Kings Theatre
1027 Flatbush Avenue,
Brooklyn,
NY
11226
1027 Flatbush Avenue,
Brooklyn,
NY
11226
82 people
favorited this theater
Showing 601 - 625 of 1,558 comments
Please Luis, find out for us. I would have went, but I’m working in the projection room out here in Jersey all day Monday.
is there anybody out there!!!
This was my first time in months on this page and there is not a reply to anything. I want this theater open.
All joking aside, I would like to say that a grand dame like the Kings should be open for all those to see. It was a vaudeville house so it should be suited for something other than a movie theater.
GO FER IT!!!!!
Here is the exact quote from the ad which appears on page 33 of the March 30th issue of Crains NY Business:
“Responses to this request for proposals (RFP) must present plans to lease, rehabilitate and operate the theater”.
This can mean several things. I interpret it to mean that the theater must be restored and must be able to “operate” as a theater. It doesn’t mean that its primary function can’t be something else. In addition, I believe that the parking lots behind the theater are part of the lease and this can be very valuable to a developer.
The tour of the Kings for potential developers is scheduled for Monday afternoon (April 7th) at 2:00 PM. I have RSVP'ed and will find out as much as I can and report back to this page.
Well, I didn’t see the ad. But my guess is that they are saying that films must be a part of the picture. So if someone wanted to turn the booth into luxury suites, as in the case of the Bronx Paradise, it would be against the rules.
In this weeks issue of Crain’s New York Business, The NYEDC has taken a quarter page ad with a beautiful picture of the King’s auditorium viewed from the stage. In it, is announces the RFP and the requirement that the theater must be renovated and have the ability to show films again!
I forgot to tell the site to notify me, so I’m writing again
I may not have been on this site for a while, but I feel that Markowitz is right. This old queen of a theater should be reopen
The optimist in me has hope!
Requiring a response to the RFP by 05/07/2008 makes no sense. How does the NYCEDC expect to get responses to what will be an expensive and complex rehab project in such a relatively short time? The cynic in me says that the city sees that the Loew’s is beyond repair and is going through the motions one last time before giving up.
Press release- View link
RFP info- View link
Hi Scott, the city owns the property and this is the process for disposing of it. That said, I do think something will happen this time. Since the last RFP back in October of 2006, Brooklyn’s reputation as a vibrant city of the future has been cemented. Downtown is booming and (though there are housing issues to contend with) I think everyone feels that the future of Brooklyn as a whole is very bright. That bodes well for the redevelopment of the Kings and for the undeveloped parking lots that are potentially quite valuable for residential or retail. In addition, I think the city will chip in money to move this along as well. Markowitz totally has the power to use discretionary earmark money for borough projects. This is his last term and he’ll want to leave a legacy. What better legacy than the restoration of the most beautiful theater in Brooklyn!
Here we go again! The city is asking for RFP’s for The Kings. As part of the process, they are having a tour of the historic property on Monday, April 7th at 2:00 PM. I went on the tour in October of ‘06 and it was an incredible experience. I will be attending once again. Info is included in press release below:
March 17, 2008 â€" New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), in cooperation with the Brooklyn Borough President, is seeking a developer and operator for the former Loew’s Kings Theatre (the “Theatreâ€). Responses to this Request for Proposals (RFP) must present plans to lease, rehabilitate and operate the Theatre.
The Theatre opened in 1929 as Loew’s Flagship Theatre. Designed in the French Renaissance style, the Theatreâ€\s architecture is heavily influenced by the Palace of Versailles and Paris Opera house. The Theatreâ€\s style is enhanced by high curved ceilings, wood paneling and ornate plaster walls. The seating capacity is 3,195 (2,295 in the orchestra and 900 in the mezzanine). The Theatre is approximately 68,300 gross square feet on approximately 55,000 square feet of land.
Located at 1025-1035 Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn, the Theatre is in the geographic center of the Cityâ€\s most populous borough, and in the heart of the thriving Flatbush Avenue shopping area. Retail offerings include clothing, appliances, furniture, food, and other goods serving the adjacent residential neighborhoods.
An information meeting and tour will be held at the Theatre on Monday, April 7, 2008 at 2:00 p.m. Those who wish to attend the informational meeting must RSVP with Liliana Ruiz at (212) 312-3840 or on or before Friday, April 4, 2008. The site tour will be conducted immediately following the informational meeting. Interested parties are strongly encouraged to attend.
Companies that have been certified with the New York City Department of Small Business Services as Minority-and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (M/WBE) are strongly encouraged to apply. To find out more about M/WBE certification and NYCEDCâ€\s M/WBE Program, please go to www.nycedc.com/mwbeprogram
RFP responses are due no later than 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 7, 2008. Submission guidelines and requirements are outlined in the RFP, which can be downloaded at www.nycedc.com/rfp
I know that i’m an eternal optimist, but for some reason I feel that something really is going to happen this time. Though I’ve criticized Markowitz in the past for not doing enough, I do honestly believe that he wants this to happen and that he has an emotional attachment to the place. Maybe he’s waited this long so that the renovation is well under way by the time he leaves office and he can point to it as a big achievement. Rumour has it he wants to run for mayor. Due to term limits he can no longer be Borough President.
Basically the same things were said in the Post article. FINALLY, after 30 years could it be???…
Here is what the article in Friday’s issue of The Real Deal (New York’s Real Estate Industry Bible) says about The Kings. I’m almost afraid to get my hopes up, BUT THEY ARE!
Loew’s Kings Theater in Flatbush could finally be redeveloped
By Saray Ryley
Loew’s Kings Theater, for decades an unsightly behemoth on Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn’s Flatbush neighborhood, could finally be redeveloped soon, nearly two years after the city first tried to find a developer.
The city this week issued a request for proposals to refurbish the ornate 1929 movie house — where Borough President Marty Markowitz got his first kiss and Barbra Streisand worked the doors — into a headliner venue, following a preliminary search for developers. The restoration won’t be cheap: the estimated cost is $70 million.
The city issued a request for expressions of interest back in September 2006, and had said little about the theater since, leading some to believe it had been forgotten.
“We went back and did a condition study to give us a better handle on what it’s going to take to renovate,” said Janel Patterson, a city Economic Development Corporation spokeswoman, adding that a marketing consultant was hired to determine the most lucrative use of such a costly conversion. “That’s what took us two years.”
Already one of the city’s largest entertainment venues with 2,295 water-worn seats, the winning developer would gain adjacent city property on East 22nd Street to expand Loew’s front stage and back stage to accommodate live performances, and several city-owned parcels now leased to a private parking lot operator, which the developer could use to create decked parking. The existing structure is 63,000 square feet, including 5,000 square feet of retail space, but valuable air rights could yield a much larger complex.
The property is not landmarked, but the city’s RFP requires the theater to be renovated.
The winning developer would be expected to restore most of Loew’s surviving features, from its ornate curved ceilings to the whimsical mural of marching knights adorning the men’s room, all in classic movie house styling. Those features have suffered significant wear since the venue was shuttered in 1979.
The city suggests renovations could be funded with historic rehabilitation tax credits and the sale of naming rights could help fund the $70 million restoration.
Two serious attempts to redevelop the theater have failed since the city acquired it in the early 1980s.
No arguement here Luis. What we need here, and around the country is for not one more palace to ever be demolished again.
I don’t want to agree with Warren, but I’m afraid he’s probably right. I do believe that Markowitz has it in his power to provide needed seed money to get this project off the ground. His term, I believe is up in 2010 and I think he will want to leave some kind of legacy to the borough. Since he had his first date with his wife at The Kings, I think this project would be his sentimental favorite. Let’s hope so. The King’s is truly one of this country’s architectural treasures and needs to be restored to its original glory.
I read an article on page 2 of saturday March 15 New York Post, which states that the boro president of Brooklyn wants this theatre renovated by 2010. The city is supposed to be getting bids on the cost of renovation, in the neighborhood of $70 million. Lets hope it gets done this time. 30 years is long enough to wait.
Tom M: I was referring to the stage lifts. There being two that are controlled by ‘cork screws’ that are topped by pizza trays and gears that are connected to a motor. As far as the orchestra lift, there are two. One controlled the up and down direction of the house organ and the other allowed the lift to bring the orchestra from the basement up to stage/show level. If you were backstage and standing by the really ancient lighting board, you would see a vertical panel that has three buttons. UP, DOWN and Stage Level. From this position, the technician controlled the movement of the orchestra pit.
I have been down in the basement many times and once, I found that the orchestra pit’s two doors were locked from the inside. In the past, they were not locked. So who could have locked them from the inside—-other than the homeless crowd that made off with all the wall sconces and brass sink pipes!!!
The curbed.com site is a bit of a jumble but I found the blog entry you quoted. Doesn’t sound too “official” though. In a previous post I note that the LK project seems to have faded away as far as the slow poke NYCEDC is concerned.
View link
LuisV, do you have a link to the curbed.com story?
Some possible good news to report! I saw this article below on curbed.com (a major real estate news website in New York) commenting on a potential theater operator interested in The Kings. The source of the article is a local paper called The Brooklyn Junction. The source of the actual information is not provided though they say it is not the NYC Economic Development Authority. Please see below….
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Major theater operator expresses interest in Loew’s Kings Theater redevelopment
A ranking city official told Brooklyn Junction that he has personal knowledge of a “Major theater operator that has expressed interest in redeveloping the Loew’s Kings Theater.” The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the proceedings.
The source is not an employee of the Economic Development Corporation (EDC), the body which is in charge of reviewing responses to the RFEI (request for expressions of interest) the city put out on the Loew’s Kings back in September, 2006. He has, nonetheless, been privy to official conversations on the matter.
The “major theater operator” currently expressing interest has, according to the source, enlisted a marketing company to hold focus groups and to study what sort of programming could be supported at the theater.
The source suggested that the EDC, before announcing anything about this proposal, “is trying to put everything together—dotting all the i’s and crossing all the t’s—because of how previous proposals for the redevelopment of the theater have fallen apart in the past.”
Magic Johnson, the former NBA star, had a plan in 1999 to redevelop the theater as a multiplex. That proposal, which you can read about from the New York Times archives here, is probably the best known plan that fell apart at a late hour.
The estimated cost to physically renovate the theater, which has been lying dormant for approximately 30 years, and shows it in mold, dampness and other wear and tear, is in the neighborhood of 20-40 million dollars.
Brooklyn Junction was unable to independently confirm this report, and would therefore urge readers to consider it to be the reporting on one source’s information, credible though that source is.
If any readers can confirm, deny, add, subtract, or opine on this report, please do so in the comments.
Read some of my other posts on the subject
A&E Video on Loew’s Kings
Loew’s Kings, the plot thickens
Loew’s Kings Theater: Is there hope?
posted by Brooklyn Junction at 8:00 AM
Bruce,
Happy New Year to all. Since you were so kind to explain about the orchestra lifts I was wondering what you can tell us about the stage lifts? How far into the basement do they go? The pictures from the October ‘06 open house show what looks like a total collapse of the stage, or has a lift(s) been lowered?
I found an old NYCEDC press release from 2006, nothing more recent. Deadline for proposals was in late 2006. Looks like it’s a dead issue again.
NYCEDC press release, 2006
Similar item from Mayor’s Film office announcing RFP, 2006