AMC Theatres CEO Adam Aron has issued an open letter to New York City residents reiterating the company’s desire to continue operating its longstanding Kips Bay 15 multiplex in the Manhattan neighborhood of that name, but concedes the decision is not AMC’s to make.
Neighbors of the Kips Bay-Murray Hill section of Manhattan along Second Avenue near the East River have been vocal about the planned closure of the multiplex that’s been a central commercial hub since 1999 (AMC took over the venue in 2006). The property on which the multiplex sits was privately purchased last year by NYU Langone, one of New York’s major health care systems.
AMC announced in August that the purchase would likely mean the closure of the multiplex by the end of this year, prompting an outcry and protests from residents and other businesses in the area.
Following “direct engagement” from Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal, AMC’s Aron issued the open letter concurring with Hoylman-Sigal that the neighborhood needs such amenities as a movie theater, supermarket and housing.
Writes Aron, “Since news first broke that our popular AMC Kips Bay 15-screen movie theatre located at 570 Second Avenue in Manhattan will soon be forced against our will to close its doors, I’ve been struck by the extraordinary support that this AMC theatre has received from within the local surrounding community.”
Read the entire statement below.
“AMC Theatres does not want to go,” Aron writes. “Not one little bit. AMC Theatres wants to stay in Kips Bay….Apparently, NYU Langone Health does not share that view, not ours or not yours. Unfortunately, the decision to retain or end AMC’s tenure in Kips Bay is not ours to make.”
According to Aron, the NYU Langone Health facility “wants to expand, seems to be in the process of buying the building in which your (our) theatre now operates, and it wants us gone. In anticipation of such a transfer to NYU Langone, the current building’s owner has terminated our lease.”
Aron notes that AMC has “engaged” with NYU Langone to suggest various alternatives that would allow the multiplex to continue operating in some form. “Sadly, any and all variations that we have proposed have fallen on closed minds,” he writes, adding, “We call on NYU Langone Health to open their minds, to think creatively, and come up with a solution that will give the Kips Bay community BOTH of the two things that is wanted most of all: expanded facilities offering the world class medical care that is the hallmark of NYU Langone Health AND a fully functional AMC Theatre on Second Avenue.”
The AMC chief warns that time is running out for the venue. “Unless NYU Langone Health lets us delight the Kips Bay community beyond then, to comply with our terminated lease, the lights on AMC Kips Bay 15 will forevermore see their final sunset on January 3, a mere two and a half months from now.”
AMC currently operates nine multiplexes in Manhattan.
Here is the entire statement from Aron:
— Adam Aron (@CEOAdam) October 24, 2026(One of Two)
An Open Letter to the Kips Bay Community About the Future of AMC Kips Bay 15 in New York City
“AMC Does Not Want to Go. We Want to Stay.”
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To the Kips Bay Community,
Since news first broke that our popular AMC Kips Bay 15-screen movie… pic.twitter.com/hR2r18Dz4u