A Nosebleed View of the Loews Kings Theater Renovation

Nose-bleed seats, Loews Kings Theater

Flatbush, Brooklyn received fresh press this week as Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced the groundbreaking of the renovation efforts to the Loews Kings Theater on Flatbush Avenue. Elected officials including the mayor, Councilman Mathieu Eugene, and Borough President Marty Markowitz evoked the theater's storied past to portray a return to it.

During the BP's remarks, Markowitz recalled the theater 50 years ago where he took his first date, Brooklyn high school graduations took place in the 3200-seat theater, and Sylvester Stallone worked as an usher. The glowing terms deployed by the elected officials, while expressing a return to the glory days, raise issues of access and equity. 

The fact that the renovation of the theater is expressed in terms of a return to the "glory days" 50 years ago is telling. Many of the neighborhood's West Indian residents did not as yet settle in Flatbush and a return to the Flatbush of 50 years ago precludes access by its residents of color. 

The goal of the theater's renovations raises more red flags. When fully restored, the theater will function as a live performance venue comparable to the Brooklyn Academic of Music and Radio City Music Hall. The very design of the theater reinforces inequity along class lines. When compared with the median income of the surrounding blocks, the price of tickets seems out of reach. According to the 2000 Census tract, the median income in the census tract immediately across the street is $24,271. As is expected, great house seats will cost upwards of hundreds of dollars depending on the performance while the cheap seats will be in the nosebleed section of the house.

I also wonder what performances will be live. Will it diverse, reflecting the culture of the surrounding community? How will the community's culture be incorporated into this project? Beyond serving as a spectacle, the long-term success of the Loews Kings Theater is dependent on Flatbush's most important resource, its residents.