A man who wanted to open a theater to play movies from the '30s and '40s in Westwood is searching for a new location because of an objection from the Westwood Theater.
A man who wanted to open a "golden age" movie theater in Westwood said he is going to start looking for other towns to open his business because of an objection from the owner of theWestwood Theater.
Ray Walsh, a retired employee of the New York Giants, had planned to open a 96-seat theater at 312 Kinderkamack Road which would have played movies from the 1930s and '40s. The business is a "bucket list" item for Walsh, who previously told Patch he once co-owned a similar business in Ridgewood.
Walsh said he did not believe his theater would be competing with the larger "first run" theater on Center Avenue.
"They've got 1,200 seats there and I'm never going to show Clash of the Titans of Shrek 3," Walsh said.
The Westwood Theater's attorney, John Lamb of Beattie Padovano, LLC, told Patch the parking demand created by the proposed theater could "cause vehicles to unreasonably utilize the surrounding roadways and municipal parking lots."
The golden age theater was one of three uses proposed on an application for the site before the Westwood Zoning Board. Walsh said the other two businesses, a dry cleaner and a medical office, would proceed without him.
"Assuming the theater use part is removed, it is likely that my client would find regular retail and commercial uses not objectionable," Lamb told Patch
Walsh said he would begin looking for a location in another town, ideally one which does not already have a movie theater. He listed Oradell, Maywood and Glen Rock as potential sites.
"It's such a nice little town," Walsh said about Westwood. "I really thought [a golden age theater] would go nicely in the community."
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