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Wednesday, November 24, 2004
Cineplex Development Downtown I was happy to hear the downtown cineplex development is coming closer to fruition. Not only is the downtown business community advocating such development, I think it's smart development. It forces us to take a look at an eyesore parking garage, reclaim space for more efficient use, add tax-generating infrastructure within city limits, and creates foot traffic on the Commons. The sum effect? More money circulating in downtown Ithaca. The cineplex has been included as a potential part of the Cayuga Green Phase Two project. Cayuga Green Phase One is the parking garage currently under construction near the Tompkins County Library. Moving forward on Phase Two has been held up because a decision needed to be made on the fate of the Green Street parking garage and its helix entrance ramp. Would the parking garage be renovated in its current form? Or would the helix ramp be demolished and the parking garage be reconfigured? I strongly encourage the Common Council to remove the helix and allow the cineplex development to go through. Recently, the council was presented with three options. A Cayuga Green Phase Two that includes the downtown cineplex depends on getting rid of the helix ramp. Luckily, the option that included demolition of the helix was the cheapest, portending a decision that should pave the way for building the cineplex and saving the taxpayers money. I've been very disturbed by a lot of the debate surrounding the cineplex project. Mostly by those who are against the development simply on the basis of direct competition with Cinemapolis and Fall Creek, our two local independent and non-profit theaters. While I respect and appreciate where this sentiment comes from, I just don't think the conversation is as cut and dry as that. Ithaca is blessed to have a thriving indy theater scene with two locations. One of these happens to be across the street from where the cineplex will be. And so, those who are anti-cineplex are howling that encouraging the development will kill our local independent movie scene. And, they end their letters to the editor with lines like the one in today's paper, "I will not patronize on principle." I probably won't patronize the cineplex on principle either. And we're not alone. I think there are a lot of us in Ithaca who go to the indy theaters not because they're convenient and we don't have any other choice, but because we genuinely like the selection of movies. So to say that putting a cineplex across the street would automatically hurt their business is just a guess which may or may not turn out to be true. This argument is shortsighted. There is enough of a market for our independent theaters that they should be able to survive. Not only that, but the independent theaters are cheaper and show quality movies that the cineplex probably won't touch. What about the local independent businesses, cafes, and restaurants that this development is likely to help? My favorite cafe went out of business two weeks ago because the owner said there wasn't enough foot traffic on the Commons to support them. Don't you think this kind of development, which would draw students and "mall types" to the Commons, would be good for downtown? Don't you think we should be trying to draw folks to our city's center? If so, we have to give them the options that they get by driving to Lansing and the mall. These new Commons visitors are likely to have dinner before a movie. They're likely to grab a cup of coffee before the movie. Maybe hang out at a cafe afterwards to discuss the movie. Maybe organize a day of shopping punctuated by a movie (like they currently do at the mall). I'd much rather see pre- and post-movie business go to our local restaurants on the Commons than chains like Applebee's and Friendly's and the stores at the mall. Perhaps an increase in foot traffic on the Commons would in turn encourage stores to stay open a little longer. And maybe by staying open a little longer, more folks are encouraged to come and do some shopping in the evening. I hear this "store hours" complaint all the time. The fact of the matter is we're not giving the small businesses on the Commons the support they need to get the sales to thrive on. If this development is not part of the solution, if my thinking is flawed in some way, then what? | private feedback | Comments:
Hi Shane - Yes, I agree that having additional movie options downtown would be a good thing - At present, I'll go to *only* an occasional matinee movie at the mall, because the movies there are expensive for my budget ... and since I have to drive a ways to get there, I prefer driving home in the early evening ! I also go on occasion to the indie movie places - and since the type of films they show are so different from the cineplex places, I personally can't see there being much conflict of interest. If movies were available downtown, I'd definately make an effort to eat downtown as well - I refuse to eat at the mall, can't stand that mob scene in the cafe' area, and I don't think the food there is particularly good. Having a limited budget means that when I do eat out, I want it to be better food and better atmosphere. Another problem I have with downtown is parking - I don't feel comfortable or safe with the parking garages, never have, probably never will. If an effort was made to clean up the garages and really make them well lit, maybe even patroled a little more often, I might feel safer leaving my car there, as well as walking back to my car. Hugs !
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Hey! I'm Shane... a proud gay progressive Democrat who has recently relocated to New York City from Ithaca, NY. As I am no longer in Ithaca, I haven't quite decided the fate of this blog. Drop me a line!
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