Long-Closed Sunnyside Cinema To Finally Be Torn Down, Owner Says

SUNNYSIDE, QUEENS — A decade after it was purchased by a local developer, the old Sunnyside Center Cinemas building on Queens Boulevard may finally be demolished to make way for an apartment complex, its owner told Patch.

The building has been an object of controversy in recent years, ever since its 2012 sale to John Ciafone: an attorney and recent candidate for City Council. After failing to reach a lease agreement with its new landlord, the popular theater closed in 2015, along with next-door bar P.J. Horgan's.

Since then, the block has sat vacant, and Ciafone has drawn ridicule for his stalled development. On multiple occasions last year, unknown people altered the cinema marquee with messages like "Death By Speculation, Starring Limpd--k landlord," and "Ciafone Lost Again, Long Live Radical Communism" — the latter phrase referencing Ciafone's unsuccessful run for office last year.

"I do feel we were unfairly attacked all these years," Ciafone told Patch on Wednesday. "I don’t understand why."

He may not need to endure the scrutiny much longer. On Tuesday, Ciafone filed plans with the city to demolish the cinema building at 42-17 Queens Blvd., at last paving the way for construction to begin.

Ciafone was hesitant to pinpoint when the teardown would start, but vowed it would be "within the next few months." Once the site is clear, work will begin on the eight-story, 99-unit apartment building, which will also include 25 affordable units and a below-ground parking garage.

"State of the art"

Ciafone first filed plans for the new building last fall, telling Queens Post that it was pending approval from the Department of Buildings. He told Patch on Wednesday that he was still awaiting that approval, but expected to get the green light "very soon."

"It’s going to be nice, it’s going to be state of the art," Ciafone said of the project, describing a rooftop garden, ground-floor retail and the 138-car garage, which will be open to the public. Besides the old theater and bar buildings, its footprint will also include the former Dime bank building on the corner, and a dental office around the corner.

It will be designed by Gerald Caliendo Architects, while Ciafone will receive a tax break for including the affordable apartments.

As for the 10-year delay, Ciafone chalked it up to waiting out the retail tenants, working with architects and plumbers, and complying with the many "rules and regulations" that govern development in New York City.

The theater's closure triggered an outpouring of anger among neighbors, who treasured it for its cheap prices. Ciafone sees things differently, calling its basement-level auditorium a "deathtrap" and citing customer reviews that mentioned roaches and grimy conditions.

Ciafone has little sympathy for his critics, noting that he has paid taxes on the vacant buildings over the past decade.

"These people don’t realize how much real estate taxes are paid on a property like that," said Ciafone, who has run for office as a conservative Democrat against "radical communism."

"They don’t realize what a property owner has to comply with," he said. "They live in a society where they can take other people's property and do what they want to do."

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