Hudson Reporter Archive

Court rules against city and in favor of ‘Friends’ in Loew’s Theater dispute; city has harsh words

JERSEY CITY — Friends of the Landmark Loew’s Theater will retain control of the historic theater, as a result of a ruling by Superior Court Judge Hector R. Velazquez on May 29,

The ruling reverses a 2014 legal ruling that appeared to clear the way for the city to award operations to a private company.

In the latest ruling, Velazquez said that the contract that allowed FOL to operate the theater until 2020 remained valid, and that the city cannot move ahead with its plans to have award the refurbishing and management operations to private companies.

“This is a loss for residents because instead of the possibility of daily events with global talent coming to Jersey City, this instead guarantees the theatre will sit as is with only sporadic silent movies, even less frequent concerts, no air conditioning and no ability of the group to complete the restoration,” said Jennifer Morrill, spokesperson for Jersey City. “It is upsetting because the most important thing to the FOL was protecting their own personal salaries and fiefdom, despite the fact they can’t complete the repairs after 25 years. Without their ability to restore the theatre and without the ability to put the $40 million dollars into the facility to repair the theatre fully, I don’t see how this is a win for them other than they protected themselves personally at the expense of all the residents in the city.”

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