The famous old Metro Theater on 100th and Broadway, vacant for years, will really really get a new tenant soon, Councilmember Mark Levine said on Tuesday. It’s just not the tenant we thought it was going to be.
Instead of Planet Fitness, the old theater will be filled by Blink Fitness, which also offers discounted gym memberships. And the reason that this isn’t just another pipe dream is that the tenants have already received some of the necessary permits to start work, including permits from the landmarks commission, Levine says. The city Planning Commission is expected to review the project in two to three weeks, he adds, and “once they approve, construction will take 4-6 months.”
Of course, we’ll wait until we actually see the Blink Fitness sign on the marquee before we believe it.
It would really be nice if they just made another art film theatre OR an Off-B’way space
Oh, for heaven’s sake. Can’t we have something a little more cultural that enriches the neighborhood and speaks to a broader base of residents ? There are a multitudes of fitness-oriented places in our area. What about the rest of us??
Blink would be very welcome. All the other choices, Equinox, NYSC and Crunch are too expensive. Even the YMCA is expensive. Blink is a low cost chain. We defiantly need that in our neighborhood. I joined Planet Fitness because I thought they were going to ope there. I am glad we are still getting a low cost option.
YUK!!
Does our neighborhood really need another fitness center? There are several within a few blocks.
How about something that appeals to a broad spectrum of the neighborhood, not just the gentrified?
Nothing prevents you naysayers from opening up an artistic endeavor on the UWS of you feel it’s so bereft of culture. It’s easier to criticize
I AGREE. YUK! WAS LOOKING FORWARD TO ANOTHER THEATRE OF SOME SORT. VERY DISAPPOINTED.
Another gym, big whoop. This part of the Upper West Side is a vibrant neighborhood, but sorely in need of cultural attractions. A theater of any kind would be a most welcome addition.
it’s a big space, I can’t imagine what the monthly rent might be (40k/month?), so anything “cultural” is out.
No one wants to deal with the LPC or CB7 for that matter
Agree, you have to be pretty brave to deal with the LPC.
That, and the cost to convert a theater into something more useful for most businesses is probably a big reason there has been so little interest in that space.
For those that want to convert it into another art film house, cultural asset or an off broadway space: NEWSFLASH: It has been empty for years, plenty of time for you to have lined up your financing/investors if you really wanted this to happen.
It is such a shame that it won’t be some sort of creative space.
I’m a fitness trainer/ dancer and I still find it depressing to turn that historic spot into a gym.
I’m glad it will not be empty but, it is a shame that we don’t support more cultural spaces and make them affordable for a wider variety of uses in our neighborhood.
or a (gasp!) book store
Can’t we be relieved that at last someone is taking that ugly, eye sore and transforming it. So what if it’s a gym, better than a drug store, bank. You can always go to the Thalia down the street or Symphony Space. I just can’t stand looking at the old Metro any longer. However, until I see work starting I won’t hold my breath. AT LEAST IT WON’T HAVE “TRUMP” ON THE FRONT.
At this point, what would the process be to remove the landmark status on the building? From what I’ve heard, there is basically nothing left behind the facade, and anything is better than nothing.
Please pick up after yourselves in the locker room. I’m always amazed how people treat these shared spaces. Wet towels on the floors, dirty sweaty clothes left on the carpeted locker room floors . People have disgusting , unsanitary habits and they don’t think twice about this being a Shared Space
But this is the ethic of today’s culture: There Is No One Else But Me. That’s why people walk down a busy sidewalk with plugs in their ears and their noses connected to their phones; why people ZOOOOOMMM their bicycles down pedestrian paths; why people plant themselves in the doors of subways when there’s plenty of room inside; and probably a host of other illustrations.
There Is No One Else But Me.
Wet towels dropped where they were last used is just one facet of it. “I’m done with it”, thinks the user — and, after all, “There Is No One Else But Me.”
It’s shameful, but not likely to change.
I was really hoping for another bank or chain drug store, or a combination bank / chain drug store
hooray!! welcome Blink fitness!
Bleccchhh
Better than an empty space, which it has been for YEARS. And, honestly, the full-service gym options around there are limited and expensive. The Equinox is more than $200/mo., which a lot of people can’t afford. A good discount gym will fill a role.
Living around the corner for years, I was saddened when metro closed and like others had really hoped for another cultural location. But clearly the rent, landmarks, decay, etc have made it that impossible. It pains me to walk by all the time and see this beauty deteriorating. While it’s not the movie theater I wanted, I’m happy it’s a gym. There’s not one in the immediate area and if it is affordable, I can be used by all the diverse residents that makes this part of the UWS so special. And as other have said, thank god no bank, no drug store, no urgent care
And no donut shop nor nail salon. But a low-cost gym is something, a lesser of two evils. [Say, nostalgic readers, anyone remember the Equity Library Theater in the Masters on RSD?]
And to think, we were *this close* with Alamo Drafthouse. *Sigh*.
THE REASON THAT NO MOVIE HOUSE IS MOVING IN IS THAT ALL OF THE SEATS, ETC. WERE REMOVED….WHAT A PITY.
Those were some uncomfortable and outdated seats. Any new tenant using the space as a theater would have had to trash all the old stuff and install brand new anyway.
great area for a gym, you can get a great workout so you can stay one step ahead of all the homeless and shady people in the area
THIS IS AMAZING!! I NEED TO PUMP MY LATS AT LEAST TWICE A DAY SO I REALLY NEED THE CONVIENCE OF THIS PLACE BY THE TRAIN.
I KNOW ALOT OF PEOPLE PRETEND TO READ BOOKS AND GO TO PLAYS AND STUFF AROUND HERE BUT IF YOU DID WHY ARENT THERE ANY BOOK STORES OR THEARTERS?? THINK ABOUT IT YOU SO CALLED INTELLECTUALS.
SOME THINGS NEVER CHANGE…TIME TO HIT THE GYM!!!! AND THEN MAYBE THE BANK AND THE DRUG STORE
Condos. Build condos. We need more luxury. The Arts? A third of the registered voters around Lincoln Center voted for Trump. Although Hillary did do well above 96th St. Maybe it can be a Food Emporium?
At this point anything there would be better than the current vacant hulk. If the gym can’t make it, at least it will be repaired, safe, and viable for something else down the road.
But I wish a few of those giant and endlessly vacant stores we have so many of could be turned into something a little more interesting like a popup flea market with booths of independent vendors. Kind of like the area at the far west side of Chelsea Market.
Anyone else think that the art of 2 naked people above the theater takes on a special meaning if it becomes a fitness center.
Shallow, but I just hope the façade remains true to itself. Inside, dealer’s choice.
There’s a little ALL CAPS virus spreading in this thread — a little out of place for West Side Rag. ME NO LIKE. As for the gym — cool: something is better than nothing, and a low-cost gym is better than a drug store, bank, etc. Welcome, Blink, and good luck to you.
It is such a large space, they will probably sublet the retail section which used to be an electronics repair shop as a fast food place, and the balcony will be a bar where you can enjoy watching the sweating lithe athletes down below while enjoying cocktails. Then the cute little box office could become a cute little card shop, or mini capuccino vendor. Lets keep some diversity in our neighborhood.
My, my aren’t we upset, and I totally agree. Can discount fitness afford the expenses in the long run? Without the add-on fast food, bar and card shop mentioned below, I’ll give them a year to prove themselves. An off-Broadway theater/night-club could be fun, but isn’t that an expensive spot?