock and roll. In this year’s Summer Winds concert, New York Philomusica aims to explore the evolution of this most ubiquitous of dance forms, examining traditional waltzes from Vienna, of course with a sampling of Johann Strauss, Jr., through modern pieces like Dory Langdon’s and Harold Arlen’s The Morning After.
Some of the finest musicians in New York will feature in this concert, including: Fritz Kraber, flute; Bill Meredith, oboe; Dave Glasser, clarinet; Joe Wilder, trumpet; A. Robert Johnson, horn; Morris Kainuma, tuba; Bill Washer, guitar; and Eddie Locke, drums.
Support for the Summer Winds concert, now in its 19th year, is provided by the Town of Orangetown, Orange and Rockland Utilities, the Tappantown Historical Society, the Orangetown Friends of Philomusica, and Giulio’s Restaurant.
The Summer Winds concert is free to the public and will be approximately one hour’s duration.
2004-2005 Concert Season in Rockland County
In addition to the Summer Winds concert in Tappan, New York Philomusica presents its 26th annual subscription season of Saturday concerts at 8 p.m. at the Nauraushaun Presbyterian Church in Pearl River, New York. Pearl River concert dates are October 16 and December 11, 2004, and January 15, March 5, and May 7, 2005. This concert series will be performed on corresponding Thursdays in Manhattan at Merkin Concert Hall. More information on dates, artists and programming is available through the New York Philomusica at 212-580-9933 or www.nyphilomusica.org.
About New York Philomusica Chamber Ensemble
NEW YORK PHILOMUSICA was founded in 1971 by A. Robert Johnson to provide a new and comprehensive model of presenting chamber music to the public, which has since been adopted by many chamber ensembles. The group helped pioneer the modern residency through its 1973 seven-week residency at Dartmouth College, followed by its New York City Metropolitan Subscription Concerts in all five boroughs (1975-1979) and New York State Capitol Region Residency (1979-1981). Always a breeding ground for the finest musicians, the ensemble has fostered the talent of such artists as Tim Eddy, Kim Kashkashian, David Jolley, David Krakauer, Robert Levin, Todd Phillips, and Bill Purvis early in their careers. The ensemble has performed concerts and master classes on three continents and been broadcast on radio and television. The centerpiece of all the ensemble’s activities is its annual concert series in New York City’s Merkin Concert Hall. Praised by critics worldwide, the ensemble’s range of programming includes its 1993 World Premiere of Stravinsky’s A Soldier’s Tale, with a new text by Kurt Vonnegut, the 1992 and 2002 premieres of works commissioned from John Harbison, the 1999 American premiere of Beethoven’s Concerto No. 4, for piano and string quintet, and numerous collaborations with renowned jazz pianist Sir Roland Hanna. New York Philomusica has provided sustained exposure to the music of three composers—Iain Hamilton, Jacob Druckman, and John Harbison—through its Featured Composer program.
The first American ensemble to record Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time, New York Philomusica is the first group ever to record the entire Mozart Divertimento catalogue. The Divertimento recordings were originally released by VoxBox Productions in 1975 and were followed by a release of Mozart Wind Serenades. Both titles were reissued in October 2002—with updated, comprehensive liner notes by New York Philomusica’s Artist Laureate, Mozart scholar Robert Levin—on the ensemble’s own label, New York Philomusica Records, established in 1992. New this year, the ensemble will offer live recordings of each of the five subscription concerts. Currently New York Philomusica Records has 16 titles, available online at Amazon.com or through the New York Philomusica at www.nyphilomusica.org.