Patchogue, LI—Monday, May 13, 2013: At their May 7th General Meeting, the Suffolk County Legislature unanimously adopted two bills, co-sponsored by Legislator Rob Calarco, which secured $10,000 for the Plaza Cinema and Media Arts Center in Patchogue (Plaza MAC) and $5,000 for the Patchogue Village Center for the Performing Arts. Both bills (IR 1327 & IR 1328) allocated funding from the Hotel/Motel Room Tax Fund, a fund which exists to promote the tourism industry in Suffolk County.
      Legislator Calarco said, “Supporting organizations like the Patchogue Theater and Plaza MAC is critical to encouraging economic development. Investment in the arts supports jobs, generates tax revenues, promotes tourism, and advances our creativity-based economy. The Theater and the Media Arts Center are both great groups who contribute tremendously to our community and I was proud to co-sponsor these bills on their behalf.”
      Introductory Resolution 1327 co-sponsored by Legislator Calarco and titled, “Authorizing Cultural Funding for 2013,” assigned $5,000 to Plaza MAC and $5,000 to the Patchogue Village Center for the Performing Arts. In total the bill distributed more than $270,000 in Hotel/Motel Room tax monies to more than 40 cultural organizations spread out throughout Suffolk.
      Legislator Calarco also co-sponsored IR 1328, “Authorizing Film Promotion Funding for 2013,” which secured an additional $5,000 for Patchogue’s Plaza MAC as one of six “Emerging Film Exhibition Programs” in Suffolk County. According to the bill, “emerging film exhibition programs…provide opportunities for local, national and international filmmakers to screen their films and offer the opportunity to promote the County as a film-friendly region.”