Saturday, November 15, 2008
By WILLIAM O. COOLEY
Special to the Daily News
You have to help me here. Since when does the Palm Beach Daily News ridicule a private citizen for doing his best to save a valuable Palm Beach community asset?
Last Sunday's cartoon depicting Patrick Flynn as a one-man band was a cheap shot and beneath the dignity of the editorial staff of the Shiny Sheet.
Patrick Flynn should be canonized for his efforts in working with the residents of the town to save the Royal Poinciana Playhouse and promote cultural awareness and a community theater in Palm Beach.
The Town Council, after a long hearing, by a 3 to 2 vote, voted to landmark the Royal Poinciana Plaza. Many folks had a hand in this effort but I would have to single out Pat Flynn (the one-man band) as the catalyst, as the cheerleader, as the one who brought us to the party.
Communities all over the country would give their right arm to have a facility in their town such as the Poinciana Playhouse. What does Palm Beach nearly do, give a green light to a group of developers to tear this Volk masterpiece down.
Against all odds, against the Citizens Association, the Civic Association, the Kosoy/Munder Group and their PR and lobbying machine, their hired chairman of ARCOM, the Palm Beach Daily News, The Breakers hotel and a whole host of characters who were promoting the destruction of this community asset, the preservationists prevailed.
With Pat Flynn drumming the beat for us, we made the case that the Plaza should be landmarked. Thanks to the forward vision of David Rosow, Gail Coniglio and Susan Markin, the Poinciana Playhouse will live to fight another day.
Now, the town should enforce the March 6, 1979, agreement between the developers of the plaza and the town. That agreement requires the developers of the plaza "to continue to lease the space now occupied and used by the 'Poinciana Theater' only for use as a theater of the performing and/or visual arts ..." It requires them to "continue to lease" this facility. They are willfully breaking this agreement.
The plaza developers are letting this valuable asset "die by neglect" and the town is letting them get by with serious code violations. They are not being required to live up to the 1979 agreement or town ordinances.
The Kosoy/Munder group should recognize that this theater is a real asset to their development and they should base their development around the theater and forget plans to wreck it. They should drop the idea of demolition of this architectural asset and replacing it with more condominiums.
Thank you, members of the Town Council who voted for preservation of the theater. Thank you, members of the community who supported this worthwhile endeavor. And thank you, Patrick Flynn, for having the courage and perseverance to stick you neck out and take a stand ... you one-man band.
Find this article at: http://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/opinion/content/news/2008/11/15/EDITcooleyvoice.html
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