Solar Panels To Light Up Park Slope's Nitehawk Theater

PARK SLOPE, BK — A historic-turned-trendy movie theater in Park Slope is moving further into the 21st Century with an eco-friendly upgrade.

Nitehawk Cinema's Prospect Park outpost will soon be studded with solar panels, following a unanimous design approval by the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission Tuesday. Park Slope's Community Board Six also recommended approving the proposal.

The solar panels, which will jut up less than a foot from the sloped rooftop, will help offset electrical energy use in the dine-in theater's commercial kitchen and screening rooms.

"This is a windowless building with a very high electricity use," said Angel Ayón, principal of the eponymously named architecture studio that designed the plans. "We're trying to maximize the use of the existing roof... and strike the right balance between preservation and sustainability."

The panels' slight increase in height and relative lack of change to the building would usually be a selling point for the landmarks commission, but many agency members said they are actually looking forward to seeing the rooftop solar panels.

"I pass by this roof a couple of times a week just walking around and it's possibly the most hideous roof in Park Slope," said Commissioner Michael Devonshire during Tuesday's hearing. "I love seeing it covered with something that will benefit the theater and the neighborhood and civilization."

The sentiment that the panels will have a positive environmental impact was shared by many commissioners who spoke Tuesday.

"I look at solar panels like I look at ADA ramps," said Commissioner Michael Goldblum. "These are signs of our progress towards a better way of living. I think they're actually lovely to look at."

The panels are also part of ongoing efforts to restore the historic theater and "bring it into the future," as Commissioner Adi Shamir-Baron put it.

Before Nitehawk Cinema opened at 188 Prospect Park West in 2018, the building was home to the Pavilion theater, and before that the Sander theater, which opened in 1928.

In 2015, plans were floated to partially replace the then-decrepit theater with condominiums — a proposal decried by some local residents.

Instead, Nitehawk Cinema moved in, keeping preservation top of mind; the cinema worked to restore many of the building's architectural features, like the mezzanine and door detailing.

After shuttering at the onset of the pandemic, Nitehawk has reopened its flagship Williamsburg theater and the South Slope outpost for full service.