Tag: Upper West Side

Time to Bring Back The Metro

Those of you who have been following me know that for a number of years, I’ve been trying to find a way to boost art cinema exhibition in Manhattan above 14th Street, more specifically on the Upper West Side. As stated many times before, the neighborhood is desperately in need of augmenting the good work done by Film at Lincoln Center and New Plaza Cinema. Well, now the word is out. The neighborhood group, New Friends of Metro has put out a press release endorsing my plan to buy the Metro Cinema and turn it into a not-for-profit 5-screen art film cinema, education center and cafe. The full press release is below.

*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*

NEW FRIENDS OF METRO THEATER SUPPORTS UPPER WEST SIDE CINEMA’S PLANS TO REVITALIZE LANDMARKED THEATER, FEATURING A NOTABLE ADVISORY BOARD INCLUDING FAMED FILMMAKERS AND ACTORS

New York, NY [July 17, 2024] – NEW Friends of Metro Theater (NFoMT), the organization dedicated to the cultural revival of the historic community Metro Theater at 2626 Broadway, located between 99th and 100th Streets, has been actively seeking potential buyers to rejuvenate this landmark building, which has remained dormant for nearly two decades. NFoMT has built an open and warm dialogue with the owners – the Bialek family.

NFoMT is notably impressed by the comprehensive and visionary plan put forth by film producer Ira Deutchman with film consultant Adeline Monzier, Founders of Upper West Side Cinema Center, Inc. (UWSC), a not-for-profit dedicated to bringing a world-class art cinema back to the neighborhood.

UWSC’s goal is to purchase and restore the theater into a vibrant five-screen movie house featuring movie classics, foreign films, independent hits, and blockbuster new releases. The plan also includes an education center and a café/lounge open to the street. President of NEW Friends of Metro Theater, Liza Cooper, noted, “Ira & Adeline bring longstanding relationships with national and international cultural institutions such as Film at Lincoln Center, New Plaza Cinema, Woodstock Film Festival, BAM and MOMA, Cinecitta and Unifrance. Additionally, their impressive advisory board, including Martin Scorsese, John Turturro, Ethan Hawke, Mary Harron, Geoffrey Fletcher, Nancy Savoca, Griffin Dunne, Amy Robinson, Bob Balaban and others, give us confidence that they can bring our Metro Dreams to fruition.” Continue reading “Time to Bring Back The Metro”

Movie Theater Update, Missing Movies and More…

I have a number of things on my mind right now, the first of which is to give you all a quick and overdue update on the Upper West Side Movie Project I wrote about last month, which brought a remarkable response. It seems I hit a nerve with the community, and I now have a long list of folks who have come forward to help in any way they can. What is it we need? For the moment, a space and, of course, money.

Since I last wrote, I have continued to be in touch with the landlords of the building I originally hoped could house the theater. While they claim to be closing a deal with another tenant, that deal is still not done as far as I can tell. I’ve scouted one other location that seemed promising, but after consulting my architect, it doesn’t seem ideal. So, at this moment, we still do not have a target location. Continue reading “Movie Theater Update, Missing Movies and More…”

The Upper West Side Needs More Art Film Screens

When the Lincoln Plaza Theater closed in January of 2018, it was like a body blow to the Upper West Side, an area that historically housed a huge community of arts lovers who were educated, sophisticated and open to a wide variety of cinema experiences.

It wasn’t as if there weren’t alternatives. Film at Lincoln Center is one of the best curated art houses in the country. AMC has two large multiplexes that, in addition to playing the latest Hollywood movies, also squeeze in the occasional Focus, Searchlight, A24 or Neon film. But, with the passing of the Lincoln Plaza Theater, a stalwart community institution was gone.

In the time since that closure, there have been some good and some bad developments. On the bad side, The Landmark on 57th Street also closed. While it was never going to fulfill the UWS neighborhood’s needs due to its incredibly inconvenient location, Landmark did attempt to play some of the smaller art films that couldn’t find a home elsewhere. I’ve heard that someone is taking over that theater, but I’m guessing it will end up mainly playing commercial Hollywood films. Continue reading “The Upper West Side Needs More Art Film Screens”