Bid to demolish Plaza Theatre OKd

Brookhaven's town board has awarded a contract to demolish the vacant Plaza Theatre, a move officials said clears the way for the East Patchogue eyesore to come down in late August.

The theater, which opened in 1962, has sat vacant on East Main Street for more than a quarter century and has been cited by numerous politicians as a symbol of blight in the area. But Brookhaven Town took title to the boxy building in January and plans to spend about $725,000 to level it.

The town board on Tuesday voted to pay $23,869 to Bove Industries of East Setauket to demolish the building.

The bid is the last major bid the town must award for the demolition to take place, said Matt Miner, Brookhaven's waste management chief of operations and commissioner.

The town previously awarded a contract to a New Hyde Park firm to remove asbestos from the building, Miner said. Other costs associated with knocking down the theater include waste disposal and engineering, he said.

"We're looking at late August" to bring the building down, said town board member Tim Mazzei, who represents the area. "Demolition will happen after asbestos removal."

The property will likely be sold for development after the Plaza building is demolished, town officials have said.

Suffolk County began trying to take over the property in 2006 and handed the process over to the town in 2009. The county this year lent Brookhaven $350,000 toward the demolition of the building.

The town initiated condemnation proceedings after the owner rejected the towns $1.19-million offer to purchase the property, town officials said.