NYU Langone Health will likely build medical facilities, including outpatient and ambulatory care, at a Kips Bay property that currently houses a beloved AMC theater slated to close by the end of the year, state Assemblymember Keith Powers (D-Manhattan) said Wednesday.
Powers’ statement came just a couple of hours before residents and lawmakers voiced their concerns at a community board meeting about the theater’s impending closure, which AMC announced late last month. Many locals say the theater is a cherished community beacon in a neighborhood already filled with healthcare spaces, though the exact plans for the entire 54,000-square-foot plaza on Second Avenue and East 31st Street remain unclear.
The assemblymember said he spoke earlier Wednesday with NYU Langone officials who told him that about a year ago they entered into a contract to buy the property and intend to take over in early 2027. He called for the health system to preserve the AMC and the plaza’s other retail venues.
“What they did tell us is that they are engaging in the final stages of purchasing it,” Powers said at the start of the community meeting. “But there are no formal or public plans at this moment.”
Several other local elected officials also support keeping the theater at the property. So do nine neighborhood associations that formed the “Save Kips Bay Coalition” soon after AMC revealed late last month that the facility would close because its landlord was terminating its lease early.
Community members are demanding transparency from NYU Langone about its long-term plans for the property, prime Midtown real estate that abuts a residential tower. The health system has not responded to multiple requests for comment from The City Reporter.
What Makes a ‘Good Neighbor’?
An online petition calling for the AMC to remain open has so far amassed more than 9,000 signatures. “If the land is not being used in a way that is beneficial for our community, we would like our theater back,” the petition reads. The theater opened in 1999 and AMC took control in 2006, according to the Kansas-headquartered international chain.
Sandra McKee, chair of Manhattan Community Board 6, which hasn’t yet taken an official stance on the matter, said in an interview that “NYU Langone is a huge member of the community, but we also would like them to leave some of these community spaces.”
The health system owns and leases more than 6 million square feet citywide, according to its website. That includes more than 2 million square feet across its main campus on First Avenue in Kips Bay, a block from the theater site.
“If NYU Langone is buying another major property, residents have every right to ask what they plan to do with it and how their continued growth will also benefit the people who live here,” Jessica Lavoie, vice president of the Murray Hill Neighborhood Association, wrote in an email to The City Reporter. “A good neighbor should want to be part of the community.”
Lavoie said she and her 11-year-old son have been to “countless” of his classmates’ birthday parties at the theater.
“That may not seem like a big deal, but places like this where neighbors can gather and spend time together are part of what makes a neighborhood feel like a neighborhood,” she said.
‘Heartbreak’ for Movie Lovers
Kips Bay features abundant healthcare facilities beyond NYU Langone’s, including the city’s Bellevue Hospital and the federal Margaret Cochran Corbin Veterans Affairs Campus. The plaza where the AMC is located also has a Fairway Market grocery store that residents say they’re worried could close as part of any redevelopment plans.
Karen O’Shea, a spokesperson for Fairway’s parent company Wakefern Food Corp., said in a statement after the theater’s closure was announced that the market has a “long-term lease” for its Kips Bay location.
“We have served the community there for many years and look forward to continuing as a community-based business and neighborhood partner for many years to come,” she said on Aug. 25.
Speaking at Wednesday’s community meeting, Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal, who supports saving the theater, recalled a famous AMC ad.
“Is it Nicole Kidman who says ‘heartbreak feels good in a place like this’?” he said. “Not at Kips Bay, Nicole.”
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