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The fight to save AMC Kips Bay 15 is beginning to look like a political thriller—albeit one involving zoning rules and strongly worded letters instead of international spies.
The 15-screen multiplex at 570 Second Avenue is expected to close by the end of 2026 after the property owner exercised its right to terminate AMC’s lease early. Now, seven elected officials, nine neighborhood groups and thousands of moviegoers are pressuring NYU Langone Health, which recently acquired the site, to find a way to keep the theater open.
The group of lawmakers includes Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal, U.S. Representative Jerrold Nadler, State Assemblymembers Keith Powers and Micah Lasher, City Councilmembers Virginia Maloney and Harvey Epstein and State Senator Kristen Gonzalez. In an August 27 letter to NYU Langone CEO Dr. Alec Kimmelman, they criticized the lack of communication regarding the acquisition and requested a meeting to discuss the property’s future.
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“We hope to work with you on a plan that allows existing community amenities to coexist with medical uses,” the letter reads. The officials also expressed concern about Fairway, the supermarket located in the same complex.
NYU Langone has not publicly disclosed what it intends to do with the site. However, activists note that a 2024 brochure marketed the approximately 193,000-square-foot property for medical use. No related rezoning application has been publicly identified.
Residents have mounted their own campaign. Nearly 8,400 people have signed one Change.org petition, while the Save Kips Bay campaign has collected almost 4,000 names. Nine neighborhood, tenant and block associations sent a separate letter to NYU Langone on August 31 asking it to preserve both the AMC and Fairway.
The theater is more than just somewhere to spend $27 on popcorn. It is the last remaining multiplex in the neighborhood and reportedly houses the only IMAX screen on Manhattan’s East Side. Its possible closure follows the loss of several cinemas uptown and on the East Side, including the Beekman Theatre, City Cinemas 86th Street and CMX CineBistro Lenox Hill.
“There’s the convenience factor,” Powers told IndieWire. “Right now, families and senior citizens and teenagers can walk down the block and enjoy The Odyssey or Spider-Man and not have to travel across town to busier and more congested theaters.”
Manhattan Community Board 6 will hold a public hearing on the closure on Wednesday, September 9, at 7pm. Written testimony will also be accepted through Friday, September 11, at 5pm. For now, the credits have not rolled, but residents are racing to rewrite the ending.