Tag: Martell-Klingenstein

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Uptown Campaign Updates

The Uptown has raised 30.5% of its total goal of $36M.

Our neighborhood, film and adjacent communities really stepped up to meet the challenge for our end-of-year 2025 fundraising! More than 525 new unrestricted gifts came in during the last quarter, each gift doubled by the million-dollar match generously offered by donor and board member, Sally Martell-Klingenstein.

Since beginning this initiative in September 2024, the Upper West Side Cinema Center (nonprofit corporate entity for the Uptown Film Center) has raised close to $11 million, representing 30.5% of a total fundraising goal of $36M. Of that amount, $7 million went toward the purchase of the building; the remaining $29 million is earmarked for preservation and construction.

Where Your Dollars Go

Each new gift helps keep us on target for our build-out timeline, paying for the architects, engineers, and expeditors who are working tirelessly on the schematic plans and helping us navigate New York City’s extensive permitting and building requirements.

Additionally, your donations have helped us build our nonprofit organization’s infrastructure. While board members and administrators are all volunteers, every nonprofit needs a professional team dealing with finances. So your donations are helping us pay for three (very) part-time staffers who make sure we are tracking, accounting, and complying with all city, state and federal regulations.

Finally, our fundraising success and the growing number of donors helps us unlock major grants from city, state, and private foundations.

What’s New? This month we had the facility cleaned of debris that had accumulated after 20 years of abandonment. Within the next month or so, you’ll also see new marquee banners announcing our new name. Why is it taking so long? Well, everything we do requires a vendor search and proper permit!

Preservation: In the next month or two, look for a graffiti-free facade! We also have plans to install some safety scaffolding on the interior. Many thanks to the NYC Landmarks Conservancy and the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission, which are generously helping underwrite this work while providing invaluable expertise on approved methods and vendors.

Cafe/Bar:  Your donations are helping shape a new go-to community spot at the Uptown, allowing us to hire Hospitality Lab, the concept development and consulting arm of Union Square Events, as the consulting partner for Uptown Café. Carrying forward the legacy and expertise of its founder, Danny Meyer, Hospitality Lab has been hired to help strategize and work alongside our architects on the design and potential for the cafe/bar that will grace our film center’s lobby and mezzanine. We love the fact that the Hospitality Lab by Union Square Events has been instrumental in developing the concept, design, operation, and menus of so many successful New York City cafes and restaurants, including Cedric’s at The Shed, Westmoreland Café at The Frick Collection. Their restaurants are not only wildly popular but also extremely eclectic and clearly focused on location and demographics. We’re excited to see how their expertise will help bring the Uptown Café vision to life.

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UPTOWN’s Holiday Season Updates

So many exciting things are happening right now as we prepare for year’s end. We’re working on both a Winter and Summer Screening Series (TBA); our first Film-in-The-Classroom pilot project is about to conclude; we’re awaiting the final go-ahead to clean the graffiti off the theater’s facade and complete some other safety maintenance work; and we are working with our architects to finalize design details. We expect to launch the search for a general contractor in March.

The Uptown continues to form new partnerships with local organizations, including Bloomingdale Aging in Place, which recently hosted a zoom with more than 100 members who eagerly listened to Ira Deutchman and Adeline Monzier talk about the project. They asked several key questions regarding the design and operation of the film center:

  • Yes! The film center will be ADA compliant, with an elevator, accessible bathrooms, and accommodations for both hearing and visual impairment.
  • Yes! The fifth theater–equipped with screen and approx. 40 flexible seats–will be made available to local nonprofit groups and education classes as well as for party rentals.
  • Yes! We will be a membership-based film center.

Your Support Is Building a New Future for Arthouse Cinema on the UWS!

Fundraising for the build-out of the Uptown Film Center continues to be a major focus. This month is particularly critical to our efforts because we are applying for crucial City and State grants. We’ve been told in no uncertain terms that the money is there–but the City and State need to see continued support from our community, both in contributions, number of donors, and endorsements, to unlock those dollars. Receiving these grants would be a major leap forward in reaching our ultimate goal of $29M.

In answer to this time-sensitive call for support, we have received a number of major gifts–including a very generous repeat gift from the Klingenstein-Martell Foundation, as well as new leadership donations from the Great Hill Foundation, Ruth Nelson Family Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Ben Stiller & Christine Taylor, and several others. Significantly, our capital campaign has also brought in more than 100 new and repeat donors in just the last month, at every giving level of giving.

We are so thankful for all of you who have made donations to make this project turn from dream to reality!  All gifts before the end of the year will be matched by a generous donor and are 100% tax deductible. See Ways to Donate.

We are thankful, too, for the enthusiastic endorsements we’ve received from our local electeds, who have been extraordinarily helpful at every step, as well as for letters of support from a wide variety of community partners, including SAG/AFTRA, Columbus/Amsterdam BID, the West 90th Neighborhood Assn., and PS 84.

All endorsement letters will be included in our grant application(s); names will appear on our website. If your group (or building) would like to write a letter of endorsement for the Uptown Film Center, we would be honored. Please email it as an attachment to beth@uptownfilm.org.

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See you at the UPTOWN!

Architectural rendering of the Uptown Film Center, by Voith & Mactavish

Introducing the UPTOWN FILM CENTER!

The announcement was made by Ira Deutchman, President of UWS Cinema Center, Inc, at a special BIG REVEAL event held at Villa Albertine on Oct. 27, before an audience of indie film industry execs, local government leaders, major donors and early founding supporters.

Deutchman was joined by guest speakers Tim Blake Nelson, Kyra Sedgwick, and Tony Kushner, as well as architects Voith & Mactavish and logo/branding designer Daymon Bruck, to celebrate the new name, reveal architectural renderings of the marquee and landmarked façade, and talk about what the theater will mean for the neighborhood, for the independent film community, and for the arts in New York City.

Tim Blake Nelson

Deutchman emphasized that the new name is a reflection of an entirely new mission for the former Metro/Midtown theater, making a clear statement about its location within the city. “We wanted to give the theater a unique identity that instantly would conjure up its iconic Upper West Side locale,” said Deutchman. The Uptown Film Center, he noted, will be the only full-time, nonprofit arthouse theater north of Lincoln Center. “Unlike commercial theaters or streaming platforms,” he said, “the Uptown will deliver an immersive, community-first film experience that blends the best of independent, international, documentary, repertory, and family cinema with educational programs and cultural partnerships. Visitors will come away not just entertained, but connected — to their neighbors, to global stories, and to the transformative power of film.”

Mark Harris, Tony Kushner, Ira Deutchman and Kyra Sedgwick

Uptown Film Center Board Member Tim Blake Nelson added, “Filmmakers—those who consider movies an art form as well as entertainment or a way to make a profit—still make films for movie theaters. The work might end up on smaller screens, but the actual creation happens with theaters in mind: places where strangers gather for state-of-the-art projection and sound to sharpen their sensitivity and intelligence about the world. The Uptown is going to be such a venue for a neighborhood that’s been starving for it.”

Capital Campaign Launched

Deutchman also announced the launch of a $29 million capital campaign to build out the film center. The timeline for completion will depend largely on how quickly those funds can be raised, but the nonprofit group is hoping to break ground by early 2027 and open the film center’s doors sometime in 2028.

In the months since the purchase of the building in April 2025, the Uptown Campaign has raised close to $3M, with leadership donations from the Great Hill Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor, Roland and Lois Betts, David Huntington and Susanna Phillips, the Lucille & Paul Maslin Foundation, the New York State Assembly through Assemblyman Micah Lasher, and continuing support from the Klingenstein-Martell Foundation.

State Assemblyman Micah Lasher, State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal, and Ira Deutchman

Several Naming Opportunities are available, as well as a new NAME A SEAT campaign, noted Deutchman, who emphasized that contributions both large and small are critical to the success of the campaign. “The number of donors and the clear demonstration of support from our community, opens the doors to grants from the city and state as well as private foundations.”

Progress Since the Purchase

Since last April when the property was purchased, UWSCC has made significant progress. The organization interviewed several firms before hiring the architects Voith & Mactavish, and went through a similar process to hire various consultants, including owners’ rep (name), lobbyists, expeditors, and restaurant consultant. Deutchman says the final designs for the center should be completed by February.

Simultaneous to build-out plans, the original volunteer founding team—Deutchman, Adeline Monzier, Stephen Cohen and Beth Krieger—has been working on expanding the Board and advisory councils and building the internal day-to-day infrastructure of the nonprofit organization. To demonstrate its mission to the community and donors, the group hosted a 10-part summer pop-up film series in cooperation with several local organizations, and this month, it launched a pilot educational project with an UWS public elementary school.

The $6.9 purchase of the former Metro theater property—which was raised in four months starting just a year ago–was made possible by a $3.5 million grant from Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York; $500K in grant money from the NY State Senate (Brad Hoylman-Sigal); major grants from the Hearthland Foundation (Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw), the Martell-Klingenstein Foundation and the Brandt Jackson foundation; and more than 500 individual contributors from the greater NYC community.

Special Thanks
Many thanks to the MANY volunteers who helped with our BIG Reveal, and the evening’s underwriters, Becker & Frondorf, 107 Wine and Spirits, Villa Albertine.

Follow our progress!
Sign up for our Newsletter
Read about the Uptown Campaign and Architectural plans
Find out about Naming Opportunities 
Press Coverage

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Upper West Siders Rally to “Reclaim the Metro”

The landmarked Metro Theater on Broadway between 99th and 100th has been empty for almost 20 years.

The UWS Cinema Center (UWSCC), a 501(c)(3) organization, is forging ahead to buy the Metro Theater on Broadway at 99th Street, to preserve the property’s landmarked façade and transform the space into a nonprofit, five-screen cinema arts and education center,

UWS Cinema Center managed to get a signed contract from the Bialek family in mid-October after reaching its first fundraising goal of $100,000 for the deposit. The money was raised in just two weeks from more than 100 local neighbors and friends–a clear sign of neighborhood support for this project.

Now, in its second month, the non-profit group has managed to raise just under $4M, including a $1M pledge by the Martell-Klingenstein Foundation, a $2M pledge by an anonymous donor, and a $500K pledge from Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal for emergency funding.

UWSCC still needs to raise the balance of the final purchase price, $6.936 million, by January 10, 2025. The group is reaching out to everyone and anyone who loves film, understands the value this cinema center would bring to the neighborhood, or has a strong appreciation for preserving this historic landmark. Plus, this would be the only non-profit cinema center in NYC that offers a full, dedicated educational and community program. (See uwscinema.org/education).  As City Councilman Shaun Abreu notes, “The Metro Theater is more than just a building; it’s a cultural touchstone for the Upper West Side and a reminder of the power of cinema to bring people together. The vision for the Metro’s revival as a non-profit cinema and educational center is inspiring—it’s about reclaiming a piece of our history while creating a space for future generations to gather, learn, and connect.”

UWSCC is seeking major donors who can make significant leadership gifts and might be interested in various naming opportunities. In addition to major gifts, donations of any size are welcome and encouraged, as they signify to larger donors that this initiative has enthusiastic community support. Until the end of the year, there is a special incentive: donate $2,500 and get a NAMED DREAM SEAT! You even get to pick the location.  All donations are 100% tax deductible. If the overall purchase of the building does not go through, you have still earned a tax deduction; if it goes through, you have earned a tax deduction PLUS a plaque on a future seat of your choice in one of the five theaters. 

“This is a real West Side Story,” says UWS Cinema Center cofounder Ira Deutchman. “Six of the seven Board members are long-time Upper West Siders who are passionate about the neighborhood.” He points out that “almost one-quarter of the monies raised have come in small donations from neighbors; the fundraising has been a true community effort.” Helping that effort is the community advocacy group, New Friends of Metro Theater, which gave UWSCC its first full-fledged endorsement last July.

Deutchman is well-known in the independent film world as a producer, marketer, distributor, exhibitor and consultant. He is also the director of the documentary, “Searching for Mr. Rugoff,” and Emeritus Professor in the School of the Arts at Columbia University, where he was the Chair of the Film Program from 2011-2015. UWS Cinema Center cofounder and Harlem resident, Adeline Monzier, is currently a guest programmer at Metrograph downtown and the founder of the Harlem film series Uptown Flicks. She also organizes the year-round student screenings at Film at Lincoln Center, formerly she served as the U.S. representative of Unifrance and oversaw the Rendez-Vous with French Cinema festival in partnership with Film at Lincoln Center