Kips Bay AMC wants to stay, officials say, as NYU Langone moves to take its space

Local elected officials say the AMC movie theater on Second Avenue in Kips Bay wants to stay in the neighborhood. NYU Langone, which is set to take over the space, says the chain wanted out years ago, and the theater is expected to close by the end of the year.

Residents packed a small room at a community board meeting Thursday evening, expecting an NYU Langone representative to explain why the theater, which rents the space, has to close. No one from the hospital showed up. The board learned only the night before that the representative was no longer coming, so it read aloud a written statement from NYU Langone. The statement said “AMC expressed interest in leaving” years before the health system got involved in talks over the property.

In a statement Friday, NYU Langone spokesperson Arielle Sklar said the hospital was disappointed that nobody checked with it before promoting its attendance.

What AMC told local officials

Assemblymember Keith Powers, who represents the area, said AMC representatives told him the company wants to stay in the community “for as long as they are welcome to be here.” Powers also said movie theaters are having a better year than many past ones. Over the summer, AMC said its quarterly revenue had reached an all-time high and that its profits were trending well. AMC had not answered a request for comment.

The Manhattan borough president has said he would vote against any land-use changes NYU Langone seeks that do not include a movie theater and a grocery store.

Fairway Market lease and NYU Langone’s growing footprint

Powers said the Fairway Market on the same property has about five years left on its lease and cannot be evicted before then. He said NYU Langone refused to commit to keeping the grocery after the lease ends. Fairway gave no comment when asked Friday, and Sklar’s statement did not address what Powers said.

The dispute arrives as NYU Langone, whose flagship campus sits close by on First Avenue, moves toward taking over yet another big retail space in the area. It is the former COCO-MAT mattress store, which takes up much of the Lexington Avenue block between East 31st and 32nd streets, and signs in its windows now call it the future home of NYU Langone Health. In a Facebook post, the Murray Hill Neighborhood Association asked how much of the area’s street-level space should go to one medical institution. Jessica Lavoie, who chairs the group’s quality-of-life committee, said she is worried about losing shops and restaurants.