By Courtney Dentch
After a slow start, attendance at the new Jamaica Multiplex movie theater is beginning to rise, thanks to a special two-for-one promotion and some of the summer blockbusters, a theater manager said Tuesday.
Ronald Canner, district manager for National Amusements, which operates the theater in the Jamaica Center, addressed 50 members of the Greater Jamaica Development Corporation’s downtown committee.
He said that night attendance figures are lower than they had expected, due in part to myths that downtown Jamaica is plagued by crime and violence, he said.
The committee also heard from Lorena Alava, area supervisor for Bally Total Fitness, which is planning to open a health club in the Jamaica Center at Jamaica Avenue and Parsons Boulevard close to the end of August.
Jamaica Multiplex became the first tenant in the Jamaica Center to open in May, and Canner said the initial community response was mild and that it was a “disappointing opening.”
But a number of programs and promotions, including a two-for-one deal on movie tickets, which ended last week, and the Wednesday Bookworm program that lets children trade a book report for a movie ticket, are getting more people into the theater, Canner said. National Amusements also reduced the ticket price at the Jamaica Multiplex from the original $9 to $8.75, he said.
“Our attendance grew and grew – almost on a daily basis,” Canner said. “It’s been extremely successful.”
The theater was the first cinema in downtown Jamaica in about 30 years, and National Amusement was excited to move into the area, Canner said.
“When the prospect of a location for a Jamaica theater became available, we thought it would be a perfect fit,” he said.
But the company soon learned that people outside Jamaica are still wary of the area’s crime-filled reputation, even though there is a manned police car posted outside the theater most nights, Canner said.
“The perception is that this is still a dangerous neighborhood,” he said. “The police have been very cooperative.”
But the committee objected to the characterization of its community.
“I grew up here, and I don’t have any scars,” said Bill Martin, the committee chairman and Verizon’s director of community affairs. “There is no problem here, but there is a myth that there are problems.”
Canner also noticed that the theater’s attendance figures drop dramatically after 6 p.m. because there is little else to do in downtown Jamaica, he said.
“Hopefully, our success will induce others to stay open later as well, to our mutual benefit,” Canner said.
With renewed optimism, the theater is looking forward to forming partnerships with community groups, including the Bally Total Fitness center that is opening down the block.
The health club is planning to open at the end of August or the beginning of September, Alava said. The gym will feature cardiovascular equipment, free weights, group exercise classes, and a sauna, she said. The center will employ about 100 people, and during the week it will be open until 11 p.m., Alava said.
“We need to get noticed,” she said. “We want the community to know what we have.”
The fitness center could also be a positive place for Jamaica youth to direct their energy, said Hector Cruz, the gym’s head trainer.
“To put a big club in a community like this is only going to make it better,” he said. “It will make the kids healthier, make them more knowledgeable.”
Reach reporter Courtney Dentch by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com, or by phone at 229-0300 Ext. 138.
