Here are our first sketches of the building’s signage. It will all likely change as we go through the research and approval process, but this is our dream vision.

(Renderings by Larisa Fuchs)

More details on our development as we work around the clock to get ready for opening.

Waldman runs a motorcycle shop out of the building’s basement. Its first floor and mezzanine will be the theatre’s main space, housing a stage, kitchen, restaurant and bar. The remaining floors will be rented out as loft space.Waldman hopes the theatre will serve a variety of functions for the community, from providing art shows and music performances to healthy food and a space for school and youth groups to gather during the day. He’s also hoping to keep costs moderate in comparison to Manhattan prices. The team is working to soundproof the building, and a parking facility will be available nearby. The theatre will also include security.

Construction will be ongoing at the venue this summer. Mauricio, Queensbridge Theatre’s head chef, is designing the kitchen and currently looking for bakers and caterers to partner with. Mauricio describes the menu as “an updated take on American comfort food.” It will combine modern American cuisine and French bistro baking, all with a healthy twist — the food will be all natural and organic. The restaurant will also provide delivery services and the venue will host catered events. The space can accommodate up to 250 people.

Waldman said the theatre looks to emulate similar venues like the old Fillmore and Studio 54. Queensbridge Theatre will be open 21 hours a day, and is located just a few minutes from the F train’s 21st Street/Queensbridge stop.

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Queensbridge Theater General Manager and former Pioneer Theater programmer Ray Privett was profiled in the New York Sun today for his lifelong commitment to independent film. His move to QB was highlighted in the following excerpt:

Speaking with The New York Sun recently, Mr. Privett confirmed the details of his two new projects. First, he is committing himself to the development of a new arts club known as the Queensbridge Theater, which will be headed by Robert Prichard (the former owner of Surf Reality Theater on the Lower East Side) and real estate developer Michael Waldman. As envisioned, Queensbridge will occupy an entire building in Long Island City housing a restaurant, a dance floor, and a space for concerts and performances. Mr. Privett said the venue, which is scheduled to open in the fall, will ideally remain open for 20 or 21 hours a day and cater to both Manhattanites and local residents.

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LIQCity blog has picked up the QB mention from The Observer article. While they mostly reproduced the article itself, Curbed had more of an opinion. Needless to say, we’re much more in favor of tattoo sleeves than concierge service. New York Mag blog also just learned of our existence via the same article, while Astoria Day got the tip from the Daily News writeup. And just the day before, The Gothamist ran its own QB story–and even managed not to call us “hipsters” in the process.

Go on, friend us. You know you want to. 

http://www.myspace.com/queensbridgetheater 

Again profiled for breathing creative life into an industrial neighborhood, Michael Waldman and Rob Prichard, founders of Queensbridge Theater, get a two-page spread in The New York Observer.

Robert Prichard hopes to illuminate Long Island City with some emphatic Times Square-style signage. “I’d like it to be visible from the 59th Street Bridge,” he said. “First, it flashes ‘Queens,’ then ‘Bridge,’ then ‘Theater,’ and then ‘Queensbridge Theater.’ And then maybe an arrow that lights up and points down to our loading dock.”

Mr. Prichard, 52, has long had a flair for the dramatic. This is the same guy, after all, who nearly a decade ago led a conga line up Avenue A in protest of the city’s antiquated cabaret laws.

Nowadays, he’s participating in a perhaps farther-reaching kind of procession—the ongoing exodus of artists, musicians and other creative types abandoning Manhattan in droves.

Adopting the slogan “Downtown Has Moved to Queens,” the former Lower East Side stalwart is partnering with developer Michael Waldman to open what he called a “rock ‘n’ roll supper club, similar to a Bowery Ballroom or a Mercury Lounge with a restaurant—a first for Long Island City, a first for Queens.”

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Rounding out its 5-person founding-member team, QB names Ray Privett, Pioneer Theater’s programmer, as its General Manager.

Privett said of the move, “Rob [Prichard] and the Art Stars have long challenged and inspired me; I am very proud of the many Art Star film and video events presented at the Pioneer. I look forward to learning from and working with them, and with many other performing arts communities, into the future.” You can see Privett’s full statement at his site.

The move was noted by NYC cinema blog The Reeler.

Michael Waldman, QB co-founder and developer, was profiled today in NY Daily News for his innovative approach in selecting development sites, including the Queensbridge Theater in Long Island City, Queens.

Located within an industrial business zone, Waldman purchased this 40,000-square-foot warehouse for $6 million. With the help of a friend, he plans on turning it into a 24-hour restaurant, performance space, nightclub and music venue. “Nothing like this has ever appeared in this neighborhood,” says Waldman. He’s not kidding. There’s almost no one there.

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Michael Waldman, head of North Manhattan Construction Corp., is developing a 24-hour entertainment and catering venue at 37-31 10th Street to be known as The Queensbridge Theater. The 5,000 square foot club will occupy the ground floor and mezzanine levels of a 5-story warehouse, recently purchased by Waldman.

According to club manager Robert Prichard, The Queensbridge Theater will be “a rock and roll supper club, similar to a Bowery Ballroom or a Mercury Lounge with a restaurant – a first for Long Island City, a first for Queens.” But that’s not all: The space – which will hold up to 500 people – will be used not just for concerts, but for Broadway and Off Broadway shows, performances for children, Cabaret, dinner theater, art exhibits and community outreach. “We won’t just be a night club, but a day club, too,” says Prichard, a New York night club veteran and former manager of Surf Realty, the eccentric performance art and experimental theater he founded in 1993 on the Lower East Side. “Long Island City is a light industrial neighborhood – there are about 10,000 workers within a one mile radius, all underserved for food during the day.” The venue will open at 7 am, serve breakfast, lunch and dinner, have a bakery on the premises, and, via a partnership with the local community board and public schools, develop a series of after-school programs.

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