AMC Kips Bay Set to Close as Residents and Elected Officials Organize to Save the Theater

Updated August 29, 2026, to include new developments involving NYU Langone and local elected officials.

For nearly three decades, a trip to the movies in Murray Hill and Kips Bay has often meant one place: AMC Kips Bay 15. Now, the neighborhood favorite is expected to close by the end of 2026.

AMC confirmed that its lease at the property is being terminated before its scheduled expiration. An exact closing date has not yet been announced. The 15-screen multiplex at 570 Second Avenue opened in 1999 as Loews Kips Bay, with AMC taking over operations in 2006.

The news has prompted an outpouring from residents who see the theater as more than a place to catch a movie. With 15 screens, including Manhattan’s only IMAX screen on the East Side, it has long been a neighborhood gathering place.

Assembly Member Keith Powers, who represents the area, responded on X:

“This is a beloved movie theater in our community and personally, the one that I go to. A closure would be a big loss for Kips Bay and beyond. Talking with my colleagues to see what we can do to prevent this.”

That effort has since grown. Powers announced that his office has confirmed NYU Langone now owns the site at 570 Second Avenue and has for about a year.

Powers and six other elected officials have now sent a joint letter to NYU Langone asking the health system to meet with them and the community to discuss its plans for the property and ways to preserve the theater and other neighborhood-serving spaces.

The letter was signed by Powers, Congressman Jerrold Nadler, State Senator Kristen Gonzalez, Assembly Member Micah Lasher, Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal, and Council Members Virginia Maloney and Harvey Epstein.

Residents are organizing as well. The volunteer-run Save Kips Bay campaign is asking neighbors to help preserve neighborhood-serving uses at Kips Bay Plaza. The group points to a 2024 leasing brochure that marketed the complex for potential medical use and says Community Board 6 has indicated that such a conversion would require rezoning and public review.

What NYU Langone ultimately plans for the property remains unclear. The health system has not publicly announced its plans for the site, and no rezoning application has been publicly identified. A separate Change.org petition is also calling for the theater to be saved.

Kips Bay and Murray Hill Once Had Smaller Neighborhood Movie Theaters

Before Loews Kips Bay was built, the Kips Bay Theatre stood at 570 Second Avenue. It opened in 1965 with four screens, making it much smaller than the 15-screen multiplex that replaced it in 1999.

Murray Hill also had its own neighborhood movie theater: the Murray Hill Cinema at 160 East 34th Street, between Lexington and Third Avenues. Its story began with the Murray Hill Lyceum, which opened in 1893 as a public hall for lectures, meetings, performances, and other community events. The building later became known as the 34th Street Theatre and then the Murray Hill Theatre.

By the 1970s, the venue was operating as the Murray Hill Cinema. A photo from 1978 captures its marquee reading “MURRAY HILL,” with Semi-Tough playing below it.

The original theater building was eventually demolished after a 1986 ceiling collapse. The new four-screen Murray Hill Cinema opened on the site in 1990, but the arrival of the much larger Loews Kips Bay multiplex nearby made it increasingly difficult for the smaller theater to compete. Murray Hill Cinema closed in 2002.

It’s interesting to note that today, 160 East 34th Street, where Murray Hill’s movie theater once stood, is now home to NYU Langone’s Perlmutter Cancer Center.

For now, AMC Kips Bay remains open, with movies expected to continue through the end of the year.

Want to stay informed or get involved? Follow the Save Kips Bay campaign for updates and ways to get involved. A separate Change.org petition calling for AMC Kips Bay 15 to remain open is also gaining traction.

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