Community Revels As New ‘Keith’ Building Plans Are Approved
by john toscano

Gazette photo After a long period of slow decay which brought the Keith’s Theatre at Northern Boulevard and Main Street a major Flushing intersection, close to destruction, plans have been approved for a new high rise building that will give the community a new landmark.

After a long period of slow decay which brought the Keith’s Theatre at Northern Boulevard and Main Street a major Flushing intersection, close to destruction, plans have been approved for a new high rise building that will give the community a new landmark.

City Councilmember John Liu, who played a leading role in bringing the project to fruition with Borough President Helen Marshall, hailed the approval by the city Board of Standards and Appeals as beginning a new chapter in the history of Flushing.

Other local elected officials and community leaders added their accolades at a gathering last Tuesday where the long-awaited announcement was officially made.

Assemblymember Brian McLaughlin underscored the economic and job-creating aspects of the new development. Marshall, like many others, stressed the intersection at Northern Boulevard and Main Street is “a major entryway into Downtown Flushing”; and Michael Wang, director of the Nan Shan Senior Center hailed the new building as “the best holiday gift for the elderly of the Flushing community.”

The building plans call for restoration of the famed landmark RKO Keith’s lobby as part of a mixed-use commercial/residential development which will also include a major, full-service senior center. As far back as September 2003, according to Liu, when preliminary plans for the new building started to be discussed, the area’s senior citizen groups and elected officials had made the new center a top priority.

In Liu’s other comments, he stated, “Today, at long last, we exhume this important site and begin the resurrection of the RKO. The formerly majestic RKO Keith’s Theatre, which has long symbolized the gateway to Northeast Queens, will no longer be a blight and embarrassment to our community. Instead, we finally have a plan that will place a world class building on this site, establish a spacious, state-of-the-art and sorely needed senior center, and most importantly, resurrect a piece of Flushing’s psyche and history with the restoration of the RKO landmark.”

McLaughlin (D–Flushing) stated, “This is a tremendous boost to the economic vitality of Downtown Flushing. It will provide amenities and social services key to the stability and growth of the entire area.”

McLaughlin, who also heads one of the city’s major labor organizations, also emphasized, “Today’s action also means jobs with great benefits to working families for years to come. In this holiday season, Flushing and all of Queens has received the perfect gift: the restoration of a part of our collective past that will bring us forward into a brighter future.”

State Senator Toby Ann Stavisky (D–Flushing) noted, “For too long, RKO Keith’s has been a blight on Northern Boulevard. The new plan to transform the space will give the building a cutting edge look while retaining much of the old building’s elegance.

“Even more important than the aesthetics, the development includes a much-needed senior center, and its retail and residential spaces will allow downtown Flushing to continue its impressive progress and growth.”

The area’s other Assemblymember, Jimmy Meng (D), stated that the occasion was a special day to celebrate. “We have been waiting for this day for approximately 20 years,” he said.

Meng added, “This truly will make Flushing a destination spot for others to visit and also for Flushing residents, who will see a once historic building and area of Flushing come alive again.”

Chuck Apelian, who as chairman of the Community Board 7 RKO Keith’s Land Use Committee was closer than most people to the planning for the new building, stated that the old theater anchors Downtown Flushing. “We are excited this beautiful, new, world-class development will be the new cornerstone and landmark of our community for generations to come. We look forward to seeing the lobby of our cherished RKO Keith’s Theatre restored to the beauty and grandeur as we remembered it,” he declared.

“The people of Flushing are the ultimate winners today. This project is a shining example of the enormous benefit to the community when all parties work together for the common good,” he added.

Community Senior Center of Flushing, President Hyung-Bin Im stated:

“For four years, we had rented a space inappropriate for a senior center. Now, finally, thanks to the continued support of Councilmember Liu and other elected officials, we will have a beautiful new space for the seniors of our community.”

Other senior advocates in attendance were Michael Wang, CPC Nan Shan Senior Center director; Kwang S. Kim, Korean Community Services president and Phyllis Tobin, Selfhelp Community Services assistant vice president.

The saga of rescuing the venerable old theater building began in October 2002 when Shaya Boymelgreen purchased the building and met with Liu to discuss plans for the site. In the following months, Liu brought Boymelgreen to meet with Marshall to discuss plans, including Liu’s request that the site include a senior center.

In September of the following year, elected officials and community leaders gathered in front of the building to announce an agreement with Boymelgreen to construct the new senior center. Discussions then began in earnest with Board 7 and elected officials about the application for a variance from the Board of Standards and Appeals.

No schedule for construction of the new building was released.