Image by Google Maps

By Isaac Zablocki January 22, 2018

As Lincoln Plaza Cinema closes its doors, I am identifying a huge void in the New York community. Obviously, the closing of this iconic film center is a major blow to the arthouse film scene, but even more so, it is a loss to the community of film lovers who access the Upper West Side. Lincoln Plaza was much more than just a movie theater, it was a Community Center. Dan Talbot, who ran the theater programmed his films with a specific community in mind. This was not another downtown-cool indie-theater, Dan’s programs reflected the needs and the wants of the community. This made the theater one of the most successful arthouse cinemas in the country.

Lincoln Plaza brought high level foreign and independent films. The audience it attracted was one interested in intellectual material and was not afraid of subtitles (and possibly preferred them). The audience members were socially and politically active and cared about the community around them, but also about other communities throughout the world. They appreciated art and great storytelling and would join together to be inspired.

Arthouses are a form of community center. They bring an audience together to share an experience, a window into a world. Often the talkbacks and events after the films can enhance this bond between the audience members. The films resonate and impact the viewers and become a part of their lives. I cannot imagine how many thousands of people were impacted by Lincoln Plaza.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

JCC Manhattan often previewed films that would then open in Lincoln Plaza. These films would have great success due in part to the buzz the community created. There were instances where Dan would hear the cry of the audience who caught a preview of a film at JCC Manhattan and he would book the film based on their requests for an uptown theater. He knew the value of the community’s word of mouth on his box office numbers.

Many films do not play in uptown cinemas but are relevant to an uptown audience (who notoriously do not go below 59th street and certainly not below 14th.) Now, without Lincoln Plaza Cinemas, the community will have to search for other outlets and ways to see these films. In a time when cinemas are struggling to overcome and find a place within the new playing field of movie consumption, it is important that the arthouse experience is kept strong. More and more people are viewing films online and saving theatrical experiences for blockbusters. I fear that the thousands of people who went weekly to Lincoln Plaza will forget about the cinematic experience. They will spend the winter binging instead of engaging with other people.

With the closing of Lincoln Plaza we will see fewer quality foreign-films in our community and less small-budget dramas that do not have special effects. We need as a community to keep these films alive and seek them out until a new arthouse opens on the Upper West Side. We need to continue to connect with our passions and dreams, but most of all, to one another.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount