Community Rallies to Save AMC Kips Bay

Despite the rain, residents, neighborhood groups and elected officials gathered outside AMC Kips Bay 15 on Sunday to call for the theater to remain part of the community and for residents to have a voice in the future of Kips Bay Plaza.

The rally was hosted by the Eleanor Roosevelt Independent Democrats and cosponsored by several neighborhood organizations, including the Murray Hill Neighborhood Association.

The rally follows news that NYU Langone is under contract to purchase the property at 570 Second Avenue. AMC agreed to end its lease early, raising concerns about the loss of the longtime movie theater and other neighborhood-serving spaces at the plaza.

Assembly Member Keith Powers told the crowd that he had spoken directly with AMC and that the company “said very clearly they want to stay.” He also pushed back on NYU Langone’s reference to AMC’s lease, noting the extraordinary circumstances facing movie theaters during the COVID era.

“I’m not going to let them hide behind an era of time where we couldn’t walk into buildings, let alone go see a movie,” Powers said.

Powers, who said he has been going to the theater for nearly 30 years, also emphasized that moviegoers, shoppers and residents throughout the surrounding neighborhoods should be part of the conversation.

“This is our community. We want to be part of the dialogue and discussion,” Powers said. “We believe that the community should have a voice in this process,” drawing an enthusiastic response from the crowd.

State Senator Kristen Gonzalez also called for greater transparency, saying local elected officials had to reach out to NYU Langone themselves to learn more about what was happening. “We will be demanding transparency moving forward,” she said.

Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal opened his remarks with a familiar line from AMC’s Nicole Kidman ad, “We came to this place for magic,” before joining the call to preserve the theater and include the community in discussions about the property’s future.

NYU Langone has said the purchase is expected to close early next year and that it will share more information about its plans once the transaction is finalized.

For many who gathered Sunday, the message went beyond saving a movie theater: neighborhood-serving spaces matter, and the community wants a voice in what comes next.