6 SEPTEMBER 19, 2019 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Development starts at former R’wood Oasis
BY MAX PARROTT
MPARROTT@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@RIDGEWOODTIMES
The former Oasis Theatre, the
hulking building at 63-57 Fresh
Pond Road in Ridgewood which
was remodeled into a CVS pharmacy
in 2013, is undergoing another
transformation.
Seve Sasson, president of ABC
Super Stores, filed plans with the Department
of Buildings that propose
lowering the height of the building
and expanding its horizontal dimensions
to fill most of the lot. They
also involve enlarging the cellar and
plumbing work.
In spite of Sasson’s direct association
with a chain of discount stores,
he said that he has not announced
that’s what’s in the cards for the
building. He raised the possibility to
QNS that there could be more than
one store in the building, insisting
he’s not ready to disclose his plans
for the building yet.
“Everything is on the table,”
said Sasson.
The construction will reduce the
height of the building and expand
its floor plan.
“Demolition, in all likelihood,
means not the entire building but
the upper area of the building
which would include any heating
and ventilation and certainly might
include demolition of the mezzanine
area of movie theater seats if they
were still there,” said District Manager
Gary Giordano told QNS in July
around when Sasson first filed for
the permits.
The mezzanine refers to twotiered
seating that was a feature
of the Oasis Theater’s palatial
design. Opened in 1927, the Oasis
was designed by Thomas W. Lamb,
an architect famous for creating a
number of ornately decorated theaters
in the 1920s, including Madison
Square Garden.
While legend has it that “Rocky”
was the theater’s last run as
a movie theater in 1976, other
Ridgewood residents recall seeing
films like “Kentucky Fried Movie”
into 1977-78.
After its movie theater period, the
space began hosting concerts for a
brief stint. Several commenters on
the Cinema Treasures forums recall
the shows leading to complaints in
the neighborhood, particularly a
concert by Richard Hell and the
Voidoids and the Ramones, the Forest
Hills natives who popularized punk
rock. It was canceled after neighbors
called the police.
The venue reportedly became a
roller rink in 1979, which stayed
open for a number of years. The
building was converted to a CVS in
or about 2002, and the front demolished
to make room for a parking
lot. But the pharmacy moved out by
2014, and it became a second-hand
store for a few years before closing
down again – this time without
a replacement.
The design appears to restore the
expanse of the property that was
cleared out for parking lot. The new
20,000-square-foot store will take up
the entire block.
Sasson said that construction
would last for around a year.
Renovations have started on the former Oasis Theatre on Fresh Pond Road
in Ridgewood. Photo: Max Parrott/QNS
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