Massive Movie Complex to Rise on Queens Boulevard?

Yes, Godzilla is coming to Queens. Not Godzilla the movie, however. This will be Godzilla the Movie theater. And even though the Georgia Diner will be destroyed and devoured, it will ultimately be the victor.
A plan to build the largest movie theater complex in the entire City of New York is on the drawing boards—30 separate screens with a total seating capacity of 7,450. The complex would also have 1,000 underground parking spaces.
The proposal calls for all of this to rise on Queens Blvd. And 55^th Avenue, the site presently occupied by the Georgia Diner, a familiar landmark on the bustling boulevard.
The famous promotional ad campaign for the just released "Godzilla" movie states "size doesn’t matter" and there seems to be agreement on that statement by two opposing opinions on the proposed theater. Local merchants and moviegoers questioned by The Queens Courier thought that having the City’s biggest cinema in their backyard is a fabulous idea. But some civic and governmental leaders were taking a wait-and-see attitude. Or saying that the project is just too big for the neighborhood, one that would bring a traffic nightmare to the community.
The project is a joint venture between AMC Entertainment, which runs the AMC cable movie network and which is the largest theater operator in the nation with 5,000 screens around the country, and Proto Industries, a Long Island developer.
Angelo Gatzonis, a Proto partner who is one of the partners who own the Georgia Diner—and who recently became part of a partnership that will become the new operators of the famed Terrace on the Park at Flushing Meadows—said that the project "will open the year 2000 and it will be spectacular." He added that although the diner will be demolished, a new Georgia Diner will be built within the theater complex along with 65,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space.
"We envision a major bookstore, a theme restaurant, a clothing store and other amenities becoming a part of the complex," Gatzonis said.
"There are a lot of people who leave Queens to go to theaters in Manhattan or Long Island. Even people in New Jersey go to Long Island for a first-class movie experience," Gatzonis said. "We will offer them the biggest and most state-of-the-art motion picture complex right here. It will bring Queens into a very new era," he said.
Gatzonis said the theater will be in a unique location, by the Long Island Expwy., on Queens Blvd. Near the Queens Center Mall, and with an MTA subway stop at Grand Avenue directly at the theater’s doorstep. "With 50,000 to 60,000 people per weekend day visiting the mall, the theater complex will be a natural short distance away. It is a prime location."
Al Black, a consultant to the project countered that he has been in the business of erecting huge structures over watering areas without a problem ant that a "waterproof membrane" is commonly used in structures like this. Bialek said that this affects only a small portion of the 72,000 feet of land the complex will encompass, including the parking garage.
Bialek said that the plans are in the final stages of development and that this group will meet with Community Board 4 and City agencies to review policy, traffic and other concerns about the project. In fact, a task force meeting with the Borough President and concerned parties form the surrounding area was scheduled for today (Thursday) in the Borough President’s office.
But Bialek said some plans were certain. "This theater will have stadium seating and 35 to 40 feet ceiling heights with curvature screens. "You will not see the head of the person in front of you," Bialek said, "and given a choice of theaters, people will go the extra mile to get this kind of movie experience." He added that "the complex will offer first rate films first, so people won’t have to go to Manhattan or Long Island, and with 30 screens we will be able to offer a first run blockbuster, like "Titanic" was, on multiple screens at regular intervals to avoid long lines or reservations." Bialek envisions people spending their day around the immediate area, going to the mall and local stores, having lunch at the diner, shopping in the theater, seeing a movie and having dinner in the themed restaurant, for instance.