Supporters of Time Warner's plan to take charge of the troubled Apollo Theatre
hope Rep. Charles Rangel's resignation from the theater's board will speed the revival of the once-glamorous Harlem landmark.
"It is a major step forward," said Charles Gargano, chairman of
the Empire State Development Corp., the state agency that owns the 125th Street theater. "We can see the money starting to flow, we can see a stronger management team there, and with that we
can expect great things to happen."
Rangel resigned Monday as chairman of the Apollo's board of directors, meeting one of the conditions Attorney General Eliot
Spitzer set last month when he tentatively agreed to drop a lawsuit alleging financial mismanagement by the Apollo board.
Actor Ossie Davis is expected to take over as chairman at the
next board meeting Oct. 18. A message left at Davis' office was not immediately returned.
Along with a Monday board vote to accept nine Time Warner-recommended members, on top of
four added last month, Rangel's resignation puts the media giant at the helm of the theater that once hosted music greats like Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald.
"Time Warner now has the majority," Gargano said.
Former Attorney General Dennis Vacco filed a lawsuit last year accusing Rangel and five other
board members of failing to collect $4 million owed to the theater by the Inner City Theater Group.
Inner City is run by Rangel's longtime friend and political ally Percy Sutton, a former Manhattan
borough president. It produces a weekly variety television show, "It's Showtime at the Apollo."
Spitzer said in August he would drop the lawsuit if at least $1 million was paid to the foundation that
oversees the Apollo, 13 new members were added to the board and Rangel stepped down as chairman. As part of the deal, the attorney general agreed that the board members involved had acted in good faith.
A spokesman for Spitzer said he was pleased by Rangel's resignation but that more needed to be done before the lawsuit could be dropped. The money has not yet been paid.
Rangel's chief of staff, Jim Capel, said the congressman's decision to step down was not part of a deal with Spitzer. Rangel had planned his resignation for some time but wanted to wait until Spitzer's
investigation was over, Capel said.
Rangel will remain a board member, Capel said.
The expansion of the board gives a majority and control of the theater to Time Warner, which
has promised to put its cash and expertise into the Apollo. The media conglomerate plans to use the theater for television talk shows, movie premieres, comedy shows and other events.
"We're encouraged by today's developments," Time Warner vice president Derek Johnson said Monday. "We think the Apollo is ripe with opportunity to do lots of innovative programming that
heretofore just has not occurred."
Among those voted onto the board were George Wein, the jazz musician, and Val Azzoli, co-chairman of Atlantic Records, whose parent is Time Warner.
"It's about time that the Apollo starts receiving real value for its name and trademark, and Time Warner can make that happen," Gargano said. "The rebirth of the Apollo Theatre is really
important. It's the cornerstone of the economic development we've been trying to achieve in Harlem."
The Apollo opened in 1914, featuring live entertainment. It was turned into a movie theater in the
1970s and reopened for live shows in 1983.
