Malverne Cinema
350 Hempstead Avenue,
Malverne,
NY
11565
350 Hempstead Avenue,
Malverne,
NY
11565
8 people
favorited this theater
Related Websites
Malverne Cinema (Official), Malverne Cinema renovations (Official)
Additional Info
Previously operated by: B.S. Moss Enterprises
Architects: Drew Eberson, John Adolph Emil Eberson
Styles: Colonial Revival
Previous Names: Malverne Theatre
Nearby Theaters
The Malverne Theatre was opened May 26, 1947 with James Stewart in “It’s a Wonderful Life”. Built for the Kenney Amusement Corporation, it had a seating capacity for 688 on a single floor. There was a 12-seat cry room located on the left side of the projection booth. Interior decoration were carried out by the Rambusch Decorating Company.
It took over as one of Long Island’s premiere art theatres after Westbury Theatre was run into oblivion and closed. The theatre was one of Long Island’s oldest neighborhood discount houses. The previous owner (who also had the Roslyn Theatre and Levittown Theatre)twinned it on May 29, 1981 and ran it into the ground. It was rarely heated or air conditioned.
The present owners came in and quaded it on June 14, 1996 making four cute little theatres that showed art films, foreign releases and an occasional mainstream move-over. On September 26, 1997 they added another tiny cinema in a former retail space.
A wonderful place to see offbeat films, always clean and well managed. Plus they run cartoons and family films on Saturday and Sunday mornings.
The Malverne Cinema was closed on September 30, 2024 due to lack of funds to replace the heating boiler. It was announced in May 2025 there are hopes to reopen the cinema and by August 2025 renovations had begun, with a proposed December 2025 reopening.
Contributed by
RobertR
Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater.
Recent comments (view all 66 comments)
If you call them now the message states that Sunday is their last day of operation.
please update close as of September 30. According to the owner, the boiler needed to be replaced, it would be too costly to repair and it would have no heat in the winter. Unfortunately they chose to close for good.
How likely is it that the landlord will find somebody to rent if they are the ones to replace the heating system.
Text
End of an era as Malverne Cinema & Art Center closes its doors for last time The Malverne Cinema & Art Center on its last day… The Malverne Cinema & Art Center on its last day in business Sunday. Credit: Jeff Bachner
By Joshua Needelman Updated September 29, 2024 8:47 pm Share They came to say goodbye.
On Sunday, in the hours before the Malverne Cinema & Art Center screens went dark for the last time and the movie house closed for good, owners Anne and Henry Stampfel embraced those who had helped make theater a local institution. It felt like a shiva call. The crowd stood in the lobby with the plush carpet for hours, sharing laughs and memories.
People like John Aresta, the Malverne chief of police, whom Anne Stampfel had hired as an usher in 1981.
Like Jo Constantelos, a longtime friend of the Stampfels whose son worked at the theater in high school
Like Joanna Volpe, the Stampfels' daughter, who grew up at the cinema.
The Stampfels, who live in Massapequa, arrived around 5:30 a.m. on this dark and chilly Sunday to clean out the building.
“I was sad,” Anne said. “The weather outside kind of matched my mood.”
The final slate of Hollywood fare: “Lee,” “Reagan,” “Transformers One,” “The Wild Robot.”
For neighborhood movie fans, the theater’s demise meant the end for first-run features close to home. For the Stampfels, it marked the end of a challenging few years of business.
The cinema closed for much of 2020 after the COVID-19 pandemic hit before temporarily reopening that October.
But “it cost too much to unlock the door each day,” Anne Stampfel said, and the theater closed again in January 2021.
The Stampfels opened again, this time in May 2021, with an assist of a federal Shuttered Venue Operators Grant.
“That helped us get this far,” Henry Stampfel said.
As far as additional help, his wife added with a note despair, there is none “out there now. I’ve searched.”
Last Tuesday, the decision was made to shut the down the theater after the couple couldn’t reach an agreement with the landlord over building renovations.
It marked the end of a three-decades plus journey for the couple, who purchased the theater in 1990. The landlord was not available late Sunday to discuss plans for the future of the five-screen theater with seating for nearly 700. The original theater was built in 1947. It’s located in a strip mall on Hempstead Avenue where the roadway meets Nassau Avenue.
The Stampfels had met at a theater in Oceanside. He was working as a projectionist; she as a candy salesperson. They bonded over their love of the industry and built their own film fiefdom: Over the years, the Stampfels have run theaters in Bellmore, Hempstead and Long Beach.
But it was in Malverne where the Stampfels became most involved with the community, their daughter said. They would often hold film talks with residents.
“It would be sold out all weekend Thursday through Sunday,” Volpe said. “And even Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday were busy, because people would just come here, and find out what was playing when they got here. They trusted it would be good because they knew films would be carefully curated.”
Aresta said it was at the Malverne Cinema where he saw his first-ever movie with his father: “The Poseidon Adventure” in 1972.
“This is the last landmark in Malverne,” Aresta said. “It’s going to hurt seeing Anne and Henry leave. And just their legacy. They’ve employed so many kids over the years.”
About 7 p.m., as the final films let out, Anne Stampfel sat on a chair in the lobby, watching her customers, for the final time, filter out into the damp night.
“Thank you,” one customer said, turning to her.
Stampfel let a small smile form on her face: “Thank you.”
the owner in there weekly email are hoping to reopen the Malverne Cinema
Shame it closed. I remember seeing “The Artist” there. The audience was filled with seniors.
@richard. I saw The Artist their also on a weekday in theatre 4, it was a very small attendance on a weekday, at that time auditorium was MONO. The sound was eventually updated later on.
May be reopening in December 2025 as a non-profit:
Malverne, NY: Malverne Cinema & Art Center Reopening Planned [Aug 13, 2025]
please update new website https://malvernecinema.org/ and add under renovations
New lease signed to revive Malverne Cinema and Art Center
Posted January 16, 2026
By Madison Gusler On New Year’s Eve, Maria Dente and Nick Hudson had an extra reason to celebrate. At 3 p.m. that day, the pair signed a lease for the Malverne Cinema and Art Center.
They picked up the keys to the theater on Jan. 2.
“They finally signed the lease,” Malverne Mayor Tim Sullivan said at the Jan. 7 village board meeting. “It’s something that’s beloved for many of us in this village. We couldn’t be happier.”
In September 2024, the Malverne Cinema, a village institution on Hempstead Avenue, closed. The theater, which opened in 1947, had been operated by Anne and Henry Stampfel since 1990. The original cinema had a single 700-seat theater, but the Stampfels altered the layout to eventually include five theaters.
After a series of temporary closures, mainly due to the coronavirus pandemic and the theater’s high operating expenses, the Stampfels hosted a final screening before closing it.
Not long afterward, Hudson, a Malverne resident and the executive director of Entertainment 2 Affect Change, expressed interest in helping to reopen the theater. E2AC is a New York-based nonprofit that helps fund and distribute films. With his professional experience, Hudson was familiar with what happens to theaters around the country after they close — they’re often replaced by retail or residential space that doesn’t serve the community — and pitched an increasingly popular alternative, transitioning the theater to a nonprofit model.
Hudson was acquainted with Dente, president and director of Dente’s Dreamers and a former special-education teacher. Dente’s Dreamers is a Lynbrook-based nonprofit that encourages people of all abilities to take part in a production company, in roles ranging from stage performers to light and sound design.
Dente shared an interest in the Malverne because it has a cement stage that has been covered by two movie screens, which can accommodate Dente’s Dreamers’ live theater productions, and can also be rented out to others.
“Just to have the lease signed means, like deep down, that this is real and it’s happening,” Hudson said.
E2AC will serve as a fiscal sponsor for the theater, giving it nonprofit status as Dente’s Dreamers completes the requirements to become a recognized nonprofit itself.
Hudson and Dente have raised over $100,000, which is well short of their $500,000 goal, but has allowed them to sign the lease on the space. They hope to continue receiving donations throughout the renovation process and after the theater reopens.
The renovation will have two phases. The first will include the process of replacing the HVAC system, after which, Hudson said, they would like to reopen the theater as soon as they can. For now, he and Dente are focusing on making small improvements — removing the carpeting, installing new flooring, painting the walls and updating the amenities. They also want to ensure that the theater is fully compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
One of their focuses will be on supporting, and employing, people with disabilities. There has been a great deal of interest among area special-education programs, Dente said, in working with the theater.
“There’s a lot of moving parts,” she said. “But we’re going to try our best to fit everybody in the proper places that they feel comfortable. They’ll feel pride, they’ll be excited to work and really help us get the Malverne up and running.”
The second wave of renovations will focus on larger, more structural changes, including removing a wall that separates two of the theaters to create one larger one, and opening up the stage for performances. There are also plans to convert one of the smaller screening rooms, near the front of the building, into a café, where theatergoers can purchase food and drinks. It will also be available to rent for events.
Hudson and Dente will also create a family-focused theater catering to those with young children, which will feature Saturday-morning “Cereal Cinema” screenings that will include breakfast.
“It’s always been a big part of this to really make it community-focused and family-friendly,” Hudson said.
When the renovations are complete, the theater will also have three screens for films targeted for a senior demographic, as well as “cinephile” screenings, highlighting the documentary, independent and foreign films that once drew movie lovers from across Long Island to the Malverne.
Dente and Hudson plan to host volunteer days, on which community members can lend a hand, helping to prepare the theater for its next chapter. Those who are interested can sign up for emails or join the volunteer committee at MalverneCinema.org. Donations can be made on the website as well, and gear can be purchased at Buoy4.com/pages/the-malverne-cinema-art-center.
A theater timeline Sept. 29, 2024: Malverne Cinema and Art Center closes.
May 2025: Nick Hudson and Maria Dente announce their plans to reopen the theater under a nonprofit model.
May 29: More than 200 people attend a fundraiser at nearby Connolly Station to show their support and learn more about the future of the cinema.
May 29: More than 200 people attend a fundraiser at nearby Connolly Station to show their support and learn more about the future of the cinema.
Dec. 31: Hudson and Dente sign a lease for the theater.
Jan. 2, 2026: The partners pick up the keys to the building, and look forward to beginning renovations.