Tribune Exclusive:
Brooklyn Developer
Plans To Bring Glory Back To RKO Keith’s

By Angela Montefinise

At the intersection of Main Street and Northern Boulevard in Flushing, a glamorous movie palace once stood with elaborate gold trim around the entranceways, velvet seats and magical glittering stars on the ceiling.

That theater — known as the RKO Keith’s — opened in 1927 as a space for vaudeville acts, including such famous faces as Bob Hope, who once called the Keith’s “one of the most beautiful places I ever performed.” In the 1940s, it was a movie house where generations went to see their favorite big screen flicks, from “Gone With the Wind” to “Star Wars: A New Hope.”

But for the past 16 years, it has sat boarded up and empty, slowly rotting away into a dilapidated eyesore that Councilman John Liu called, “A disgrace.”

The owner, developer Tommy Huang, was convicted of environmental crimes as a result of a heating oil spill in the basement, and was publicly criticized by the community for not maintaining any portion of the building, including its landmarked lobby, leading to its deterioration.

Now, after years of decay, the RKO Keith’s building has a new owner – Brooklyn-based Boymelgreen Developers. The company’s founder and president Shaya Boymelgreen sat down this week with the Tribune to discuss his plans for the site, and to assure the community that he plans to work with them every step of the way.

Boymelgreen, a Brooklyn resident, told the Tribune from his office in East New York that the RKO Keith’s building is the “gateway to Flushing,” and, “As the gateway to Flushing, we want to give it the magnitude that it deserves . . . It will be a beautiful building, and it will resemble what it was before.”

Although no plans have been finalized and no sketches have been drawn, Boymelgreen said his company plans to make the site a mixed-use facility, with a mall and several luxury apartments with rooftop gardens. He doesn’t know how many floors it will be, and said he is still “working out the proportions” of how much of the site will be commercial and how much will be residential. He also couldn’t give a timeframe or price tag for the project, but did say that he has already spoken to some national chain stores that are interested in opening there, and said, “I have spoken to some anchors . . . I don’t want to say who yet.”

Boymelgreen added that although the Asian community is dominant in the area, “We are not just targeting Asians. This is going to be a destination for all the people of Queens.”

The RKO Keith’s building has a floor plan of 43,000 square-feet, and is zoned R6 with a C2-4 overlay. This means that the property can have up to 21 floors, and can include residential properties and limited types of commercial properties – not including stores. About one-third of the property also needs to be open space.

Brooklyn developer Shaya Boymelgreen (center) shown here with his executive assistant Tamar Madmoni (left) and vice president and general counsel Asi Cymbal. Tribune Photo by Angela Montefinise

Boymelgreen said he does plan to apply for a variance with the New York City Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA) to allow for stores, increased residential space, parking and to lessen the open space requirements. He explained that under the current zoning. “You can’t do much with the property.”

Boymelgreen said he plans to submit paperwork to the BSA by December, which will kick off a public review process that will go to Community Board 7, the Queens Borough Board, and City Planning for discussion before it goes to the BSA for a vote.

He has already met with the BSA, with the Landmarks Preservation Commission, with Community Board 7 and with Borough President Helen Marshall, and said, “I don’t see any problems with getting the plans approved. Everyone was very excited about the proposals.”

Several sections of the RKO Keith’s building, including the lobby, the Grand Foyer, and the entranceway, are landmarked properties that cannot be changed under the current law. Boymelgreen, who signed a contract for the Keith’s for more than $10 million, said he plans to restore the landmarked pieces and incorporate them into the new building.

He said he has already met with the Landmarks Preservation Commission, and said it has “no objections” to the company’s preliminary plans.

“We don’t want any amendment by [Landmarks],” Boymelgreen said, adding, “We are going to keep other things that are not landmarked, too.”

Boymelgreen said he has visited the RKO Keith’s in its current state and, “It’s worth nothing. The whole thing, the inside walls, the outside walls. It’s badly damaged . . . The challenge here is to cooperate with Landmarks to make sure everything that needs to be there will be there.”

Although there is no official name for the complex Boymelgreen plans to build yet, he said it will probably be named the RKO Keith’s Plaza as a tribute to what was once there. Boymelgreen said, “The building is going to be outstanding. It’s going to be beautiful.”

Boymelgreen said he plans to “build more parking than necessary” at the site, and said, “The success of this site, I believe, depends on the parking.” The amount of parking he is required to provide depends on how large the structure is, and he said he hopes to build the parking underground in a three-level garage.

That plan may be flawed, however, according to The Committee to Save the RKO Keith’s, which said that the Keith’s was built over an aquifer, which makes underground construction difficult.

Liu said, “Well, it’s no secret that Flushing has a relatively high water table. But there are new construction methods that can help with that . . . My understanding is that Shaya is determined to build more parking than necessary.”

Boymelgreen did not discuss the aquifer, but said that no plans are final, and that the community will be involved in the process. 

Liu said, “Once plans are put forth, they will be scrutinized, and rightly so. But [Boymelgreen] wants to work with the community and do what’s best for the area, and let’s see what he has to offer.”

Over the past few weeks, Boymelgreen met with Liu, Marshall, Community Board 7 District Manager Marilyn Bitterman, Community Board 7 member Chuck Apelian and Community Board 7 Chairman Eugene Kelty, and said, “Everyone is very excited about the plans.”

Liu said he is “extremely happy,” that something is being done about the site, and said, “I think that the RKO Keith’s site has been pulling down that whole neighborhood. I think what Shaya plans to do will dramatically uplift, not only the immediate area, but the entire vicinity.”

Kelty added that he was “very pleased” that Boymelgreen decided to meet with the Board early, and said, “It was very positive . . . [Boymelgreen] seemed very receptive of what we were discussing . . . I was pleased that he was upfront with us. His track record seems pretty good, and I’m glad we’ve gotten him into Queens.”

Acting CEO of the Committee to Save the RKO Keith’s Jerry Rotondi, said his group “has no problems” with the plans, as long as the landmarked sections are not touched. He said, “Any change is welcome.”

Boymelgreen said he was happy to meet with the community, and said, “We are going to sit with anybody who wants to meet with us. I welcome that.”

Boymelgreen said the RKO Keith’s building is his company’s first project in Queens, and added, “Queens is new to me . . . I think there is a lot of opportunity over there in Queens, and we plan to look into doing more there.”

He said the site has “great potential,” and found it because, “it was on the market.” He said, “This is a great opportunity, and I am really excited about it.”

Boymelgreen Developers was founded in 1994, and is based in New York, Toronto and Jerusalem. The New York branch has built several mixed use buildings in Brooklyn and Manhattan, and has dealt with the Landmarks Commission on several issues in Tribecca. A Landmarks spokesperson said, “This company has been very cooperative with our agency, and we’ve had no problems in the past.”

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