Seeking to save NYC theaters

From Crains:

In a city with 8.6 million residents packed within 303 square miles, aging movie theaters have become a preservation battleground that often pits developers looking to make a profit against elected officials eager to maintain quality of life and residents seeking communal and cultural gathering spaces. After notable failures in recent years such as the American Theater in the Bronx, which is now a Marshalls, and successes such as the Kings Theatre in Flatbush, now a live-performance venue, communities are hoping to find a road map for success with long-empty theaters such as the Metro, RKO Keith in Flushing and the Hamilton in Harlem, among several others.

"There's a desperate need for any space geared toward the community—something for young people and seniors," said Assemblyman Ron Kim, who is eyeing the RKO Keith in his Queens district. Demolition and plans for a large glass condo tower have apparently stalled, and Kim hopes a coming downturn in the Flushing condo market could give the site new life. "There's no place to meet and interact."

Once upon a time New York City did not have multiplexes—it had movie palaces, dazzling buildings that screened movies, hosted vaudeville and became social anchors for their communities. The first was the Regent, built in 1913 by Thomas Lamb at 116th Street and what is now Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard. (Today it is home to the First Corinthian Baptist Church.) Nearly every neighborhood soon had its own palace with an average of 1,800 seats and lavish decorations.

But the rise of television in the 1950s, New York's fiscal crisis in the 1970s and the crime surge in the crack era all played a role in the decline of these movie theaters. Then the subsequent real estate boom made the land beneath them increasingly valuable. Large-screen home entertainment centers and movie streaming on smartphones didn't help. Coupled with the high cost of modernizing theaters for digital projection, the economics of these old picture houses simply didn't work anymore.

More than two dozen movie palaces built between 1910 and 1932 have been closed or razed. Of those still standing, some were transformed into retail stores or gyms; others were reimagined. Frequently they became churches. Even the Ziegfeld Theatre, one of the last single-screen theaters in the country when it opened in 1969, closed in 2016 after converting to digital projection. It is now Ziegfeld Ballroom, an event space.

The movie houses that remain pose challenges to communities and developers alike. While nostalgic locals campaign to turn the projection lights back on, that's typically not a realistic solution.

Development of RKO Keith's not happening anytime soon

From the Real Deal:

When Xinyuan Real Estate paid $54 million for a Williamsburg development site in 2012 with plans to build a luxury condominium, the project was heralded as the first go-it-alone venture by a mainland Chinese firm. Two more deals — including last summer’s $66 million acquisition of the RKO Keith’s Theater in Flushing — gave the publicly-traded firm nearly 1 million square feet of New York condo product in its pipeline.

But in recent weeks, the company has dismantled the team running its U.S. development arm, known as XIN Development, several sources told The Real Deal. And following the departure – some were let go, others moved on – of several key executives, XIN has turned over the management of three New York City projects to Kuafu Properties, a four-year-old development firm backed by Chinese private equity.

Precise terms of the deal with Kuafu weren’t disclosed, but Xinyuan said it would retain ownership of the projects.

Sources said that headwinds in the condo market could impact the developer’s other projects — specifically an ambitious plan to redevelop the long-shuttered RKO Keith’s Theater. “The project is stalled and there are landmark issues,” said a broker who has worked with Xinyuan.

After paying $175 per foot for the site in August 2016, plans called for tearing down most of the theater and building a 16-story condominium with 269 luxury units, priced between $1,150 and $1,300 per foot.

But just a few months after announcing the deal, Liang said he saw “danger” in the U.S. real estate market. “With its seven- to eight-year cycle, you get a sense now that it’s peaking,” he told the Wall Street Journal.

RKO Keith's will be encased in glass and not all that accessible

From Curbed:

Now developer Xinyuan Real Estate will join the ranks of planning sorcery with its proposal for the former RKO Keith’s Theater in Flushing, a long-shuttered building by Thomas Lamb with partial interior landmark status. Xinyuan came in front of the Landmarks Preservation Commission on Tuesday morning to present its proposal to rehabilitate and preserve the 1928-built theater’s landmarked grand foyer and ticket lobby within a new glassy 16-floor building with 269 apartments. To the surprise of some, the proposal was approved on the first go-around.

Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, the firm founded by Pritzker Prize winner I.M. Pei, is the project architect while Ayon Studios have been tapped as the preservation architect.

Architectural drawings on file with Landmarks indicate that Xinyuan plans to use the existing ticket lobby and grand foyer as the entry for the residential building. An additional residential lobby, mail room, and elevator bank will be accessed past the landmarked interiors.

Floorplans included in the presentation also show that the building will have a sophisticated robot parking system, as condo developments these days do. Under the plan, the original theater that could once seat up to 3,000 and was not granted landmark status will be razed.

The interiors, largely neglected for the past 30 years, are worse for wear. Images from inside the building taken at different times after its 1984 landmarking show just how much the structure has fallen towards disrepair, with a partial collapse of the grand foyer’s ceiling and graffiti littered throughout.

As part of the site’s redevelopment, some of the existing plasterwork that depicts an asymmetrical Churrigueresque Spanish townscape will be removed and replaced, with other portions being salvaged and restored off site. Just about everything will require work, be it reconstruction or new paint.

The Municipal Arts Society has weighed in on the restoration, saying it believes “the new construction could be more sympathetic to the historic theater,” but endorsing the rehab nonetheless.

The Historic Districts Council in its written statement expresses concerns about the accessibility of the interior landmark, noting that “public accessibility to an interior landmark is a key characteristic of its designation” and that “people are not permitted into the lobby of a residential building except at the invitation of a resident.”

This proved to be the main point of contention among the LPC’s commissioners as well, at Tuesday’s meeting. While the ticket lobby will be accessible to the public as part of the retail space in the new development, the fate of the grand foyer beyond that has yet to be decided.

Work on RKO Keith's will soon commence

From the Queens Tribune:

Plans to redevelop the site of the historic RKO Keith’s Theatre in Flushing are “progressing according to plan,” according to the property owner and developer, Xinyuan Real Estate.

“The company is in the selection process for the general contractor and expects to begin construction on this property in the first half of 2017,” a statement from Xinyuan, which is based in China, read. “The land allows for a mixed-use development comprising approximately 372,598 gross buildable square feet with approved plans.”

When Xinyuan purchased the property, located at 135-35 Northern Blvd. in Flushing, in August 2016, plans for a mixed-use development had already been approved by Community Board 7 in 2015. Those plans were put together under supervision of the property’s former owner, Jerry Karlik, of JK Equities, and were designed by architectural firm Pei Cobb Freed. The development calls for 269 condos, a 24-hour doorman, gym, tenant lounge, 305 space parking garage, landscaped courtyard, and ground-floor and second-floor retail space.

Xinyuan acknowledged the status and apparent adherence to Karlik’s development plans in its most recent statement.

“The property was formerly a performance theater with a landmarked interior known as RKO Keith’s Theater,” the statement read.

“Designs for the buildable development have been prepared by the architectural firm of Pei Cobb Freed.”

RKO Keith's bought by Chinese developer

From the Queens Tribune:

RKO Keith’s, the historic and long-defunct theater in downtown Flushing, was purchased by a Chinese developer, Xinyuan Real Estate Co., for $66 million on Monday, the company announced in a press release.

The announcement marks the next chapter in a long history of changing hands and stalled development at the landmarked theatre, which is located at 135-35 Northern Boulevard.

The theater’s ornate lobby and ticket foyer were landmarked by the Landmarks Preservation Committee in 1984. Over the past two decades, the landmarked interior has made it challenging for developers to move forward on plans at the site. Xinyuan Real Estate will now be the next developer to try to repurpose the theatre.

Xinyuan Real Estate was one of the first Chinese real estate developers to enter the U.S. market. In September 2012, the company made its entry in the New York market by purchasing land at Kent Avenue and South 8th Street in Williamsburg. That project, known as the Oosten, is still under construction, and will contain over 200 units of luxury condos. The company has another project in Midtown Manhattan as well.

RKO on the market again

From Crains:

The long-vacant RKO Keith's Theatre in Flushing, Queens, is up for sale—again.

The 1920s-era cinema at 135-35 Northern Blvd. has been gathering dust for 30 years as a series of developers have bought and sold the property without completing plans to convert it to apartments or hotel rooms. On Feb. 17, the latest firm to take a crack at redeveloping the property, JK Equities, announced that it is putting the former movie house up for sale. RKO Keith's Theatre is being marketed by Cushman & Wakefield.

"In the past six months, we have received several unsolicited offers to purchase the site at attractive pricing," said Jerry Karlik, head of JK Equities.

FBI SUBPOENAS CB7's FILES

From the Queens Tribune:

A federal grand jury in the Eastern District of New York has issued a subpoena for records to Queens Community Board 7 regarding land use decisions and procedures.

CB 7, which covers Flushing, College Point, Whitestone and other Northern Queens neighborhoods, has had many land use applications come before them as the area has undergone a development boom over the years. Construction in the past decade adds up to some billions of dollars, a number that will continue to grow as more and more developers set their eyes on Northern Queens.

Documents obtained by the Queens Tribune show the court issued an order on May 29 for records for the period of January 2005 to present. Records requested include minutes from board and board Land Use sub-committee meetings; letters, memos, recommendations and other communications from the board Land Use committee to CB 7, the district manager or others; documentation of any and all recusals or notification of potential conflict of any board members for matters that came before CB 7; and attendance and voting records.

According to the subpoena the Federal Bureau of Investigation, acting on behalf of a federal grand jury, requested the documents.

Some past projects that have gone before CB 7 were controversial, including relatively recent proposals for Flushing Commons, Willets Point and the RKO Keith Flushing Theater. No specific projects or proposals were mentioned in the subpoena.

Councilman Paul Vallone (D-Bayside), who found out about the subpoena on Wednesday, expressed shock at the probe.

“We are surprised at this week’s unexpected news regarding the investigation into Community Board 7,” the statement read.”This is the first we’ve heard of it and we will be watching the situation closely.”

You may recall this post from 2008:


The proposed Willets Point development undergoes land use review at Queens Community Board 7 during 2008. 
Recording © 2008. Originally published by Willets Point Industry and Realty Association.

Brooklyn gets opulence, Queens gets crap

New Keith's plan gets CB7 ok

From the Times Ledger:

The long-delayed plans for RKO Keith’s Theater in Flushing have been approved by Community Board 7 after years of the property passing through the hands of multiple developers.

Board members unanimously passed a motion at the monthly board meeting Monday night approving developer JK Equities’ revised plan for the historic theater at 135-35 Northern Blvd. in Flushing. The company’s reworked blueprint increased the building’s height and reduced the number of rental units and parking spaces.

Chuck Apelian, CB 7’s first vice chairman and chairman of the land use committee, said the board has previously asked for a movie theater to be built in downtown Flushing, but to no avail. “We don’t have any development plans in front of us,” Apelian said. “I don’t have anybody standing here with the money to build the theater. The way it’s gone, it went from developer to developer to developer at this point. I can’t change that.”

He was momentarily interrupted by Jerry Rotondi, a member of the Committee to Save the RKO Keith’s Theater in Flushing, who insisted that plans were presented to save the theater.

Historic preservationists were staunchly opposed to the plan. In a statement, the Committee to Save the RKO Keith’s criticized former Queens Borough President Claire Shulman for not supporting the theater.

“We could have had a restored showcase theater,” said Cheshire Frager, a member of the committee.

Michael Donnelly, a New York City District Council of Carpenters representative, said the developer has not made a commitment to quality construction jobs.

“These units will now be marketed to wealthier individuals and contribute to the gentrification of the neighborhood,” Donnelly said. “The absence of a commitment in the development of high-quality construction jobs for the members of the community further enforces this impression.”

Apelian introduced a separate resolution that would consider converting the planned 16,000-square-foot space from a senior center into community facility space.

RKO Keith's plan to be altered again

From the Queens Chronicle:

The owner of the dilapidated RKO Keith’s Theatre in Downtown Flushing will go before Community Board 7 next month seeking a waiver from the previously approved plans to develop the site into condominiums.

CB 7’s decision is the first step before the city’s Board of Standards and Appeals makes the final ruling.

Jerry Karlik, who heads JK Equities, the developer who bought the Northern Boulevard site in 2013, needs the waiver before he can proceed with construction. He wants to decrease the number of condominiums from 357 to 269; decrease underground parking from 327 to 252 spaces and increase the height of the building by 15 feet for mechanical equipment.

The most controversial change involves an already-approved undulating glass curtain entrance. Karlik wants to redesign the front to provide views of the landmarked lobby.

But Chuck Apelian, chairman of CB 7’s Land Use Committee and vice chairman of the board, said Tuesday that changing the facade plan “might be a point of contention” with the board because the glass curtain is such an integral part of the original plan.

Apelian doesn’t see any problem with the extra 15-foot height since the Port Authority has already agreed to it. Buildings cannot be constructed too high in Flushing because of nearby LaGuardia Airport. The Keith’s project calls for a 17-story building on top of the 87-year-old movie house.

Apelian considers the other changes relatively minor and noted that a proposed senior center is still part of the plan as a community facility.

Wellington Chen nominated for LPC Commissioner

From the Queens Chronicle:

Longtime Flushing activist and planner Wellington Chen has been nominated by Mayor di Blasio to serve on the 11-person Landmarks Preservation Commission as a lay member.

His nomination will now by vetted by the city and voted on by the City Council.

Chen has been executive director of the Chinatown Partnership Local Development Corp. in Manhattan for nine years.

The Flushing resident previously served as a planning advocate for TDC Center, a Flushing developer. The firm, in conjunction with others, is now creating the mixed-use Flushing Commons, at the former site of Municipal Parking Lot 1.

Chen considers himself a preservationist and cites his involvement in trying to get the RKO Keith’s Theatre landmarked and saving Flushing Town Hall from neglect.

Chen also points to his involvement in saving Flushing Town Hall, which had been leased and was rapidly deteriorating. He called a meeting with the leasee and eventually the property reverted to the city.

CB 7 District Manager Marilyn Bitterman, who worked with Chen for years, said the mayor couldn’t have made a better choice in selecting him.

Rosemary Vietor, president of the Bowne House Historical Society, said Chen’s background “is perfect for this.” She pointed to his involvement in restoring Flushing Town Hall, adding, “I am very enthusiastic about him.”

But not everyone in Flushing is a fan of Chen. Paul Graziano, a historic preservationist and zoning consultant, said he has “great reservations” about the nomination. “I am very concerned because he is not a preservationist, but a longtime fixture in development issues.”

Jerry Rotondi, a member of the Committee to Save the Keith’s, said he doesn’t think Chen will be an asset on the LPC.

“He is too politically connected and I don’t see him as a champion for Queens because he’s on the side of too many developers,” Rotondi added.

City restores Brooklyn theater for $94M

Max Tourney for Curbed

From Curbed:

Two years ago to the day that the city embarked on a $94 million restoration of the Loew's Kings Theatre in Flatbush, the institution reopened its doors and reclaimed its standing as Brooklyn's largest theater. The restoration was painstaking: when it began in 2013, the theater had already been sitting vacant for four decades, a time during which looters plundered everything that wasn't bolted down (and most of the things that were), and nature found its way into the neglected structure.

Meanwhile, in Flushing...

The latest images of the RKO Keith's

From Brownstoner Queens:

A Q’Stoner tipster was able to get into the construction site and see what’s gone down as of late. And here is their report:

The old RKO Keith’s is a beautiful wreck. The seats are long gone, and most of the stage is demolished, leaving a muddy, graffiti-covered hole. But plenty of intricate wooden details around the stage have survived, like carved scrolls, twisting columns and cherubs. As you go further into the building, most of the details have been stripped, salvaged or demolished.

Little remains of the upper lobby except for a few arched doorways and some urinals, and a damaged but elegant balcony is the only interesting piece left in the rear mezzanine. Unfortunately, the landmarked part of the lobby was locked, so you can’t see what it looks like now.

It looks like more of the interior has been demolished since Matt Lambros, the author of After the Final Curtain, took photos in 2011. But Jonathan Karlik assured us that none of the landmarked portion has been touched: “We have a landmark preservation consultant on board with us and we have spent significant time and money to ensure this. There has been no demolition to the landmark space whatsoever. Any work that has been done was done with a LPC approved soft demo permit to clean up and protect the area. We plan to restore the landmarked area to its original condition. We have over 100 crates of salvaged material in storage and plan to implement pieces into our final product.”

Spectacular restoration unveiled

Curbed has a look inside the restored Loew's Kings Theater in Brooklyn, and while it looks beautiful, I can't help but be sad knowing that the RKO Keith's will never be restored that way.

Something's going on at the Keith's (but we're not sure what)

The Flushing Phantom sent these pics in of the RKO Keith's Theater on Northern Blvd.

DOB issued a permit for work in the landmarked foyer, but there's still a stop work order on the property. There's also a permit applied for on 4/4/14 but when you try to view the info, you get this message: "THIS JOB IS IN HUB SELF-SERVICE AND CANNOT BE VIEWED UNTIL ACCEPTED."

Hmmm...

RKO Keith's mystery sign

"Is NYC the Keith's real owner as suggested by this placard?" - The Flushing Phantom

Hmmm. The permit for the sidewalk shed was indeed applied for by HPD. But ownership still appears to be private as per ACRIS.

A look at the RKO Keith's of Flushing over time

RKO Keith's sold again

From the NY Post:

The fabled but long-shuttered RKO Keith’s cinema building in Flushing, NY, has been sold to a well-heeled developer for $30 million, The Post has learned.

The deal climaxes a 25-year saga of scandal and failure by previous owners of the Queens building.

New York-based JK Equities, headed by Jerry Karlik, plans to build a 17-story, mixed-use apartment tower on the site at 135-35 Northern Blvd. at the corner of Main Street.

The plans conform to city approvals granted years ago to a prior owner, Shaya Boymelgreen, and later amended for another owner, Patrick Thompson — who sold the property to JK Equities, which is experienced in redeveloping properties with historic character.

Newmark Grubb Knight Frank Capital Markets senior managing director Kenneth Zakin, who worked both sides of the deal, said, “The building, vacant for over 20 years, is the development linchpin of northern Flushing, and its rebirth will eventually drive growth for the whole area.”

As much as I'd like to see this place cleaned up and made into something useful, in its current state, it represents all the corruption that Queens has had to deal with over the past 30 years or so. Someone should put up an historical sign in front of it to tell the tale.

The history of Tommy Huang

From the Queens Chronicle:

Tommy Huang, the controversial developer from Flushing, has been in the news for more than three decades — known for building and damaging properties throughout Queens and probably more than anything, destroying the RKO Keith’s Theatre.

Although Huang made several attempts to ruin the Keith’s, it was a longstanding oil leak for which he was criminally charged in 1997.

Huang emigrated from Taiwan in 1969 with his wife, Alice Liu, a daughter of the wealthy owner of Taiwan’s Haw di-I Foods and Bull Head Barbecue Sauce. He broke ground in Flushing in 1979 on a five-family house.

The developer went on to construct high-rises around Queens Boulevard and five others in Flushing. He was first applauded for helping to rebuild Flushing, but controversy soon erupted.

In 1982, Huang wanted to buy a site off Main Street to build a 16-story condominium. After a bank refused to sell it to him, a Molotov cocktail was thrown into a restaurant there, destroying several properties. Soon after, Huang increased his bid on the location and the property was sold. He said he did not know anything about the bomb.

RKO Keith's owner owes a lot of taxes

From the Times Ledger:

The owner of the crumbling RKO Keith’s Theatre in downtown Flushing still owes more than $380,000 in unpaid back taxes and entered into a payment plan earlier this year to prevent the city from putting a lien on the property. 

Developer Patrick Thompson is seeking to build a 16-story, mixed-use building around the landmarked lobby of the historic theater, at 135-35 Northern Blvd., and is trying to secure finances to get a shovel in the ground at the site of the $160 million project. 

In March, TimesLedger Newspapers reported Thompson owed the city Department of Finance nearly $400,000 for 2011 unpaid property taxes. In April, Thompson entered into a payment plan in order to balance the books. At that time, he owed about $373,600, according to Finance. 

But the most current records show Thompson still owes about $385,000 — which is actually $11,500 more than the initial balance when he entered into the agreement, according to department records. 

“He’s on the way to paying it,” said Michael Nussbaum, spokesman for Thompson. 

 According to the department, if the developer had not entered into a payment plan before May 17, the city would have placed the property on its tax lien sale list, meaning that a third party could have potentially taken possession of the land.