Green Room New York

GREEN ROOM NEW YORK

Cross section of a rendering of the proposed Uptown Film Center Inside the Uptown Film Center (released Wednesday, April 1, 2026) By Kimberly Burke The Uptown Film Center hopes to bring the shell of an old theater back to life in a "short" 28 months. The organization behind the theater is Upper West Side Cinema Center, Inc. The non-profit was able to purchase the old Metro Theater at West 99th Street in April of 2025. Built in 1933, many generations frequented the property with its Art Deco facade. That facade and marquee are city landmarks. Unfortunately, the space has been sitting dormant for 20 years. The inside, the actual theater, gutted by the previous owner. The landmark status is the only thing that saved the building from the wrecking ball. The vision for The Uptown Film Center is to transform the architectural gem into a five screen cinema arts and education center with a welcoming community cafe. They hired Architects Voith & Mactavish in the Spring of 2025 and currently have a target opening date of October 2028. A 29-million-dollar capital campaign is underway to complete the transformation of the theater. On Saturday, March 21 as part of the inaugural Art House Cinema Week, the visionaries gave us, along with other community members, a hard hat tour of the space in its dormant stage. Inside, the walls were mostly void and the once visible balconies were no longer a fixture. The screen space was stark and concrete of different hues of grey with pieces of fragmented wood or strips of metal shown where things once were. The leaders showed future plans for the theater and its goals for creating a community space. They have enlisted the help of Union Square Hospitality to recommend architectural design for traffic flow, prep area, and equipment needs for the all-day-cafe and bar. Boston Sound & Light provided input for plans on both 35mm and 70mm projection. V&A Architects completed the Schematics Phase this month of March. The narrowing down of contractor selection is now happening. Once a contractor is chosen, the Design Development-fine-tuning drawings, hiring subcontractors, and selecting materials will take approximately the next 14 months. The Uptown Film Center plans to continue with pop-up screenings, a planned Summer Pop-Up Series, which will include three outdoor films and a Film in the Classroom pilot at PS 84 this spring, with plans to expand to additional schools while the transformation of the theater is in progress. Fundraising for the 29-million-dollar project is in the works. Several city and state grant applications are pending decisions expected around July 2026. Assemblyman Micah Lasher secured a $250K CREST grant toward the capital campaign. Individual and foundation contributions continue to come in with 739 donors. You can donate and be a part of the theater's history by purchasing a seat. Leave your legacy on a seat in the theater and know you contributed to this historical transformation and future for cinema in the city. Seat names can be individual or collective legacies. Link to capture a seat is here: https://uptownfilm.org Ira Deutchman Ira Deutchman showing the main floor schematic Ira Deutchman showing the second floor schematic

Cross section of a rendering of the proposed Uptown Film Center

Inside the Uptown Film Center
(released Wednesday, April 1, 2026)
By Kimberly Burke

The Uptown Film Center hopes to bring the shell of an old theater back to life in a "short" 28 months. The organization behind the theater is Upper West Side Cinema Center, Inc. The non-profit was able to purchase the old Metro Theater at West 99th Street in April of 2025.

Built in 1933, many generations frequented the property with its Art Deco facade. That facade and marquee are city landmarks. Unfortunately, the space has been sitting dormant for 20 years. The inside, the actual theater, gutted by the previous owner. The landmark status is the only thing that saved the building from the wrecking ball.

The vision for The Uptown Film Center is to transform the architectural gem into a five screen cinema arts and education center with a welcoming community cafe. They hired Architects Voith & Mactavish in the Spring of 2025 and currently have a target opening date of October 2028. A 29-million-dollar capital campaign is underway to complete the transformation of the theater.

On Saturday, March 21 as part of the inaugural Art House Cinema Week, the visionaries gave us, along with other community members, a hard hat tour of the space in its dormant stage. Inside, the walls were mostly void and the once visible balconies were no longer a fixture. The screen space was stark and concrete of different hues of grey with pieces of fragmented wood or strips of metal shown where things once were.

The leaders showed future plans for the theater and its goals for creating a community space. They have enlisted the help of Union Square Hospitality to recommend architectural design for traffic flow, prep area, and equipment needs for the all-day-cafe and bar. Boston Sound & Light provided input for plans on both 35mm and 70mm projection. V&A Architects completed the Schematics Phase this month of March. The narrowing down of contractor selection is now happening. Once a contractor is chosen, the Design Development-fine-tuning drawings, hiring subcontractors, and selecting materials will take approximately the next 14 months.

The Uptown Film Center plans to continue with pop-up screenings, a planned Summer Pop-Up Series, which will include three outdoor films and a Film in the Classroom pilot at PS 84 this spring, with plans to expand to additional schools while the transformation of the theater is in progress.

Fundraising for the 29-million-dollar project is in the works. Several city and state grant applications are pending decisions expected around July 2026. Assemblyman Micah Lasher secured a $250K CREST grant toward the capital campaign. Individual and foundation contributions continue to come in with 739 donors. You can donate and be a part of the theater's history by purchasing a seat. Leave your legacy on a seat in the theater and know you contributed to this historical transformation and future for cinema in the city. Seat names can be individual or collective legacies. Link to capture a seat is here: https://uptownfilm.org

Ira Deutchman

Ira Deutchman showing the main floor schematic

Ira Deutchman showing the second floor schematic