NYC’s Lincoln Plaza Cinemas to close in January; space to stay a theater after renovations

Lincoln Plaza Cinemas, NYC's Upper West Side arthouse institution, is scheduled to close in January when its lease is up, reports Deadline. Operated by Dan and Toby Talbot in partnership with France’s Gaumont distributor and building owner Milstein Properties, the six-screen theater opened in 1981 and, up through the mid-'00s, was one of the few places in Manhattan devoted to current independent cinema. The look of the theater was a bit like 1981 frozen in amber, from its marquee to its lavender walls. After Deadline published its initial report this weekend, Millstein Properties released a statement saying the property would stay a theater:

Milstein Properties built 30 Lincoln Plaza in 1978, we are long-term members of this community and have played a central role in nurturing this special theater. There is vital structural work needed to repair and waterproof the plaza surrounding the building that cannot be completed while the space is in use, and will begin now that the cinema’s lease has expired. At the completion of this work, we expect to re-open the space as a cinema that will maintain its cultural legacy far into the future.

Whether the theater will remain as Lincoln Plaza Cinemas and whether the Talbots will remain as programmers remains to be seen.

Meanwhile: Lower East Side's Sunshine Cinema will also close in January (though Landmark has opened a new UWS cineplex); Village arthouse institution Film Forum will close for renovations in May; and the Park Slope Pavillion will soon be a second location for Nitehawk Cinema with a winter 2018 opening.