Not ready for the credits to roll…

Fuming Kips Bay residents and elected officials rallied outside of the local AMC movie theater on Sunday afternoon in a desperate plea to save the beloved community hotspot.

The neighborhood came out in droves to the movie theater, located at 570 2nd Avenue, holding signs reading “save AMC Kips Bay.” From children to seniors, they all told amNewYork the same thing: It’s more than a movie theater; it’s a cultural meeting point.

“It's a place for the community to actually be together. Movie theaters just seem to be shutting down all over the city," Joan Beranbaum said. “It’s a social experience that you know you get together with your friends. I mean, I don't invite my friends over to watch things on my television, but I do make plans to see movies with friends.”

This show of support for the AMC location comes as NYU Langone plans to take over the building housing the 15 cinema screens and the supermarket Fairway, which would ultimately shutter both locations at the end of 2026. Elected officials like Assembly Member Keith Powers, Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal, Senator Kristen Gonzalez, and more say they are not only infuriated by the prospect of the theater closing its doors for good but also for the way they say NYU has handled the process, including a lack of transparency.

[caption id="attachment_137870472" align="alignnone" width="4000"] Fuming Kips Bay residents and elected officials rallied outside of the local AMC movie theater on Sunday afternoon in a desperate plea to save the beloved community hotspot.Photo by Dean Moses[/caption] [caption id="attachment_137870474" align="alignnone" width="4000"] “NYU is making an active decision to acquire this property, and in doing so, also made an active decision not to engage or let any of us know. The only way we found out is because my office literally had to reach out to them,” Senator Gonzalez said.Photo by Dean Moses[/caption]

“NYU is making an active decision to acquire this property, and in doing so, also made an active decision not to engage or let any of us know. The only way we found out is because my office literally had to reach out to them,” Senator Gonzalez said. “This is not new for NYU. I have, in the last year and a half, struggled to build a relationship with them as it pertains to gender l-affirming care. We had over 85,000 New Yorkers send letters to them when they chose to discontinue care for youth, and in that process, they refused to negotiate. They refused to work with us.”

According to NYU Langone, the hospital has been looking to expand healthcare services and what it calls a demand in Manhattan.

“When the owner of the Second Avenue property approached us most recently regarding a potential sale, we recognized that the site's proximity to our hospital could help support those long-term community healthcare needs,” Steve Ritea Senior Director of Media Relations said in part of a statement. “The purchase remains under contract and is not expected to close until early next year. Years before NYU Langone was approached about the property, AMC and the landlord entered into a lease granting either party a right to terminate at any time.”

“We will provide updates on our clinical plans when the transaction is finalized,” he added.

[caption id="attachment_137870471" align="alignnone" width="4000"] Elected likes Assembly Member Keith Powers, Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal, Senator Kristen Gonzalez, and more say they are not only infuriated by the prospect of the theater closing its doors for good but also for the way they say NYU has handled the process, including a lack of transparency.Photo by Dean Moses[/caption]

While AMC did not respond to amNewYork for comment by publication time, Assembly Member Powers said that the closure is not a mutual agreement; in fact, AMC wants to stay open.

“AMC wants to stay, and I'm not going to speak to COVID-era leases when everybody was struggling, and nobody's going to the movie theaters. I'm sorry, I'm not going to let them hide behind an era of time where we couldn't walk into buildings, let alone go see a movie,” Powers said. “AMC, I talked to you directly. I called them to make sure they wanted to stay, and they said very clearly they want to stay.”

Meanwhile, even patients at NYU Langone told amNewYork that they believe the expansion is growing out of control.

“I'm an NYU patient myself, but to me, a lot of the grabbing of lands and buildings is like, I hate to say this, like a cancer metastasizing in the city, and that's what it is. On 34th Street, that's what replaced one of the movie theaters. So, again, I'm a patient of NYU, but I still want to have my community and the theater,” Jeanie Kispert said.

Carlton Wilson has lived in the Kips Bay area for most of his life, and he has watched the expansion of what he called the “bedpan alley,” the long stretch of hospitals from what was once Beth Israel Hospital to the VA Hospital to Bellevue and NYU.

[caption id="attachment_137870473" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Carlton Wilson has lived in the Kips Bay area for most of his life, and he has watched the expansion of what he called the “bedpan alley,” the long stretch of hospitals from what was once Beth Israel Hospital to the VA Hospital to Bellevue and NYU.Photo by Dean Moses[/caption]

“I understand, but there's enough hospitals around here. All on First Avenue, it's a lot of hospitals. That's why they call it Bedpan Alley. But this is sad. This is the place where people go to shop to get real food... this theater needs to stay here. It needs to be for the next few generations to come,” Wilson said. “But the point is, is that how many f**cking hospitals do you need? It's all for profit. It's all about whatever kind of insurance you have. So they're all about it for the money.”

“These movies here bring people together,” Wilson added.

Manhattan – amNewYork

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