Graffiti on the landmarked facade. Photo: Randy Enochs
Photo: Randy Enochs
(Front, L-R) Uptown Board member Sally Martell, Uptown president Ira Deutchman, and Eli Northrup gathered with neighbors on the Broadway median to watch the removal of the graffiti.
Members of the 46-year old Art Deco Society of New York came in solidarity to cheer on the preservation of the landmarked facade.
A group shot of Uptown volunteers and neighbors marked the moment.
Photo: Randy Enochs
What a milestone! Thanks to the support of New York Landmarks Preservation Commission, Uptown Film Center was able to remove years-old graffiti from the landmarked Art Deco façade of its home at Broadway and 99th Street on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.
The graffiti had been a highly visible presence on the building for a number of years and a longstanding neighborhood concern. Its removal allows the building’s distinctive façade to stand out along Broadway. It also marks the first visible step in the development of Uptown Film Center as a new five-screen arthouse cinema and cultural center.
Because of the façade’s landmark status and historic materials, the graffiti removal required a highly specialized treatment to protect the façade and its distinctive architectural details. Uptown Film Center’s architects, Voith & Mactavish, worked in coordination with the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission to ensure the protection of the terra cotta.
Campaign captains for the Light Up the Uptown peer-to-peer fundraising campaign were celebrated at our final outdoor screening in Riverside Park.
What happens when 30 people who believe in the Uptown Film Center ask their friends and family to believe in it, too? An incredible $62,758 raised from 281 new donors and 49 repeat donors!
This summer, 30 Uptown supporters stepped forward as Light Up the Uptown campaign captains, each committing to raise a modest $500 by asking friends and family to make a gift of $20 or more. While the original overall goal of the campaign was $20,000, the captains more than tripled that number—and almost everyone exceeded their personal goal, with most raising more than $1,000.
The idea for the campaign came from Natalie Dawe, an Upper West Side volunteer and Uptown’s lead marketing consultant. She knew that a personal invitation would be much more powerful than a generic fundraising appeal. “Anytime I tell someone in my network about the Uptown Film Center and talk about how passionate I am about it, the excitement is infectious.”
Campaign co-chair Raquel Munive (right) with campaign captains Frederique Henriot and Susan Goodman
Natalie proposed a peer-to-peer campaign that would give supporters their own personalized fundraising pages and the tools to share the Uptown story with their personal networks. Raquel Munive, another Uptown volunteer, joined the effort as co-chair. Together, she and Natalie created a toolkit to make it easy for first-time fundraisers to get started, providing information about the Uptown, sample emails and texts, social media posts and photos. Each “captain” also had a personalized donation page where they could watch their fundraising progress and receive regular updates.
The result was an extraordinary outpouring of support!
The captains ranged in age from 17 to 85; many had never raised money before. But because the ask was just $20, they say they felt comfortable reaching out to their friends and family. And then the gifts started coming in. One fundraiser identified a leadership donor; others kept raising their goals as they surpassed them.
It’s a family effort! Co-captains Nicky and Kristen Dover with their next generation cinephile!
By mid-August, after the eight-week campaign, the 30 volunteers had raised $62,758—three times the original overall goal. Just as important were the 281 new donors who joined the Uptown community by donating through the campaign.
“A broad base of community support matters enormously to a project like ours,” says Beth Krieger, Uptown Vice President/Development and Communications. “Foundations, government funders and individual major donors want to see evidence that our project has the support of the community it will serve.” The influx of donors from the summer campaign, she says, has brought the total number of donors to 1,400.
(L-R) Campaign captains Corinne Constantine and Lorraine Zamora
“I hope the captains feel a lot of pride because they did something significant for their community,” adds Natalie. “The Uptown belongs to all of us—and these 30 volunteers showed just how much can happen when a community comes together to build it.”
Raquel notes that several captains have asked to continue their fundraising efforts through crowd-funded Name a Seat campaigns, working toward the $5,000 need to name a seat in one of the Uptown’s future theaters.
Natalie and Raquel hope to repeat the Light Up the Uptown campaign next summer. A call for volunteers will go out next May in our newsletter, so if you are interested, be sure you sign up for Uptown mailings at uptownfilm.org/mailing-list.
After a comprehensive search and bidding process, the Uptown Film Center has contracted with Shawmut Design and Construction as Construction Manager for the pre-construction planning period.
Pre-construction consists of a review of constructability and project documentation, development of detailed budgets, schedules, phasing and cashflows, and creation of a site logistics plan, among other activities.
Shawmut is a 100% employee-owned company with a long history of construction management in New York City. Recent relevant projects include The People’s Theater, four Brooklyn Public Library branches and the Children’s Museum of Manhattan, which is in progress.
The Uptown project is still on track for a late 2028 opening.
The Uptown is pleased to announce that Gina Duncan has joined the board. Gina’s extensive background in film and more than two decades of experience leading arts organizations makes her an invaluable asset to the Uptown board.
Currently, Gina is CEO of The Moth, the nonprofit storytelling organization dedicated to the art and craft of personal narrative. She joined The Moth following her tenure as president of the prestigious Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), where she guided the organization through a major period of transformation. Previously she was Producing Director at the Sundance Institute, where she was responsible for producing the festival and strengthening the institute’s engagement with independent artist and film industry communities. Before Sundance, she served as VP of Film and Strategic Programming at BAM, leading the film program and BAMcinemaFest. Earlier in her career she was Director of Industry Engagement and Special Programs at the Jacob Burns Film Center in Pleasantville, NY. Here, Gina curated and executed specialized film series and served as a bridge between the local community and the larger film industry.
In addition to the Uptown, Gina also sits on the board of the Arthouse Convergence, a non-profit organization that connects and advocates for independent, community-focused movie theaters and film festivals.
Graffiti on the landmarked facade. Photo: Randy Enochs
The Uptown is pleased to announce that Gina Duncan has joined the board. Gina’s extensive background in film and more than two decades of experience leading arts organizations makes her an invaluable asset to the Uptown board.