When the Bronx Times published the article “There’s only two movie theaters left in the Bronx. Does anyone care?”, it evoked plenty of reaction from readers.
“It’s a little too early to say anything, but not all Bronxites are taking this lying down. Expect some positive news soon,” wrote Ian Keldoulis — a board member of the nonprofit Bronx Independent Cinema Center (BICC) — on an Instagram post about the article.
The BICC then announced its intention, in an April 4 press release, to reopen the landmark Loew’s Paradise Theatre at 2417 Grand Concourse near Fordham Road. The historic theater, which first opened its doors in 1929, has been defunct as a movie house for decades, and over the years has taken shape as a music venue, an event space and even a church. Today, it sits vacant, but in step two of its four-step plan, the BICC aims to raise $3 million in an effort to purchase the theater outright by 2025.
When the building was purchased by Gerald Lieblich back in 2003, it sold for $4.5 million. But Gregory Hernandez, the executive director of the BICC, believes that raising $3 million by the end of 2025 is a “sign of successful traction.”
According to Hernandez, who is also one of the co-founders of Bronx Film 48 — a similar collective of filmmakers that screen movies, host workshops and networking sessions, and includes a 48-hour film project — it takes between $1-1.5 million to run a single-screen cinema.
“For us, we wanted to raise double that because this is going to be a movie theater and an incubator,” he said. “My idea is to combine the models of the Bronx Documentary Center and Ghetto Film School with that of an Alamo Drafthouse. Fuse robust education and a terrific cinema environment and you have a game changer for Bronx residents.”
The plan is to create a space for likeminded individuals regarding film and filmmaking. A place where Bronxites can call their own instead of being forced to go the Film Forum, the…
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