Eleanor Roosevelt Independent Democrats

10/08/2026

In late August, it was announced that the Kips Bay AMC 15 would close at the end of this year after 27 years of operation on Second Avenue. With box-office sales down long-term, ticket prices up, and movie theaters closing in rapid succession since COVID, the site will be taken over by one of the actually growing industries in America: health care. NYU Langone Health, which has expanded in the tristate area by 376 percent since 2007, is expanding a bit more, occupying the theater for what it has described as clinical space for patient care.

When residents learned of the AMC’s closure, they were outraged by the encroachment of yet another medical office — and called on their elected officials to save the theater. “They’re going to keep creeping into Kips Bay, and it’s going to be just a boring place to live,” says Jack Greenberg, a programmer who lives a few blocks from the theater.

There are people who say replacing a movie theater with a health-care facility is a good thing, and some have mocked the local politicians who are seizing on the issue. But community members say it shouldn’t have to be a conflict of movies against medicine.

“It’s about whether Kips Bay, the community, can remain a neighborhood or just slowly become a medical campus,” says Kevin O’Keefe, president of the local St. Vartan Park Conservancy, who also serves on the Bellevue Hospital community-advisory board. “But it’s broader than that. Mental health comes into this.” He points to the crisis of loneliness that has taken hold at least since the pandemic. “Having a movie theater helps to alleviate that,” he says. “Nobody’s arguing against health care. We’re just saying a healthy neighborhood needs more than health care.”

Read Matt Stieb’s report on the battle over the AMC in Kips Bay: https://nymag.visitlink.me/AntZ4Q

10/06/2026

I will not approve any prospective rezoning of the Kips Bay AMC 15 site without the inclusion of a cinema.

Kips Bay deserves a say in its future and that future must include a movie theater and grocery store.

09/22/2026

"The “Save the Kips Bay AMC Theater Rally” was organized by the Eleanor Roosevelt Independent Democrats, a local political club representing several communities across the Lower East Side, East Village and Midtown East. Judith Gross, the group’s president, says her members are “devastated” by the news but remain hopeful they can get through to AMC Theatres and NYU Langone.

"I’m hoping AMC and NYU see what we’ve done here,” Gross said. “This neighborhood is not a campus for NYU and its medical offices. We’re guiding the whole community to protest these takeovers of what little community space we have left.”

AMC Kips Bay 15 is closing at the end of the year. NYU Langone plans to transform the space into a medical campus.

09/21/2026

"NYU Langone told NY1 it is interested in the property to expand health care access for the community, but said it is willing to speak with local stakeholders about options for the site."

NYU Langone is finalizing its purchase of the building.

09/21/2026

ERID members, friends and elected officials shared their thoughts on NYU's intent to close Kips Bay AMC. A resounding "Save Our Theater" from the community!

Many are not ready for the credits to roll and are determined to save a movie theater they consider an anchor in their neighborhood.

09/20/2026

"The neighborhood came out in droves to the movie theater, located at 570 2nd Avenue, holding signs reading “save AMC Kips Bay.” From children to seniors, they all told amNewYork the same thing: It’s more than a movie theater; it’s a cultural meeting point.

“It’s a place for the community to actually be together. Movie theaters just seem to be shutting down all over the city,” Joan Beranbaum said. “It’s a social experience that you know you get together with your friends. I mean, I don’t invite my friends over to watch things on my television, but I do make plans to see movies with friends.”...

While AMC did not respond to amNewYork for comment by publication time, Assembly Member Powers said that the closure is not a mutual agreement; in fact, AMC wants to stay open.

"AMC wants to stay, and I’m not going to speak to COVID-era leases when everybody was struggling, and nobody’s going to the movie theaters. I’m sorry, 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. “AMC, I talked to you directly. I called them to make sure they wanted to stay, and they said very clearly they want to stay.”

Fuming Kips Bay residents and elected officials rallied outside of the local AMC movie theater in a plea to save the beloved community hotspot.

09/20/2026

09/12/2026

Kips Bay residents and elected officials gathered to criticize NYU Langone Health’s acquisition of their neighborhood AMC theater at a Wednesday night board meeting. 

About 100 residents joined the Community Board 6 meeting to express concerns for the AMC Kips Bay 15 theater, which is slated to close by the end of this year. All 47 written testimonials condemned the closure, about two weeks after news spread that NYU Langone has control of the site.  

“It’s one of the last places where you don’t need an appointment, you don’t need a badge, you don’t need a reason to be there,” Kips Bay resident Theo van der Meer said at the meeting. “We chose to live in a neighborhood and not a sprawling medical complex, which is slowly what the neighborhood is becoming.” 

📝 paige
📸 Noah Lee for WSN

04/22/2026

Thank you to all that came to our brunch this Sunday, and thank you to all our honorees! It was a wildly successful event, thanks to you. Here are a handful of memories of the afternoon.

04/19/2026

Don’t forget to get your last minute tickets before our spring brunch this afternoon! Looking forward to seeing everyone as we celebrate our esteemed honorees.