Beekman Theatre To Close?

What horrific news, especially in the wake of all the recent (i.e., within the last 7-10 years) Midtown East movie theatre shutterings; does anyone know who the landlord for the Beekman (and the entire block, for that matter) is?

First the Sutton and now the Beekman. If real estate redevelopment is inevitable, can’t anyone figure out how to build around the theatre and keep it intact? The orignal concept for Symphony Space on the Upper West Side was to integrate the Symphony theatre into the new structure. I’m not sure that that was the actual result, but the concept deserves exploration. Just what Second Ave. needs, a new faceless tower to add to the congestion.

THIS REALLY SUCKS.

The landlord is NYU. They want to build a new hospital facility on the site.

According to the web site of the NYC Landmarks Commission(http://www.nyc.gov/html/lpc/), the Landmarks Law (not sure if this is a city, state, or federal law) states that, to be designated, “a potential landmark must be at least 30 years old and must possess ‘a special character or special historical or aesthetic interest or value as part of the development, heritage, or cultural characteristics of the city, state, or nation.’” The general process includes the submittal of a Request for Evaluation form (http://www.nyc.gov/html/lpc/pdfs/designation/request_for_evaluation.pdf), accompanied by relevant material of the property (photos, slides, etc.) for which landmark designation is being sought; an evaluation of the submitted materials by an RFE committee, consisting of the Chairman of the Landmarks Commission, the Executive Director, the Chief of Staff, the Director of Research, and other agency staff members who evaluate the submitted material and subsequently make a determination of the request; a vote by the Designation Committee (consisting of five LC commissioners) should the request be deigned worthy of further consideration; and several additional steps, all of which are detailed on the main site’s FAQ page.

I’m lucky that I don’t live on the East Side of Manhattan anymore – would sorely miss the Beekman, Sutton, Plaza, Fine Arts, 68th St Playhouse, Coronet & Baronet even the Manhattan Twins of my youth…What’s equally stressful is that developers and cinema operators and zoners can’t get together to give the Upper East Side a good stadium seating megaplex that would give the neighborhood what it needs – access to a variety of mainstream and art house programming…Much as I miss the old single screen theatres as a concept, there seems to be some exciting work done outside NY by companies such as Muvico and Rave…I live in London now – neighborhoods here were severely underscreened for years forcing us into the West End into grand but not necessarily comfortable theatres…We now have a 12 screen Vue (ex Warner Village) which does do a solid mix of mainstream and art house programming in stadium seating – I’ve seen everything from Anchorman and Open Range and The Bourne Supremacy to The Motorcycle Diaries to Garden State and I Heart Huckabees there. This said we did go to the West End last night to see The Aviator where it was in on an exclusive in the Vue multiplex there – 2 screens with stadium and wide screen ( a great experience) and 2 smaller screens (probably not so great)

I’m a keen once a day reader of this sight but something tells me we should be fighting for the higher cause – of the pleasure of seeing movies in cinemas with people and if megaplexes with good programming (and sound financing with mixed use facilities) are the future – then so be it.

Loved the Beekman but if NYU needs to make it into a hospital then Mazel Tov

Are you sure that New York University owns that property? That doesn’t make sense. It would seem to me that it would be owned by New York Presbyterian Hospital, or Memorial Sloan-Kettering, since they are closer. Many people confuse New York Presbyterian (the old New York Hospital) with New York University Hospital.