The curtain has not fallen yet.
After weeks of tension with NYU Langone, the Kips Bay AMC has broken its silence, saying it wants to remain at its longtime Manhattan location but is being forced out to make room for the medical university.
The Second Avenue theater accused NYU Langone of portraying itself as a savior after the healthcare giant publicly claimed AMC had been seeking to leave the property for years.
“To be clear, we want to stay. Under the terms of our current lease, the theatre is operating successfully, and we would like to continue serving moviegoers for years to come. We believe keeping this theatre open would be the best outcome for our guests and for the Kips Bay community,” Ryan Noonan, a spokesperson for AMC Theatres, said in a statement.
“The decision about whether AMC can continue operating at Kips Bay is ultimately not ours to make. While the landlord has exercised its contractual right to terminate the lease, and we must prepare accordingly, the theatre remains open and operating as usual.”
AMC said it was “incredibly grateful” for the support of elected officials and moviegoers, thousands of whom signed a petition urging the theater to remain. The cinema is scheduled to continue showing films through Jan. 3, 2027.
The statement marked AMC’s first detailed response to the dispute since its initial announcement in the spring that the theater would close “following the property owner’s decision to exercise its contractual right to terminate the theatre’s lease before its scheduled expiration.”
AMC’s comments came one day after NYU Langone told The Post that the cinema had been considering an exit years before the university became interested in the property.
NYU Langone said the consortium that owns the Second Avenue property approached the medical university about taking over the site.
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“Years before our involvement, AMC expressed interest in leaving,” said Steve Ritea of NYU Langone Health.
“They worked with the landlord to reach an agreement that substantially reduced AMC’s rent in exchange for a mutual right for either party to terminate at any time, reflecting the flexibility that both the landlord and AMC wanted going forward.”
Representatives for the apparent property landlord previously declined to answer The Post’s questions.
Residents have made their opposition to NYU Langone’s plans clear, arguing that the university should find another location in the neighborhood. NYU Langone’s location directory lists 56 other sites and three hospitals in Kips Bay.
Tensions between local residents and NYU Langone intensified after the hospital agreed to attend a Community Board meeting on the issue last week, then withdrew just 24 hours before the gathering.
Instead, the university submitted the same statement it had given The Post, reiterating that AMC had been looking to leave.
“It is unfortunate for the main event to decide not to show up simply even just to answer questions or provide us a little more context. And I think in this particular example, we have seen a complete lack of community, engagement or dialogue, unwillingness to answer some basic questions from us,” Assemblymember Keith Powers said angrily at Thursday’s meeting.
In a call with The Post, Powers described NYU Langone’s decision to distance itself from the landlord as “wildly disingenuous.”
Powers is among several elected officials seeking to keep both the AMC and the neighborhood Fairway Supermarket at the site. However, he acknowledged at the meeting that he has little confidence NYU Langone will honor either request.
Last week, Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal pledged to block any rezoning applications submitted by NYU Langone unless they include a “cinema.”
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