CinePlaza, the largest movie hall to screen Indian films in the east coast, will go down for a 29-storey complex.
NEW JERSEY: Bad news for Bollywood fans residing in New Jersey and New York as seven-screen movie house CinePlaza is on the verge of closing down.
“This theatre is like the lifeblood of Indian entertainment; it is a home to us,” said Vijay Shah, the owner of CinePlaza. Shah saved the theatre once but this time chances are dim. Shah's multiplex, located in an underground parking garage has been cast in doubt after the building's owner got approvals to demolish the theatre and replace it with a 29-storey residential and commercial tower, reported northjersey.com.
Shah, who has already been through a relocation mess, when the theatre's old home was shut down in January this year, is in a dilemma. He said he thought the property's financial troubles were over. The theatre represents a unique cultural niche where Shah screens about 60 Indian films a year, including eight or 10 blockbusters that sell as many as 15,000 tickets per show.
CinePlaza is the largest Indian theatre on the East coast, with a capacity of about 1,300 seats. The closing of the theatre will hugely disappoint the locals. The owners of the property, Brooklyn-based Forest City Ratner Companies, planned its redevelopment Wednesday when the North Bergen council approved rezoning the property.
The new zoning would permit a 25-storey residential tower with up to 350 units, and a four-storey commercial and retail The centre was built seven years ago.
Township officials said the developers have not given any timeline for when a formal application may be filed. Township officials said the developers stated the theatre was the only part of the shopping centre that was unprofitable.
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