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Developers check out Kings

By Christie Rizk
The Brooklyn Paper

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City officials ushered star-struck developers through the decaying Loew’s Kings movie palace this week — and the real-estate visionaries left with one thought: Lights, camera, action.

“Imagine what this place is going to look like when it’s cleaned up,” said one would-be buyer of the city-owned derelict.

Waterford on the Bay

The Economic Development Corporation is seeking a developer to restore the moviehouse where Barbra Streisand and Sylvester Stallone once ushered and Borough President Markowitz had his first date.

EDC spokesman Thomas Sussewell cautioned the developers that it won’t be easy to save the Kings — a project that has failed many times since the theater closed 30 years ago, including an ambitious multiplexing plan by Magic Johnson in the 1990s.

“One of our main objectives is maintaining the character and appearance of the building,” Sussewell said, adding that the winning developer would be required to restore the aging beauty queen to its golden-age-of-Hollywood–meets–Paris-Opera-House glamour (right down to the dragon and knight fresco in the men’s room).

Yet the building, which is in the heart of Flatbush, is still awe-inspiring. The lobby’s massive fluted columns and marble floors are in good enough shape for the developers — and Markowitz — to let their imaginations get the better of them.

“When this people’s palace is back in the heart of our borough in all its splendor,” said Markowitz, “it will be a great day for both Brooklynites who have walked her aisles, and for those who have yet to discover her majesty.”

The EDC will be accepting bids for the project until Dec. 6.

©2006 Community Newspaper Group

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