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Politics & Government

Parrish Will Close Jobs Lane Building to Public Sept. 4

Art museum prepares for move to new facility in Water Mill, and Southampton Village readies to take over responsibility for 25 Jobs Lane.

Sept. 4 will be the last day for the public to see a Parrish Art Museum exhibition  in Southampton Village, the museum announced Friday.

The Parrish has not scheduled any exhibitions at its Jobs Lane building after that date, public relations director Mark Segal said Friday. The staff will be busy readying for the museum's move to its new facility in Water Mill, he explained. "Maintaining exhibitions and programs requires a certain amount of staff time that we have to put toward the move," he said. "It's a huge process."

The staff will remain in their Jobs Lane offices through early to mid-October, Segal said, and there will be two events at the building before the Parrish's lease ends on Dec. 31.  On Sept. 20, the Parrish will hold a , a rapid-pace presentation by local creative people. Then on Thanksgiving weekend, Nov. 23 through Nov. 25, will be , a holiday bazaar and gift market.

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Southampton Village Mayor Mark Epley said he is not happy to see the Jobs Lane building close up so soon, citing the economic benefit having an active museum brings to downtown.

Epley has long been working on plans for what to do with 25 Jobs Lane once the Parrish vacates and returns the keys of the village-owned building.

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“We cannot afford to have a dormant site in the heart of the village of Southampton," Epley said, calling the prospect "economically devastating."

The village is preparing a lease agreement for the next occupant of the building, the new nonprofit , he said.

Epley said the Southampton Center for the Arts is taking a three-prong approach to revitalizing the site, starting with both inside and out. The Center is also fundraising to install a pavilion on the grounds, so events and attractions can continue at the site while the building is under renovation. The last prong is to develop relationships with programming partners such as , , , , and Lincoln Center.

“Every day, we seem to be getting more and more phone calls,” Epley said.

The new Parrish Art Museum facility will to the public at large on Nov. 10, but residents of the Southampton and Tuckahoe school districts, as well as members and donors, will have early access from Nov. 5 through Nov. 9.

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