New Yorkers Rally to Save Movie Theater

A group of protestors gathered outside of a movie theater in Kips Bay on Sept. 20, holding signs that read “Save the Arts,” “Cinema is Culture” and “There’s no place like home.” The rally of local residents were raising their concerns about the upcoming closure of their beloved local theater, AMC Kips Bay 15, which sits on Second Avenue, between 31st and 32nd Streets. 

After 25 years of operating as a cinema, the building has been purchased by NYU Langone. The hospital intends to turn the space into a medical center, according to local officials. The exact plan for the building is currently unknown, and New Yorkers say the lack of communication and transparency from NYU Langone regarding the purchase, coupled with the community’s strong affection for the theater, has prompted a public outcry. Now, New Yorkers and elected officials are working together to save the theater before its doors shut for good.

 “When I heard the news that it was closing, I just felt totally devastated because this is just my favorite regular release theater in the city,” said Grace Plante, a Hunters Point resident. “I just thought maybe there's a glimmer of hope that maybe we could do something to stop it from shutting down.” 

Since 1999, the theater has served as a local movie venue for many New Yorkers. It was originally owned and operated by Lowes Cineplex Entertainment, before being purchased by AMC in 2006. 

Now, the theater is AMC's second largest location in Manhattan, housing 15 screens and it's one of only four IMAX theaters in the city.

Kips Bay residents and even New Yorkers from other neighborhoods said that catching a movie at AMC is a frequent activity. 

“ I come to Kips Bay Theater here probably almost every weekend,” Plante said. “ It means everything to me. I love going to the movies so much, movies are that escape from your day-to-day life, and it opens you to a world of everything.” 

The impact of the theater extends beyond the images it displays on its screens. Rally organizer Gabriel Turzo, a Kips Bay resident and the district leader for the Eleanor Roosevelt Independent Democrats, said movie theaters are community institutions. 

“ We need places where we can come together, common spaces, places where you can get in, you know, without an ID or without a membership, where you can just show up and be a part of the neighborhood, see your neighbors, get the things you need,” Turzo said. 

Turzo also said that the Kips Bay theater, specifically, brings people in the neighborhood together. 

“There's a feeling that we have an increasingly atomized, isolated society, and a movie theater is one of the last places where there's communal emotions, where you can see your neighbors and have an emotional experience,” Turzo continued. “So it's almost a ritualistically important thing, and it would really almost, it would harm the community in a way that feels almost philosophical or spiritual.”

Jake Silver, another resident who has lived in the area for most of his life, has an affinity for the theater, and says he felt deeply upset when he found out it was closing. In response, he created a website, savekipsbay.org, where he is calling on New Yorkers to join the fight to save the theater. 

Elected officials, including Assembly Member Keith Powers who represents District 74, are also on board to thwart plans to shut the cinema. Powers said NYU Langone bought the property a year ago, and is currently in the process of closing the deal. He also said NYU didn’t consult community members or city officials about the purchase, and they haven’t been transparent about their plan for the building. 

“They had an opportunity to do this here, to talk to us, and we would've told them clearly how much opposition there would be to moving and kicking businesses out and to being a bad guy in this regard,” Powers said. “I understand their desire to take over more property or to expand their medical footprint here. I don't oppose that part of it. But they have to have some responsibility when they kick out businesses that have been here for over 25-plus years and are a staple in this community now, the community cares about.”

Powers and six other politicians sent a letter to NYU Langone asking for a conversation and requesting that the institution explain specific plans for the building. The letter states that the community is not against healthcare, but that they also want to preserve the neighborhood’s “key anchors.” According to Powers, NYU responded and agreed to talk, and the two parties are currently in discussions about a plan that’ll work for everyone. 

NYU Langone didn’t respond to a WFUV News's request for comment. 

During the rally, Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal voiced his support for saving the AMC, quoting an iconic AMC trailer starring Nicole Kidman.

“That indescribable feeling we get when the lights begin to dim, and we go somewhere we have never been before,” Hoylman-Sigal said. “Not just entertained, but somehow reborn, together. Dazzling images, that, on that huge silver screen, sound that I can feel. Somehow heartbreak feels good in a place like this.”