Cinema Arts Centre's reopening delayed, no new date announced

The Feb. 4 reopening of Huntington’s Cinema Arts Centre has been delayed, according to its co-director Dylan Skolnick. No new date has yet been announced.

"We apologize that the wait is going to be a little bit longer," Skolnick wrote in an email sent out Friday afternoon, "but we promise that our reopening is near!"

A cultural landmark on Long Island and one of the oldest independent theaters in the country, the Cinema Arts Centre shut its doors in March 2020 as COVID-19 swept across the globe. State mandates allowed theaters to reopen in October, but the nonprofit Cinema opted to stay closed and renovate its 70-year-old building, a former elementary school. There are plans to install new seats, flooring, ceilings, wall coverings, bathroom stalls and touchless payment options, along with improved filtration in the ventilation system.

Skolnick blamed the delay on "a perfect storm" of unforeseen complications. "There are certain things you just can’t anticipate," he said in a statement. "The Omicron variant has resulted in supply-chain issues, as well as delays from workers having to take leave from work due to illness." Many people involved in the Cinema’s renovation have been out with COVID, including the contractor, architect, designer, structural engineer, construction workers and electricians, according to Skolnick.

"Our contractors are putting together a new construction schedule that we will share as soon as we have it," he added. "We are taking great strides forward every day and we are so excited to see our new space taking shape."