Update on Loew's Kings Theatre

Last year, you may recall that the city sent out a request for proposals to develop the historic Loew's Kings Theater on Flatbush (at Tilden). Lo and behold, there is news, but not especially good news: Jack Katz, director of the business improvement district, told the Brooklyn Eagle that nobody "was really interested in keeping the theater in one piece."

One problem is that renovating the giant theater will be insanely expensive. No surprise there. But here's the shocker: Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College, which is about a mile south of the theater on Flatbush “objected to a theater going in there because it would be competition for them."

The Eagle article also suggested that BAM is dangerously close to the Loew's.

Brooklyn Junction argues that clustering would be good for all the theaters, making Flatbush a destination for Brooklyn arts. I'm not convinced clustering in itself is such a great idea, but if buying that argument means throwing off the inevitable attempts to ruin another historic site by turning it into fancy offices and condos, I'm sold.

Comments

[Brooklyn Junction]

Welcome to the blogosphere, Hawthorne Street.

I'm happy to see you weigh in on the Loew's Kings Theater. One follow up thought I have on the potential of clustering being good for all Flatbush Avenue theaters: Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts currently does not play that many shows per year. They are certainly not scheduled every weekend, not even close. A new theater at Loew's Kings could coordinate, at the outset, so that each theater hosted events on different nights, thereby diminishing the early competition.

I'm curious as to why the idea of clustering isn't particularly convincing to you as a way to increase interest and demand in Flatbush arts generally speaking.

Again welcome, and good luck with the blog.

Brooklyn Junction

[carrie]

BJ: Thanks for the note!

You ask an excellent question. I've actually been planning on writing a post about this issue...so, at risk of punting, I'm going to wait until I have a second to collect my thoughts and make it a whole post.

[Eric B]

I just passed by last night (Christmastime reminiscing about my old neighborhood, and I vaguely remember going there as a kid); and they tore down the single story retail structure to the right.
I remember 30 years ago, when FDC moved in, they set up their office in that storefront, painted the gates with the "take a bite out of crime" campaign, etc. And it looked like they were trying to revitalize that strip, and it was empty awaiting their plans. But it just sat like that and went nowhere. The other theaters in the area all became churches, with the last holdout on church becoming Modell's (I had just come from there last night). That one had been plagued with crime, so perhaps a new theater at Kings might not be what we should look for
I liked the new color changing LED Loews sign on 42nd St. (now Regal), and the theater marquee around the corner in Times Sq. that also got an LED display (first, WWF; now recently, the new Hard Rock Cafe). I had thought they should do something like that for the Kings. I had remembered that whole strip down to Church Av. faintly resembling Times Sq with all the lights and marquees when I was young. It was like our own little version of midtown.
What in the world is preventing someone from developing it all these years. developers have sure been moving in and tearing down old buildings for condos lately. Why no interest in something like this?