manor_ink_dec_2021_for_web

NEWS
MANOR INK | DEC. 2021 |
9
Temple to be repurposed
as Parksville Arts Center
Building, long vacant, may reopen in 2022
By Emily Froehlich | Manor Ink
Parksville, NY – Adrian and Todd Perlmutter,
together with some other local
residents, are bringing the former Tefereth
Israel Anshei Synagogue back to life as a
nonprofit community arts center.
They were living in New York City, but
on the weekends they would come up
to their house on Hunter Lake and visit
Parksville. “It was almost like vacationing
in Parksville every weekend,” said Adrian
Perlmutter. Both she and Todd have artistic
backgrounds – Todd as a drummer,
while Adrian is a singer. They have done
many projects together. Todd was the producer
and musical director of the Blue Man
Group for 19 years, and Adrian was hired
to sing on tour for the group, which was
how they met.
The Perlmutters purchased the Parksville
synagogue from Lois Weinstein. According
to Adrian, “Lois’s father took care
of everything for many, many years. Buying
it was a long process – because they
ran into title issues, it took nearly five
years to complete the transaction. Initially,
the couple thought they would turn the
temple into a recording studio. After some
thought, though, they decided it should be
more of a community-oriented building.
So they decided to make it into an arts center
that the local community could come
together and enjoy.
There are several different stories about
when the synagogue was built. Some people
thought that it was erected in 1907, because
there is a painting dated 1907 in the
Parksville post office that includes the synagogue.
Other people think the synagogue
was built in the 1930s, and Weinstein, after
some research, believes it was actually built
in 1930.
The Parksville synagogue was active for
many years, but then became less and less
busy over time. The last event that was held
there was a wedding in 2007. The building
sat vacant until Adrian and Todd Perlmutter
decided to buy it.
The Perlmutters have many plans for
transforming the building into the Parksville
Arts Center. One idea is to include a
mini-movie theater. They also want to have
bands perform there. But the main thing
NEW LIFE The former Tefereth Israel Anshei Synagogue,
recently purchased by Adrian and Todd Perlmutter, right, will
become the Parksville Arts Center. The building is depicted in
a historic painting in the hamlet’s post office.
Art Steinhauer photos, top and lower right; provided photo, top right
they want is for the historic building to
serve as a center for the local community.
The couple said that they also would exhibit
art from local schools and would offer
classes in ceramics and other arts for people
of all ages.
“We would like the whole community
to be involved with ideas and planning,”
said Adrian. Both Perlmutters are very interested
in helping revitalize Parksville’s
Main Street.
Before they can open the arts center,
however, they have many renovations to
make. The couple is working with the Community
Foundation of Orange and Sullivan
Countys to write grants to fund the work.
The building’s electric wiring needs updating
and heating and insulation will need
to be installed so the center can run year
round. In addition to other smaller renovations,
the Perlmutters want to remove
the carpet because there is a beautiful oak
wood floor beneath it; they also want to remove
a drop ceiling to reveal old ceramic
tiles. They hope to offer some programming
next summer.
The new Parksville Art Center is accepting
donations. For more information, visit
their website at parksvilleartcenter.com or
their Facebook page.