AMC has set January 3 as the closing day for its 15-screen Kips Bay cinema in Manhattan. Chief executive Adam Aron says the landlord terminated its lease ahead of a planned medical use of the building. He is seeking an arrangement that would retain a cinema alongside expanded health facilities.
Arts··Midday
The cinema has a final operating date
AMC, the US cinema chain, has set January 3 as the closing date for its Kips Bay 15 multiplex in Manhattan, New York. Chief executive Adam Aron announced the date in an open letter to audiences. The venue has 15 screens and stands at 570 Second Avenue. Its lease has been terminated, according to Aron, and the company is seeking a way to keep operating there.[1], [2]
The planned closure first became public on August 24, when the expected timing was the end of the year. The letter now supplies a specific date. Residents protested in September in an effort to save the cinema. Aron thanked the surrounding community for its support and acknowledged the involvement of local representatives.[1], [2]
AMC proposed sharing the building with medical facilities
Aron linked the lease decision to plans for NYU Langone Health, a New York healthcare system, to use the building for medical facilities. He said AMC had discussed alternatives that would allow both uses to continue. One would expand the building while retaining a cinema; another would reduce the space occupied by the multiplex. He said those proposals had not been accepted.[1], [2]
The account of the terminated lease and rejected alternatives is Aron’s explanation of the negotiations. His letter calls for a solution that combines expanded healthcare facilities with a working cinema. Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal has also pressed for neighbourhood amenities, including a cinema, supermarket and housing. Aron also thanked New York Assembly member Keith Powers for his support.[1], [2]
Kips Bay has shown films since 1999
The multiplex opened on May 14, 1999, and AMC took it over in 2006. By screen count it is the chain’s second-largest New York cinema, behind Empire 25. Closing would end approximately 27 years of screenings at the site. Aron said Kips Bay had been among the 10 most attended venues in AMC’s network of more than 500 US cinemas on several summer days.[1]
