\n\t\u201cWe came to this place for magic.\u201d<\/p>\n
On a rainy Sunday afternoon, Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal stood in solidarity with more than 100 New Yorkers outside AMC<\/a> Kips Bay 15. In his best Australian accent, he recited Nicole Kidman\u2019s iconic AMC Theatres<\/a> ad in a loving tribute to the neighborhood\u2019s longstanding cultural institution. But despite a record-breaking summer at the box office<\/a>, the Kips Bay multiplex is expected to close at the end of this year<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI\u2019m a lifelong resident of Kips Bay, and I came out here to support my favorite theater that I\u2019ve been going to since I was a child,\u201d said Lucy Di Lorenzo, one of the many Gen-Zers who attended the protest.<\/p>\n \n\tThe site of the Kips Bay AMC, the chain\u2019s second-largest multiplex in Manhattan, was privately purchased by NYU Langone over a year ago. But several city officials at the protest told Variety they didn\u2019t learn about the deal until after it had gone through.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cNYU is a neighbor, and we\u2019ve worked with them in many different capacities, so it was surprising that we had to reach out to them to find out that they were the ones looking to acquire the land behind us,\u201d New York State Sen. Kristen Gonzalez explained after the protest. \u201cIt\u2019s not unreasonable to ask NYU to be proactive in engaging with the community.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThe \u201cSave the Kips Bay AMC Theater Rally\u201d was organized by the Eleanor Roosevelt Independent Democrats, a local political club representing several communities across the Lower East Side, East Village and Midtown East. Judith Gross, the group\u2019s president, says her members are \u201cdevastated\u201d by the news but remain hopeful they can get through to AMC Theatres and NYU Langone.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI\u2019m hoping AMC and NYU see what we\u2019ve done here,\u201d Gross said. \u201cThis neighborhood is not a campus for NYU and its medical offices. We\u2019re guiding the whole community to protest these takeovers of what little community space we have left.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tSeveral local businesses have joined Gross\u2019 rallying cry, including Paddy Reilly\u2019s Music Bar, the staple Irish pub located just around the corner from AMC Kips Bay. After promoting the protest on social media<\/a>, the bar offered a free drink to anyone who came in afterward with a selfie from the rally.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cIt\u2019s very important because we have a lot of young people in this neighborhood who love to go to the movie theater,\u201d said Desi Murray, who has owned Paddy Reilly\u2019s for the past three years. \u201cIt would be a big loss for the community.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tPaddy Reilly\u2019s is celebrating its 40th year in business. Inside the bar, several locals mourned the potential loss of a community gathering space that\u2019s been around even longer.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWe\u2019ve been here since \u201973,\u201d a patron named Cesar told his buddies at the bar. He took a sip of Guinness. \u201cThere has always been a theater here.\u201d<\/p>\n As the pub-goers clamored over how surprisingly funny<\/a> \u201cResident Evil\u201d was and how great Robert Pattinson\u2019s Batman is, the fate of their favorite local movie theater remains in limbo. It\u2019s a conflict playing out on a much larger scale with the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger<\/a>, which many of Hollywood\u2019s most prominent voices are arguing<\/a> would diminish opportunities and resources for creatives.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cAnd right here, the same thing is happening,\u201d Gonzalez explained. \u201cWe\u2019re getting a big new partner coming in, potentially kicking this out, limiting options to see the movies in our neighborhood. And all we\u2019re asking for, whether it\u2019s in Hollywood or right here in Pittsburgh, is for everyday people to be included and have our voices heard.\u201d<\/p>\n In a statement to Variety, NYU Langone has responded to the protests: \u201cNYU Langone is committed to providing high-quality, accessible healthcare to the communities we serve. We have been exploring opportunities to expand clinical services and improve access to care as we continue to see growing demand at our Manhattan campus.<\/p>\n When the owner of the Second Avenue property approached us most recently regarding a potential sale, we recognized that the site\u2019s proximity to our hospital could help support those long-term community healthcare needs. 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.<\/p>\n We will provide updates on our clinical plans when the transaction is finalized.\u201d<\/p>\n