‘Nostalgia should not cloud decision making’

I just read your article about the rally and Town Board meeting concerning the future of the former movie theater building. I am a bit disappointed as I don’t think it was particularly balanced.

I was at the last Town Board meeting and while many people spoke against the plan for a new Town Hall, there were several people who spoke in favor of the plan.

This was not mentioned in the article, although it was noted in Ms. Leonard’s statement.

After some deliberation, I spoke at that meeting in favor of the Town Board plan as I believe it offers more long term stability for downtown.

At a time when the trend among movie theaters favors closings over openings, we should all be skeptical of Mr. Berman’s commitment to keep the facility a movie theater. He has stated that he would keep it a theater if it were profitable, but has been short on details about what would happen if it did not meet his profit threshold.

It’s quite possible that people are rallying to build an office building, not save a movie theatre.

Understandably, some of us can be nostalgic about the movies, and other things we did when we were teenagers.

But nostalgia should not cloud the decision making process.

I am not sure how this ultimately will unfold, whether the Town Board will continue down the current path or decide to walk away. Either way some people will be disappointed, but I encourage you to dig deeper in your reporting so that it is easier for your readers to make informed rather than emotional decisions.

Cordially,

Lorraine Loening

Monroe