Kips Bay neighbors rally to save beloved movie theater from closure

New Yorkers are continuing efforts to pressure NYU Langone to preserve a beloved movie theater in Kips Bay.

A coalition of residents, block associations and tenant groups representing the Manhattan neighborhood called on NYU Langone Thursday to preserve AMC Kips Bay 15 after the health system purchased the complex where the theater is located.

News that AMC Kips Bay 15 would shut down by the end of the year — and that NYU Langone had purchased the retail complex that houses the theater — has prompted a huge public outcry over the last couple of weeks.

A group of local elected officials sent a letter to NYU Langone’s CEO seeking more information about the closure. A petition calling for the theater to be saved had more than 8,000 signatures as of Thursday afternoon.

In its letter, the Save Kips Bay Coalition raised concerns about the loss of the theater and the future of the Fairway Market housed in the same complex.

“Losing key neighborhood businesses—especially the AMC movie theater and the Fairway supermarket—would mean losing our main local grocery store and a place where neighbors go to relax and spend time together,” the letter reads. “These businesses also serve your employees who live, work, and raise families in Kips Bay.”

But Fairway has indicated it intends to stay. A representative for the supermarket told Manhattan Community Board 6 that the store has a long-term lease at its Kips Bay location and that Fairway looks forward to remaining in the neighborhood “for many years to come,” according to the board.

Assemblymember Keith Powers said he and others are still trying to “unwind” how NYU Langone acquired the complex.

“What they confirmed to us last week was that they had purchased this property over a year ago,” Powers said. “It’s unclear if that was a formal purchase and we haven’t seen it registered yet or if they have an agreement in place to purchase this property and still have to go through the formalities of it.”

Powers said he couldn’t comment on the feasibility of retaining the theater but said that he and others are “keeping our fingers crossed.”

Manhattan Community Board 6 will hold a public meeting on the theater’s closure on Wednesday, Sept. 9.

NYU Langone and AMC Theatres did not immediately respond to Gothamist’s requests for comment.