Board battle: How the Cinema Arts Centre board chair was pushed out

While much of the focus of a battle at the Cinema Arts Centre has been about ousting its leader, the removal of the co-director came only after the former co-chair says she too was pushed off the board. Co-director Dylan Skolnick was let go on Sept. 1 after the board itself had been partly remade, including newer members without experience in cinema, as veterans exited amid what at least one said was a hostile environment. Former Board Co-chair Jude Schanzer believes she was forced off the board by what she views as a campaign of harassment and hostility designed to compel her to leave. “It was bullying,” said Schanzer, former co-chair and former chair of the development committee, who left reluctantly in June. “What made it harassment was calling meetings, not having an agenda. And I was the subject of the meeting. That’s harassment.” She said at meetings she found herself singled out, she believes unfairly, by board Chair Matthew Daidola, an employment attorney who made numerous accusations she believes to be false. “I walk in and he attacks me and spreads lies,” Schanzer said of meetings that, she believes, were designed to intimidate her. She said after one such meeting, she finally decided that she needed to leave — although she believed it was important for her to remain on the board. “I sat in my room, talked with my husband,” Schanzer said. “I said I can’t do this anymore. It was affecting my physical and mental health.” Matthew Diadola provided comments regarding the dismissal of the co-director, but efforts to obtain further comments from him and several other board members went unanswered. Schanzer, though, said she believes the board chair sought to force her to leave, paving the way to remove Skolnick as co-director. “The board is overstepping its bounds,” Schanzer said. “You’re supposed to set policy and you hire the director of the organization. You don’t do day-to-day things.” After she resigned, she said she followed Daidola’s instructions to send her resignation to him and to Michael Kornfeld, hoping they would share it with the Board. She believes that resignation was never shared with the full board, although she agreed to talk publicly now about her perspective on events leading to her departure, which she believes set the stage for the dismissal of the co-director. [caption id="attachment_377422" align="aligncenter" width="550"] Jude Schanzer (LinkedIn)[/caption] The new regime While not everybody on every board gets along, Schanzer believes Daidola has led an effort to remake much of the board, and take control of the cinema. She worried once she heard that he was the only person to volunteer for the position of chair. She said she met with Daidola and told him that whether he likes her, it was important that he respected her. “That was the last time that he talked to me,” Schanzer said. “I couldn’t get a word in edgewise. He had no intention to even acknowledge my existence at any point.” Schanzer said she saw what she believes to be bad behavior by certain board members as the board developed rules for audience engagement. Read more: Celebs protest, presenters exit Cinema Arts Centre amid turmoil She remembers Glenn Seidman arguing with board member Steve Fisch in the lobby, when Fisch tried to enter an event without paying. She didn’t believe Seidman was necessarily wrong suggesting payment, but that engaging in a conflict was not helpful. “I said, ‘Why did you escalate it into a fight?’” Schanzer said, adding she offered to pay for Fisch, who would soon be denied re-election to the board. “Let him in and we’ll deal with it later.” Schanzer said Seidman also wanted a code of conduct for the audience, including prohibiting yelling at staff. She supported positive enforcement and said they would appreciate it if people were civil. “Use the Nordstrom bible on public relations and customer service,” she said. “That’s what people follow.” [caption id="attachment_377423" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Cinema Arts Centre in Huntington. (New York State Historic Business Preservation Registry)[/caption] Compensation and condemnation The compensation committee, which Skolnick said Daidola controlled as new members took positions there, met while Schanzer was on vacation in Puerto Rico. Skolnick, already paid $73,000 — far less than most other nonprofit leaders — was denied even a cost of living adjustment, and another employee was put on three-month probation. “When I got back, I said, ‘I wish I was there for the meeting,’” Schanzer said. “He (Daidola) went into a rant about what they accomplished, which was not to give anyone the raise they asked for.” Read more: Mutiny at the movies: A board battles to take over Cinema Arts Centre, community pushes back While Skolnick was not given a raise, an employee put on probation was in an even more troubling situation. Skolnick said that probation was justified in part by using excerpts of an evaluation he gave, ignoring positive statements and exaggerating anything negative. Rather than telling Skolnick and the other employee what the committee did, Schanzer said Diadola asked if she could tell them. “Why didn’t he call them?” Schanzer asked. “Because it’s bad news.” Standing up not backing down Schanzer wrote a letter to the board, stating that “in all her adult professional life” she had “never read or written such entirely negative reviews.” “I wrote what their strengths were,” she said. “Matt writes that I can’t do that.” She believes writing about the good things and efforts being made by the employee on probation benefited the employee. “After three months, they said he is better,” Schanzer said, noting the board sought to take credit. “He didn’t change a thing.” The board began to spend more time, without anyone else in the room, as “executive session became more prevalent,” Schanzer said. Skolnick and his 95-year-old mother Charlotte Sky’s voting rights were removed, so he couldn’t attend these closed-door sessions. Confidentiality clause Schanzer said when she told Skolnick about a conversation where Daidola in her view unfairly criticized her, Daidola accused her of leaking confidential information. Accountant Kenneth Cerini, specializing in nonprofits, said board members have the right, even possibly the obligation, to discuss what they believe is inappropriate behavior by another board member without fear of repercussion. “If there is any level of wrongdoing or inappropriate behavior, they can in essence blow the whistle without fear of repercussion or retaliation,” Cerini said. He also said not all conversations between board members are confidential, while whistleblower protections may apply. “If you’re talking about a conversation between an individual and a board member, and the individual felt like they were harassed in performing their job,” he said that would allow discussion. “If there is harassment and someone feels they were treated inappropriately or unfairly, there is a whistleblower policy.” The J’accuse moment Schanzer believes Daidola does not like opinions different from his own and often reacts angrily to opposition. “Matt doesn’t like to be questioned,” Schanzer said. “Nobody stands up to him and I don’t know why.” Schanzer said Daidola periodically sent “apocalyptic emails,” such as one referring to an “egregious leak” from the board which she said felt was like a “J’accuse” moment, referring to writer Emile Zola’s statement regarding the dismissal and prosecution of Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish officer in France. “He stands up, points at me and yells and says, ‘It’s you, Judy!’” Schanzer recalled, noting she believed she had the right to tell Skolnick the contents of a conversation with the chair. “I said it’s not. I told him, because it wasn’t confidential.” Schanzer, 73, believes Daidalo “bullied” her in conversations. “He told me I had done nothing for the cinema in a phone call,” Schanzer said. “He said, ‘This is so hard, but I’ve asked board members. If we took a vote now, you would be voted out of your position.’” Schanzer did her own poll of board members, she said, where she didn’t find that to be the case. “It turned out not to be true,” Schanzer said, noting a pattern where she believes statements often did not reflect reality. “He didn’t ask anybody that I found. I asked people.” Cerini said board members should not lie to each other, or others, but have a duty of honesty. “Lying to anyone is a problem,” Cerini said. “It’s ethically wrong, including if you’re lying to board members.” Board member’s background While Schanzer would eventually leave the board, she brought with her a long background. A professional theater director and college professor at Rutgers, Schanzer for more than 20 years served as Director of Public Relations and Programming at the East Meadow Public Library. She served as a member of the board of trustees for Long Island Traditions, and a grants panelist for the State and Local Partnerships program of the New York State Council on the Arts, administered by the Huntington Arts Council. Schanzer also won the Long Island Arts Council’s Arty Award in 2017, among other honors for work on Long Island. She had served the Cinema Arts Centre for nearly a decade, attending events, talking to people, selling memberships, and bringing in programs. She saw her role, beyond interacting with the board, as helping create a place where people felt like they were welcome and belonged. “I asked Dylan if he was interested in a person,” she said. “I sponsored them. I paid for it. And I’m not rich. Anything the program brought in went directly to the cinema.” She also brought in musicians to play background music for special events, such as for a garden party for members and donors and other events annually. And Schanzer brought in singer-and songwriter Caroline Doctarow, daughter of author E.L. Doctarow, for a program on the 50th anniversary of “Ragtime.” Lincoln Center later invited Doctarow to present that program where she mentioned the Cinema Arts Centre. She also brought in Gerald Dickens, Charles Dickens’ grandson, each year for sold-out shows that generated interest and income. She saw herself as an ambassador for the cinema there to serve, not preside over, audiences. When a member wanted to see “A Christmas Carol,” which was sold out, Schanzer gave the person her ticket. “A few weeks later, he gave us $5,000,” Schanzer said. “Am I the only reason? No, but I was part of it.” Blame game Schanzer believes she put the venue and audience first, saying Daidola — rather than react to criticism from a staff member — blamed her. Skolnick said he did the same with him, rather than address the actual criticism. “He accused me of forcing someone to write to HR,” she said, noting someone had written on their own volition. “He kept saying ‘forced.’ I said I didn’t force anyone to do anything.” Schanzer suggested a meeting with the employee, which occurred with Diadola, Mike Kornfeld, attorney Suzanne Ettinger and Schanzer. “They’re pressuring this employee until she had tears in her eyes. I said, ‘Did I ever force you into writing this?’” She said, ‘Force me, no,’” Schanzer said. “Matt said she was lying.” Schanzer said Daidola said there was no point in his being at the meeting and stormed out. “He couldn’t get what he wanted,” she said. “He wanted to break up a relationship with this employee and myself.” The 360-degree review Daidola called for a “360-degree review” of Dylan Skolnick which included negative comments from at least one employee, prompting Daidola to refer to a “disgruntled staff.” Skolnick believes the review ignored everything positive and divided comments to make them appear more widespread. “They have an atmosphere where negativity is the way to go,” Schanzer said. “They don’t see the value of positivity. I once said to him, ‘You have to improve your customer relationship.’” Daidola, she said, began to refer to the disgruntled staff, although Schanzer said few people were critical. “All of a sudden the staff was disgruntled,” she said. “Why was the staff all of a sudden disgruntled?” Schanzer sees Mike Kornfeld, later named co-director, as someone who has gone along with Daidola, while sometimes being critical of him in private. “They do not stand up to him. Nobody stood up. Nobody speaks truth to power,” Schanzer said. “Is he so convincing that he got everybody to believe that for 24 years, Dylan has not been able to run this theater? Right now on the board and in the staff, there is not anyone who knows film, not the way they need to know it.” After Schanzer finally left the board, Mike Kornfeld took her position as co-chair. When Skolnick was fired, Kornfeld took his paying position on an interim basis. “He had to get rid of me to fire Dylan. I was standing in his way,” Schanzer said. “Dylan’s an easy mark. He’s unassuming. I think Matt has a fantasy of being in charge of the cinema.” She once said the cinema’s got a “strong community,” but is not Lincoln Center or the Mark Taper Forum to which she said Daidalo replied, “Why not?” “It’s not in New York City, DC or LA,” Schanzer said. “How he has delusions of grandeur, that he will take this place to new heights is beyond me.” Community center Schanzer sees the Cinema Arts Centre as a nonprofit providing services to the community, not just showing a diverse slate of movies. “I believe that we all must know that what we do is important, that service to others might be the most important task one can undertake,” Schanzer said in an interview on the cinema’s website. “I am never going to change the world, but I can make a difference in my community. The arts, education, and inclusiveness have always been my passions.” The cinema, by building and serving its “community,” built a reputation as an institution that survives, attracting cinemagoers, volunteers, members and donors. Schanzer believes in the cinema’s mission as a cultural institution that has long been much more than showing movies. “The Cinema Arts Centre is an integral part of not only Huntington and Suffolk, but all of Long Island. The cinema is expert at curating diverse films and for the sharing of ideas easily accessible to everyone by creating an atmosphere of comfort and belonging, both essential for effective communication,” Schanzer said in an interview on the cinema’s website. “I feel that I want to be a part of this mission, and that I have something to add to the purpose and mission of the Cinema Arts Centre.” Mission more than movies The cinema, meanwhile, recently changed its mission statement, which now says they will have “cultural and educational arts” programming. Kornfeld in a profile the cinema emailed said the board “updated our mission statement to reflect that the cinema also offers other cultural programs and is planning for more in the future.” “Our revised mission statement is part of a just-launched, collaborative strategic process involving staff at all levels and board members,” he said of what sound like lofty goals. Skolnick had been working with Kornfeld, bringing him in as he hosted folk music events. The cinema, Schanzer said, has long been a cultural center as well as a cinema. “We’ve been doing that for years,” Schanzer said, shaking her head. “We’ve been doing it for years.” The Folk Music Society of Huntington on its website indicates that as of Oct. 1 it “will no longer present or have involvement in the presentation of the Hard Luck Cafe or any other concerts or events open to the public.” The Hard Luck Café, according to a statement by Kornfeld, “will continue under the auspices of the Cinema Arts Centre,” as society members get discounted tickets at the Cinema Arts Centre box office. Schanzer said they talked about bringing in more performances, sometimes using the café, which can actually cut into café income. “Where are you going to put it?” Schanzer asked. “You don’t have a good performance space.” The Dickens show, which sells out, is performed in a big theater with some difficulty. “There’s no stage there. There’s a dip between the screen and first row of seats,” Schanzer said. “Gerald (Dickens) agreed to perform there. Because he’s so good, he can project over that ditch. And it’s very narrow.” From here to Hollywood Schanzer said Daidola talked about how hard he worked for the cinema, while diminishing anything she does. “At one point he said to me, ‘I put 36 hours a week volunteering for the cinema,’” she said. “He said he brought cookies and iced coffee into the cinema.” Schanzer said she thought he “donated” to pay for cookies. “He didn’t,” she said. “I find out the cinema bought cookies from his friend who has a bakery.” She said he also said he bought coffee from Robert Downey Jr.’s iced coffee charity business, or rather had the cinema buy it. “He arranged for the cinema to buy the cookies and the canned iced coffee to be sold in the café,” she said. She added that he told her that it’s Robert Downey Jr coffee, adding, “I thought I’d bring a little Hollywood into the cinema.” While that may have been a joke, Schanzer replied they already had Paul Newman salad dressing. “I don’t know how much more Hollywood you want to get,” she added. “I said to Matt, ‘You know what vendors do? They vend. If you want to buy something, they will sell it to you. That’s what they do.’” Board rules A nonprofit board has powers, which allow it to select leadership, but it also has legal responsibilities. It is required to provide “sound, ethical, and legal governance and financial management policies” according to the National Council of Nonprofits. “That means they act ethically,” nonprofit accountant Ken Cerini said. “The board sets the plan. The management implements a plan.” The council said the board has three duties, including the duty of care or prudent use of assets, the duty of loyalty, so actions are “first and foremost, advancing its mission” and “the Duty of Obedience.” “Make decisions that are in the best interest of the nonprofit corporation,” the Council said. “Not in the best interest of the individual board member (or any other individual or for-profit entity).” The Duty of Obedience means the board must adhere “to its stated corporate purposes/mission.” “The board needs to make decisions that are fair, reasonable and in the best interest of the organization,” Cerini said. “The board should not be running an organization. The board should not be micro-managing.” Board members are there to act on behalf of an organization, not in ways that damage the organization, financially or otherwise. “You can’t put your personal desires above the organization,” Cerini said. “You’re sitting on the board to ensure the mission of the organization is doing in appropriate and effective way.” Schanzer believes new membe