Programs that originated from CBS Studio 60 included “I’ll Buy That,” “Double or Nothing,” “It’s Magic with Paul Tripp,” and “The Robert Q. Lewis Show.”
New Owner to Renovate and Upgrade Quad Cinema
By Allan Koznin
Charles S. Cohen, the president and chief executive of the Cohen Brothers Realty Corporation, has bought the Quad Cinema, the Greenwich Village theater that has for decades been a hybrid art-house and first-run theater. The sale was completed on Wednesday, Daniela Sapkar, a spokeswoman for Mr. Cohen, said.
Normally, news of a real estate magnate buying an old, classic theater might be cause for alarm. But Mr. Cohen has long been fascinated with film, and has a second career as a producer and distributor, through the Cohen Media Group. He also runs the Cohen Film Collection, which includes 700 titles, among them recent films as well as classics by Buster Keaton, D. W. Griffith, Alfred Hitchcock and Jean-Luc Godard, which the collection has restored.
Mr. Cohen’s plans for the Quad include a renovation and technical upgrade, for which the theater will close in early 2015. It is expected to reopen in the late spring of 2015. He has overseen theater reconstruction before, most notably the Academy Theater at Lighthouse International, on East 59th Street.
“New York City has perhaps the greatest concentration of serious cinema lovers in the country,” Mr. Cohen said in a statement, “but for too long, these great, knowledgeable fans have had few places to see classic and important films on the big screen. The always-vital Quad Cinema will now become an even more important destination for classic films and compelling new ones – and the moviegoers who love them.”
Mr. Cohen did not provide details for the Quad reconstruction, but Ms. Sapkar said that the theater would maintain its four-screen configuration, and that its name would not be changed. At present, the plan is to devote one screen to classic cinema and repertory films from the Cohen Film Collection and from other distributors. Two screens will be devoted to straight bookings, and the fourth will be used for the theater’s existing Quadflix program, for films without distribution.
Plans for Ridgewood Theater’s residential conversion were announced last fall, so what’s going on at the site now? Not much, but that may soon change; permits for the project were approved this week. The plans call for adding two stories to the three-story building, and created 50 apartments (10 more than previously reported).
Owner Bushburg Properties recently told Curbed that they are still in the planning stages of the development, working to bring contractors on board and finalizing their designs. The first floor will be an entertainment/cultural venue, and the permits make clear that the existing exterior of the theater, which is landmarked, will remain. Nataliya Donskoy is the architect.
In 1960 WRLB (Radio Long Branch) 107.1 signed-on from studios on the second floor, since moved to Neptune under new owners. On April 21, 2014 a man jumped or fell from still-used 384-foot tower behind the building. Newspaper story said neighborhood is “blighted and ready for large-scale urban redevelopment.”
The 1960 series “Naked City” is currently seen on MeTv.
In “The Succession of Heartbeats” a car being chased by the police shows the York as the they turn from 64th onto First.
Clay Cole died at 72 of a heart attack on December 10, 2010 at his home in North Carolina. His last public appearance was at the Friends of Old Time Radio Convention in October 2010.
Buffalo Wild Wings, the popular barbecue chain, is slated to open a massive location at the former Forest Hills Theatre soon.
The new location, at 107-16 71st Ave. — between Austin Street and Queens Boulevard — will measure around 10,000 square feet, which is about 40 percent larger than a typical Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant, said James Bitzonis, president of Four M Capital, LLC, the group launching the restaurant.
The restaurant will not interfere with the building’s classic features, Bitzonis said, and it “will pay homage to the theater and Forest Hills” by displaying memorabilia, including photos and jerseys representing local sports teams.
The company is in the process of receiving a number of historical photos showing the building and the neighborhood. “We are enlarging them and framing them,” he said.
Overall, there will be about 100 pieces of memorabilia displayed at the restaurant.
From NY.Curbed.com
Thursday, September 6, 2012, by Jessica Dailey
When we visited the Loew’s Pitkin Theater in 2010, the movie palace, closed for 40 years, was falling apart and pretty creepy-looking. But no more! POKO Partners sent along a press release announcing the completion of their $43 million adaptive reuse of the structure, transforming the historic ruins into a mixed-used building featuring a charter school and retail space. Brownsville Ascend Charter School occupies 130,000-square-feet on seven of the building’s eight floors, with a discount store anchoring the street-level retail space along Pitkin Avenue.
The renovation, lead by architecture firm Kitchen & Associates, restored the historic building’s exterior neo-classical and Art Deco features while retrofitting the interior to accommodate the school. Along with classrooms for K-12 students, the school has a gymnasium, auditorium, science labs, and art rooms. The official ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held next Thursday, September 13.
On September 1, 2012 the Jackson Heights Food Court opened. The former entrance and lobby sell prepared, deli food, and bakery items. There are booths. The auditorium is a grocery store with an entrance on 73rd Street. Stairway to second floor (former balcony?)was blocked by chain. I could see tables and chairs up there. No indications that this had been a theatre.
When I walked by yesterday retail space was being built under the 37th Road marquee. At the back of the theatre on 73rd Street an entrance has been created leading to second floor office space.
This will replace the theatre.
http://ny.curbed.com/tags/fox-savoy-theate
The theater will be demolished for Affordable Housing.
http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20141209/sunnyside/bargain-movie-theater-closing-make-room-for-affordable-housing?utm_source=Forest+Hills+%26+Rego+Park&utm_campaign=c6d26a028e-Mailchimp-NYC&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_6c3609dc85-c6d26a028e-132251089
The Pavilion may become residential.
http://www.6sqft.com/park-slopes-iconic-pavillion-theater-may-go-residential/
Programs that originated from CBS Studio 60 included “I’ll Buy That,” “Double or Nothing,” “It’s Magic with Paul Tripp,” and “The Robert Q. Lewis Show.”
New York Times- Thursday, August 21, 2014
New Owner to Renovate and Upgrade Quad Cinema By Allan Koznin
Charles S. Cohen, the president and chief executive of the Cohen Brothers Realty Corporation, has bought the Quad Cinema, the Greenwich Village theater that has for decades been a hybrid art-house and first-run theater. The sale was completed on Wednesday, Daniela Sapkar, a spokeswoman for Mr. Cohen, said.
Normally, news of a real estate magnate buying an old, classic theater might be cause for alarm. But Mr. Cohen has long been fascinated with film, and has a second career as a producer and distributor, through the Cohen Media Group. He also runs the Cohen Film Collection, which includes 700 titles, among them recent films as well as classics by Buster Keaton, D. W. Griffith, Alfred Hitchcock and Jean-Luc Godard, which the collection has restored.
Mr. Cohen’s plans for the Quad include a renovation and technical upgrade, for which the theater will close in early 2015. It is expected to reopen in the late spring of 2015. He has overseen theater reconstruction before, most notably the Academy Theater at Lighthouse International, on East 59th Street.
“New York City has perhaps the greatest concentration of serious cinema lovers in the country,” Mr. Cohen said in a statement, “but for too long, these great, knowledgeable fans have had few places to see classic and important films on the big screen. The always-vital Quad Cinema will now become an even more important destination for classic films and compelling new ones – and the moviegoers who love them.”
Mr. Cohen did not provide details for the Quad reconstruction, but Ms. Sapkar said that the theater would maintain its four-screen configuration, and that its name would not be changed. At present, the plan is to devote one screen to classic cinema and repertory films from the Cohen Film Collection and from other distributors. Two screens will be devoted to straight bookings, and the fourth will be used for the theater’s existing Quadflix program, for films without distribution.
On July 10, 2014 NY.Curbed.Com reported ….
Plans for Ridgewood Theater’s residential conversion were announced last fall, so what’s going on at the site now? Not much, but that may soon change; permits for the project were approved this week. The plans call for adding two stories to the three-story building, and created 50 apartments (10 more than previously reported).
Owner Bushburg Properties recently told Curbed that they are still in the planning stages of the development, working to bring contractors on board and finalizing their designs. The first floor will be an entertainment/cultural venue, and the permits make clear that the existing exterior of the theater, which is landmarked, will remain. Nataliya Donskoy is the architect.
In 1960 WRLB (Radio Long Branch) 107.1 signed-on from studios on the second floor, since moved to Neptune under new owners. On April 21, 2014 a man jumped or fell from still-used 384-foot tower behind the building. Newspaper story said neighborhood is “blighted and ready for large-scale urban redevelopment.”
The 1960 series “Naked City” is currently seen on MeTv. In “The Succession of Heartbeats” a car being chased by the police shows the York as the they turn from 64th onto First.
DNAInfo reports that the theater has closed. Evicted for owing back rent.
http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20140115/jackson-heights/jackson-heights-cinema-operators-evicted-for-owing-back-rent
On December 27, 2013 New Jersey Public Television (NJTV) reported that the theater will reopen in January 2014.
Clay Cole died at 72 of a heart attack on December 10, 2010 at his home in North Carolina. His last public appearance was at the Friends of Old Time Radio Convention in October 2010.
DNAInfo.com is reporting …
Buffalo Wild Wings, the popular barbecue chain, is slated to open a massive location at the former Forest Hills Theatre soon.
The new location, at 107-16 71st Ave. — between Austin Street and Queens Boulevard — will measure around 10,000 square feet, which is about 40 percent larger than a typical Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant, said James Bitzonis, president of Four M Capital, LLC, the group launching the restaurant.
The restaurant will not interfere with the building’s classic features, Bitzonis said, and it “will pay homage to the theater and Forest Hills” by displaying memorabilia, including photos and jerseys representing local sports teams.
The company is in the process of receiving a number of historical photos showing the building and the neighborhood. “We are enlarging them and framing them,” he said.
Overall, there will be about 100 pieces of memorabilia displayed at the restaurant.
The scheduled opening is July 15.
From NY.Curbed.com Thursday, September 6, 2012, by Jessica Dailey
When we visited the Loew’s Pitkin Theater in 2010, the movie palace, closed for 40 years, was falling apart and pretty creepy-looking. But no more! POKO Partners sent along a press release announcing the completion of their $43 million adaptive reuse of the structure, transforming the historic ruins into a mixed-used building featuring a charter school and retail space. Brownsville Ascend Charter School occupies 130,000-square-feet on seven of the building’s eight floors, with a discount store anchoring the street-level retail space along Pitkin Avenue.
The renovation, lead by architecture firm Kitchen & Associates, restored the historic building’s exterior neo-classical and Art Deco features while retrofitting the interior to accommodate the school. Along with classrooms for K-12 students, the school has a gymnasium, auditorium, science labs, and art rooms. The official ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held next Thursday, September 13.
On September 1, 2012 the Jackson Heights Food Court opened. The former entrance and lobby sell prepared, deli food, and bakery items. There are booths. The auditorium is a grocery store with an entrance on 73rd Street. Stairway to second floor (former balcony?)was blocked by chain. I could see tables and chairs up there. No indications that this had been a theatre.
Today’s Daily News reports the Eagle will become a grocery and food court.
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/queens/eagle-theater-south-asian-grocery-store-food-court-article-1.1021804
This theatre is incorrectly listed as being in the Schuylkill County borough of Coaldale, ZIP 18218.
The Crawford Theatre was in the Village of Coaldale, ZIP 16679 Bedford County, 160 miles apart.
September 2, 2011 story from Times News of Lehighton on Becky’s 65th Anniversary.
http://www.tnonline.com/2011/sep/02/beckys-drive-celebrates-65-years
When I walked by yesterday retail space was being built under the 37th Road marquee. At the back of the theatre on 73rd Street an entrance has been created leading to second floor office space.