Jackson Heights Life

this is on their website.

http://www.suneqp.com/#!the-shoppes-at-82nd-street/c1ki4

hard to judge based on a rendering, but wow, it's pretty awful. And, it's depressing to see how 82nd street is being pitched:

"A rare outdoor mall experience in the outer boroughs.  Primary shopping district in Jackson Heights and Elmhurst.  More than 20 national and regional chain stores.  Traveled by thousands of pedestrians daily.  Dense foot traffic seven days a week.  Active and dedicated Business Improvement District – the 82nd Street Partnership."

There's so much potential on 82nd street and it's so depressing how the best our BID can do is "an outdoor mall experience." I think I just threw up a little in my mouth.

The subdivision of the space would result in some very tiny stores.  I hate to be a pessimist, but with that little space, I foresee more cell phone, eyeglass and money transfer stores.  I think we have enough of those.  Plus, the design is ugly.

They have the whole triangle there to Baxter and Ithaca streets, not just the movie theater.  The smallest store size they have planned is 2,000 sq ft

Is commercial development really that much more profitable than residential? I guess it must be but it just seems so bizarre to have this kind of development in such a dense area with no parking when there are store to "shoppe" all over Queens and Manhattan anyway. Very out of scale.

I wish 73rd-75th would be re-zoned because otherwise it's only a matter of time for this kind of thing down there too.

Even the facade will be lost and replaced with mundane crap.  Why do places in Brroklyn get all the attention and financial assistance.

I agree that Queens is often overlooked re: landmarks, compared to Brooklyn & Manhattan (example, Central Park vs Flushing Meadows) although as mentioned, Manhattan lost a classic on W29th earlier this year, apparently because the long time owners desperatly needed the economic boost...

I'm glad >missmarty< also agrees that the theatre's facade should be taken into account...sure it's difficult, but New Yorkers learned a hard lesson in the 60s when the ornate (yet run down) Penn Station was replaced by the more bland Madison Sq
Garden (still standing there today)

Of course it would be wonderful if the Jackson Heights theatre could be restored, like the arthouse theatre in Kew Gardens, on Lefferts Blvd. That theatre had been under serious disrepair as well, like the Eagle on 37th Rd Jackson Heights had been, before it became a cool Bollywood spot, and before it completely closed and became the Food Court.
But i'm not necessarily looking for another movie theatre;
like bookstores, they can be hard to sustain these days.
Just want the architectural link to our past...

I know there are many Queens folks who have tried to save the RKO at Main St Flushing (Northern Blvd) for a decade now, and it looks like it will not be saved, it will just be condos...

Where are those preserving our Queens landmarks?
Any ideas? Connections?

The refurbished theater in Brooklyn cost $90 million and was such an exception to the rule of what happens in NY. I really don't think we should be jealous at all, and rather celebrate it. It was/IS a movie palace and is much greater in so many ways that the 82nd Street theater. The Valencia in Jamaica is now a church (much more profitable than a movie theater). I've only seen pictures and heard the tales but the RKO Keith is on a similar level but not as high as the Valencia or the Kings Theater.


The 82nd Street is just too good real estate to use as a movie theater. And from what I understand, you can't force preservation on an owner. It's definitely an amazing place but it's a relic. The last owner paid about $1000 A DAY. Always seemed insurmountable to me.


You can see a list of movie palaces here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Movie_palace

I'm wondering if they are the same developers who bought the gas station  on Roosevelt  Avenue betw 91-92 street.

Hmmm, CASSAT....are there any recreation rooms or basements in the apartment blocks that might be appropriate?

But a better idea is concerning E77.

E77 is renovating.  And my guess is that they would be really into having film nights there.

The irony, of course, to do with the ART CLUB policy is that CINEMA is ART!  Just ask any French person.

Hmmm, CASSAT....are there any recreation rooms or basements in the apartment blocks that might be appropriate?
But a better idea is concerning E77.
E77 is renovating.  And my guess is that they would be really into having film nights there.
The irony, of course, to do with the ART CLUB policy is that CINEMA is ART!  Just ask any French person.

a-k and ptbass75, I really appreciate all the ideas.  I don't know the neighbourhood well enough to think of rec rooms or basements (my building doesn't have anything appropriate), but I'm going to talk to E77 and Terrazza and see how they react.
And about ART, yes, I thought the exact same thing