Over the past several weeks, New York City leaders have used their time and influence to save a beloved institution. They are not working to save a small, family-owned pizzeria started by Italian immigrants who came to Ellis Island decades ago with a dream. Nor are they working to preserve a beautiful park where children can enjoy the outdoors in Manhattan. Instead, they are banding together to save the AMC movie theater in Manhattan's Kips Bay neighborhood.

Given elected officials' passion for saving this AMC, one would think the movie theater is being replaced by a drone factory or a slaughterhouse. Nope. These city leaders are pushing back against a hospital expansion for the sake of moviegoers. In September, New York Assembly Member Keith Powers (D–Manhattan) said that New York University (NYU) Langone Health intends to take over the property by early 2027. On Wednesday, an NYU spokesperson told the real estate outlet The Real Deal that "the deal is under contract and not expected to close until early 2027." The spokesperson added the site is expected to be used for "clinical space for patient care."  

In August, Powers, along with several other elected officials including Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal, sent a letter to NYU Langone Health saying they were "concerned about the pending eviction of the beloved AMC Kips Bay movie theater" as well as the local Fairway supermarket. The letter says the New York leaders want a plan that would allow these businesses to "coexist with medical uses." 

Despite the abundance of movie theaters in Manhattan, including an AMC a 23-minute walk away, Kips Bay community members appear determined to save the theater. Some even started a "Save Kips Bay" coalition. The group's website says that "NYU Langone already dominates huge portions of Kips Bay," and it complains that the hospital system has "bought the block that holds our only movie theater and our biggest grocery store: AMC Kips Bay 15, with the only IMAX on Manhattan's East Side, and Fairway."

In September, the Eleanor Roosevelt Independent Democrats organized a "Save the Kips Bay AMC Theater Rally." Local business owners joined the rally, including a local Irish pub, according to Variety. Its owner told the outlet that saving the theater was critical because many young people in the neighborhood "love to go to the movie theater." Elected officials also spoke at the rally, including Hoylman-Sigal, who passionately recited Nicole Kidman's AMC monologue. 

Hoylman-Sigal's pro-AMC activism escalated on Monday, when the Manhattan borough president wrote on X that he would "not approve any prospective rezoning of the Kips Bay AMC 15 site without the inclusion of a cinema." 

Hoylman-Sigal's stand against NYU Langone clearly is not driven by some principle about big vs. small business. While Hoylman-Sigal has previously criticized big corporations (like Shake Shack, which had to return COVID-era small business loans), he is now zealously defending one of the world's largest movie theater companies. It is clear Hoylman-Sigal and his fellow New York City local leaders are deciding which businesses to favor, and in this case, it is an AMC movie theater. 

One X user pointed out the absurdity of the situation, writing, "Never thought I'd see progressives in my city fight against a fucking hospital for a movie theater."

Luckily, the Hoylman-Sigal does not have the final say in zoning decisions (and a zoning change may not be necessary, according to The Real Deal). Still, the whole ordeal is a cringeworthy display of political theater and an illustration of New York City leaders' warped priorities. Maybe the Kips Bay AMC is special enough to thwart or alter plans for a hospital expansion (doubtful), but that is not for city leadership to decide. 

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