![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/leftarrow.png\"\/)
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/rightarrow.png\"\/)
<\/a><\/p>\nSlide<\/p>\n
Drag the arrows above to compare photos of the Queen Theater then and now. Historical photo courtesy of Friends of Queen Theater. Contemporary photo by David Croxford of Civil Beat.<\/p>\n
Slide<\/p>\n Drag the arrows above to compare photos of the Queen Theater then and now. Historical photo courtesy of Friends of Queen Theater. Contemporary photo by David Croxford of Civil Beat.<\/p>\n \u201cWith challenging site conditions, lead-based paint, asbestos and mold, in addition to the lack of parking \u2026 the administration is not willing to prioritize this acquisition and development,\u201d city managing director Mike Formby said in a written statement Tuesday. He said the city prefers to focus on acquiring sites for initiatives such as affordable housing.<\/p>\n Council Chair Tommy Waters, who represents Kaimuk\u012b, wants to allocate money in the upcoming city budget to purchase the theater. He initially suggested $4 million, but Kevin Auger, director of the Department of Housing and Land Management, said that\u2019s a big ask.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cFour million dollars is roughly half of our operating budget,\u201d he said Monday during a council budget committee meeting. \u201cSo I\u2019m not quite sure if that\u2019s a mistake or if that\u2019s something we need to kind of look at.\u201d<\/p>\n Auger said the administration has thought hard about acquiring the theater, which sits in a prime spot along Kaimuk\u012b\u2019s main thoroughfare Wai\u02bbalae Avenue. But the building\u2019s owners have not been willing to cooperate, and that, combined with the building\u2019s maintenance issues, make it more trouble than it might be worth, Auger said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Waters then halved his ask to $2 million and said the state might be able to fund the rest. He said the city could purchase the theater and then a local nonprofit could operate it, though those details aren\u2019t fully fleshed out.<\/p>\n State Rep. Jackson Sayama, who Waters said he\u2019s spoken with, said he\u2019s happy to work with Waters on the project but isn\u2019t sure about the specifics. Still, he supports the city condemning Queen Theater given the decades it\u2019s sat fallow.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt continues to be kind of a blight on the Kaimuk\u012b community,\u201d Sayama said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Lack Of Progress<\/p>\n When Waters introduced a resolution<\/a> in 2024 asking the administration to condemn Queen Theater, owner Adoree Yu testified at the City Council in opposition<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n She knew progress had been stalled, she said, but she would work on fixing up the property. At the time, Yu presented a three-phase plan: Exterior renovations would be done by May 2025, she said, while interior renovations on the second floor and in the lobby would be done by the end of 2025. Renovations would be done by the end of 2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s unclear how much of that work has been completed. The city\u2019s permitting portal shows the only permit application for the building since that meeting was a sign permit in late 2024, which has since been closed. Attorney Ryan Toyomura, who represents the theater\u2019s corporation Queen Management, did not respond to requests for comment.\u00a0<\/p>\n What is also unclear is who would take over the theater. Kaimuk\u012b community members support the theater\u2019s revitalization, but there\u2019s no large-scale effort for anyone to eventually manage operations.<\/p>\n Despite its name, Friends of Queen Theater isn\u2019t up for the job. Members say the group is too small and is mostly geared towards advocating for the theater\u2019s revitalization \u2013 an aim that has so far proven futile.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cOur group would have to become a bigger group,\u201d member Mahlon Moore said Tuesday. \u201cMore robust.\u201d<\/p>\n The effort to restore Queen Theater to its former glory has had so many stops and starts that some advocates have become tired of it. Save for a smattering of attempts to resuscitate it through things such as Rocky Horror Picture Show performances, Queen Theater has been essentially devoid of audiences for a little more than 40 years.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I went in, they were using the auditorium as a storage place for a plumber,\u201d Moore said. \u201cAnd so it was just full of crap \u2013 full of pipes and stuff like that. And most of the seats had been removed.\u201d<\/p>\n That was almost six years ago.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/a> <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/11hr.jpg\")
Many neighbors envision the theater welcoming back films and live performances. (Courtesy: Friends of Queen Theater)<\/p>\n![\"Queen](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/241113-dc-Queen2-7353-1024x683.jpg\")
The Queen Theater opened in 1936 and is part of a declining generation of local theaters, including University Avenue\u2019s Varsity Theater that closed in 2007. (David Croxford\/Civil Beat\/2024)<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/241108-dc-Queen-Theater-6132-1024x683.jpg\")
Posters adorn a wall under the empty marquee. Since this photo was shot in 2024, fresh paint and new walls covering the openings have been added. (David Croxford\/Civil Beat\/2024)<\/p>\n
![\"Civil](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/logo10.png\"){kind=logo}
<\/p>\n