Locals and independent film buffs from across the city flocked to the Sunshine Cinema over the weekend for one last visit before the theater closed for good last night. Now this morning in the New York Times we’re greeted by a rendering of the glassy tower that will replace the historic 1898 building on East Houston Street.
The developers, East End Capital and K Property Group, describe their new project as a 9-story boutique office building for small to midsize firms with ground floor retail. East End Capital’s Jonathan Yormak is preparing to wipe away an important piece of Lower East Side history (the Sunshine was a venue for Yiddish vaudeville acts in the early 1900s). But he tells the Times, “We’re big fans of the Lower East Side… It really needs more 9-to-5 activity and it tends to be very active, obviously, on a night life basis. We believe there is a real demand for office space and for people to work there during the day.”
The 65,000 square foot project is being designed by Roger Ferris. The Sunshine will be demolished starting in March. Construction is expected to be completed at the end of 2019.
In 1994, gallery owner and entrepreneur Tim Nye partnered with Landmark Theaters for a $12 million renovation of the historic property, which was being used as a warehouse. Nye said the Sunshine was, “doing incredible” financially, but that Landmark was only paying $8,000/month for a 30,000 square foot space. The rent would have gone astronomically higher at the end of the lease (Jan. 2018), even if developers hadn’t purchased it last year for $31.5 million. “We cannot pay market rent,” said Nye. “But we knew this day was coming from day one. It was a good run.”
In 2016, Landmark Theatres CEO Ted Mundorff told IndieWire that the annual rent at the Sunshine was around $200,000. He said it was, “pretty shortsighted” of Community Board 3 to have rejected Landmark’s application for a liquor permit in 2012. As we reported following that community board discussion six years ago, Landmark executives said that adding in-theater dining and drinking offered the only hope of keeping the Sunshine open long-term.
Among those quoted in today’s Times story is Brett Leitner, a local preservationist who helped lead an effort to landmark the Sunshine. The Landmarks Preservation Commission rejected the application because the building had been substantially altered over the years.
