The long-awaited second act for a historic Upper West Side cinema that’s sat vacant since the early aughts has finally been scripted.
Local nonprofit group the Upper West Side Cinema Center finalized a $6.9 million deal to acquire the beloved Metro Theater at 2626 Broadway with the help of a combined $4 million in grants from state elected officials and film buffs that was announced Sunday.
Gov. Kathy Hochul gave the nonprofit group — founded by producer Ira Deutchman and advised by a number of actors and directors, including Ethan Hawke, Frances McDormand, John Turturro and Martin Scorsese — $3.5 million, while state Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal, who represents the Upper West Side, allocated an additional $500,000.
“The outpouring of support for this project has been astounding, considering it was a huge leap of faith to donate to something that was so speculative,” said Deutchman. “I’ve never been involved in anything that had such universal appeal.”
The Art Deco cinema, which first opened in 1933 as the Midtown Theater, became a porn house in the 1970s and was later renamed the Metro in 1982. It shuttered in 2005 amid the rise and popularity of multiplex cinemas. Throughout the years it showcased the works of directors such as Jean-Luc Goddard, Louis Buñuel and Roman Polanski.
Despite its original name, the theater is located between West 99th and West 100th streets. Its facade and marquee were landmarked in 1989, but its entire interior was gutted two decades ago, and it’s sat vacant since. The property has long been owned by the late Albert Bialek, who bought it in the 1980s and was known to drive a hard bargain when it came to leasing out the site. Bialek died in 2023, and his estate took it over.
The theater almost traded hands a few times, however, including in 2015, when The New York Times reported it was slated to become a Planet Fitness. Last year Texas-based movie theater chain Alamo Drafthouse was in the final stages of a deal to lease and redevelop the historic arthouse, but that also fell through, Crain’s reported.
The nonprofit group’s plan now, which will require additional fundraising and grants, is to restore the landmarked theater into a five-screen cinema house that features movie classics, foreign and independent films, and documentaries. It would also include an education center and cafe.
John Simoni, a partner at the 1 Penn Plaza-headquartered law firm Goetz Platzer, which is representing Bialek’s estate, said the family is very thankful for the theater’s latest act of revival. The new space will honor Albert Bialek and his late-wife, Sheila Hoffman-Bialek, with a plaque in the lobby, Simoni said.
