Theatre Three, Local Nonprofits Get County Grants

Several Port Jefferson arts and cultural organizations are the recipients of grants from Suffolk County totaling thousands of dollars, according to a list of organizations provided by Suffolk Legis. Kara Hahn, D-Setauket.

Those entities include Theatre Three, the Greater Port Jefferson-Northern Brookhaven Arts Council, the Long Island Music Hall of Fame, the Port Jefferson Historical Society, the Cumsewogue Historical Society, and the Long Island Children's Maritime Explorium.

In an interview with Patch on Tuesday, Hahn said the various arts and cultural institutions in the community are worth supporting.

"The Theatre Threes, the Staller Centers, the museums really provide experiences that people come here for," she said. "I do think they’re worth investing in. They add to and enrich our community."

The grants are funded entirely through the county's hotel and motel tax, Hahn said.

The organizations received varying grant amounts based on their individual programs and needs:

• Greater Port Jefferson-Northern Brookhaven Arts Council: $11,000
• Theatre Three: $15,000
• Long Island Music Hall of Fame: $5,000
• Port Jefferson Historical Society: $5,000
• Cumsewogue Historical Society: $5,000
• Long Island Children's Maritime Explorium: $6,000

On Tuesday, representatives of some of those organizations expressed their gratitude for the financial boost from the county.

Lauren Hubbard, director of the Maritime Explorium, called the grant very helpful for an organization that saw its visitors more than double from 2,000 in 2011 to over 4,000 in 2012.

"We run a very tight budget, so having some extra funds to keep our program going and offset some of our costs is a tremendous help," Hubbard said.

"The monies we receive from Suffolk County are a vital part of our ability to offer programs that range from the Port Jefferson Documentary Series to the Charles Dickens Festival,” says Allan Varela, chair of the Greater Port Jefferson-Northern Brookhaven Arts Council. “We serve an annual audience of over 65,000 covering all our programs and the continued support from our legislators Kara Hahn, Sarah Anker and Suffolk County is greatly appreciated.”