The petition to reimagine the Metro Theater at 2626 Broadway, between 99th and 100th Streets, is still going strong, and those behind its launch have now formed a group called Friends of Metro Theater. Craig Sumberg – who previously served as Executive Director of the Fox Tucson Theatre Foundation – has been selected to serve as the president of Friends of Metro Theater.
Left to right: Stacey Bramhall, Claudia Ford, Gerry Segal, Lauren Flick, Dan Cohen, Debbie Rosenberg, Craig Sumberg, Liza Cooper, Jennifer Johnson. Photo by Michael Mathew.
The campaign on change.org – which we first wrote about when it was launched this spring – has reached its goal of collecting 2,021 signatures, and Sumberg has drafted the following letter to Mayor de Blasio to request a meeting.
Advertisement
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=”16″]
Dear Mayor de Blasio,
We would hereby like to request a meeting with you and/or your staff to present our Change.org petition which asks for your help in making “something beautiful” happen at 2626 Broadway (the address of the theater). Please schedule time for a small group of us to present the 2,021+ signatures and discuss with you what the Mayor’s Office can do to help transform this long vacant, privately owned space into a revitalized gathering place for the community.
There is a palpable need in our neighborhood for a newly imagined multi-use performing arts space that provides the opportunity to laugh, cry, learn and exchange ideas all while being reminded that we are a part of something bigger than ourselves. We are all committed to the idea that—with the right leadership in a public/private partnership–the Metro can be reimagined as a state-of-the-art cinema/performance space that would have a significant economic impact on our neighborhood.
[/perfectpullquote]
Friends of Metro Theater is working on a website which we’re told should be live soon. They’ve created a public Facebook page which can be viewed here.
In another recent milestone, a Wikipedia page for the Metro Theater has been created with the help of Assembly Member Danny O’Donnell’s office, the Bloomingdale Neighborhood History Group and others.
We wrote about an earlier campaign to save the Metro Theater in 2018.
I’m so glad to see the group being featured. You are having a powerful, positive impact across the UWS. I look forward to seeing what will become of the space.
I can reimagine that site and it starts with tearing down the theater that nobody has wanted in its current form for the last 15 years, and which would probably take millions to rehabilitate.
Truly, there is no problem so great that it cannot be solved with a bigger jackhammer.
I’m assuming the city would have to use eminent domain to take over the building since it’s privately owned. There needs to be a limit of how long a landlord can let a building rot, the Metro owner has been letting it rot for 15 years and is claiming he will do something with the building now. Why is he allowed to impose 15 years of blight on the block? I hope the city imposes enough fines on him that he is forced to sell, but it’s not a given
Earth to UWS: without the building’s owner on board, this group is wasting their time.
I would like to join the group of volunteers
The UWS is in dire need of an independent movie theatre to replace Lincoln Plaza Cinema.
Imagine the Metro reborn as a cinema, but also hosting other cultural events, and having a nice restaurant as well. It could be like the Film Forum of upper Manhattan, and also sharing some of the characteristics of the 92nd Street Y.
The city should work out a deal with the owner to make it into a non-profit cultural institution.
It is absurd that real estate interests have been allowed to dictate the cultural amenities that are available to our neighborhoods. The businesses on offer should be reflective of the needs of the community.
I’m thinking that we should follow what the Angelika Theatre did in and for the Village with a large lobby area that offers pre- and post-show coffee, wine and beer, tapas, desserts, ice cream, and mini-bakery – not just popcorn and soda. And yes, with no movie theatre for miles, bring Metro back as a movie theater but as a 3 or 4-plex…no more because the screens will be as tiny as they were at Lincoln Plaza Cinemas and that was ridiculous as the owners tried to squeeze us into smaller and smaller theaters with screens about the size of jumbo TV screens nowadays.
I’d love to join in to help reimagine the Metro……thank you for organizing this!!
I feel like I’ve seen this movie before
I am so glad a group is speaking up for the Metro which has been sitting empty for ages. It would be great to have a re-designed movie/performance space though part of me wonders if there is really enough public support here for that. I certainly would like to believe there is.
I also agree that it is a disgrace that the landlord has been allowed to let the space decay unused for so long, but that also speaks to the larger problem throughout the city re: commerical rents. Look at how many stores in our neighborhood have sat empty for well over a decade because landlords can get away with it. And now as a result of the pandemic, there are even more of them!
Re: some of the suggestions. My memory is that the Metro space is much smaller than the Angelika is; it may even be than smaller the Film Forum. Someone suggested a 3 or 4-plex. For years before it closed, the Metro had been divided into 2 or maybe 3 small theatres and it was shabbily done. So, the design is key. But first things first: Let’s get it re-used again! Thanks for forming a committee.
At one point some years ago, the Alamo Drafthouse came to CB7 with a proposal to take over the Metro (I was on the Board at the time). It was warmly received, and many felt it would be a perfect, and wonderful, addition to the UWS, and also help revivify the surrounding area. Sadly, Alamo pulled out, leaving the theater without a suitor once again.
I am really happy to see a group form to save and repurpose it. It does NOT need to be torn down (and absolutely should not be). It simply needs a loving touch and a tenant who can turn it into something wonderful.