From the BHB Inbox comes this dispatch from a reader:
My family of 4 have lived in Brooklyn Heights/Cobble Hill for 6 years now. We’ve noticed a deterioration in quality of service and cleanliness at the UA Court Street Stadium 12 over the years (not that it was that nice to begin with). My wife has come to a point where she wants to boycott the theatre as she thinks its “nasty”. I’ve written Regal Cinemas customer care, have inquired whether the Brooklyn Heights Association has any type of agenda around the theatre and wanted to inquire via your blog whether anyone else has any ideas. My theory around the theatre is as follows: from what I can observe, this theatre is likely incredibly profitable and conducting a renovation or even increasing the staff resources to keep it cleaner probably wouldn’t change much in terms of the attendance. That being said, if other people agree with my sentiments, I’d suggest some type of collective efforts via Regal Cinemas corporate to address these issues. I’ll leave it at that.
Do you agree? Is the UA Court Street a lousy place to see a movie? Regal Cinemas has a nifty feedback form on its website if you’d like to give them your opinion.
Flickr photo by bettyblade
Outstanding! I’ve been referring to it as Ghetto Theater since it opened.
I don’t see what’s wrong with it. Renovations? To what? It’s clean to me. How clean do you want it to be? People are lous as hell in the theatre, but what can you do about that? As far as the street, I’ll admit Court St. is kind of filthy.
I’m on board. How about a petition of sorts?
We avoid that place at all costs. We go to the local theatres for indy films (Brookyn Height Cinema, BAM Rose, etc.) and to Regal Battery Park for the bigger studio films. (Easy walk from Park Place or Chambers St. 2/3/A/C)
The few times I have gone to Court St, there has almost always been some obnoxious people in the crowd either talking or playing with their cell phones, or some little baby screaming (and forget it if you yell at them, potential for things to get out of hand quickly). Not to mention the little kids in R rated movies with their folks (which I guess is allowed). Place is awful, but sadly, I don’t think it is going to change, especially with lines out the door and movies selling out frequently.
I wouldn’t say it was dirty though (unless of course you are talking about the people and not the structure).
Let the boycott begin.
How do you define “ghetto” without making it sound racist?
Worst … theatre … ever. Always loud, with no rhyme or reason about how they heard in customers. I saw “I am Legend There,” I felt like I was waiting for bread in the former Soviet Union.
ALWAYS loud too, so annoying …
I have a theory as to why there are so many crying babies and antsy kids in the UA Court Street theater. It’s mainly caused by the discount for kids that the movie theater currently offers: $6 per child. If you’re a young parent, and you’re poor, then it makes a lot of economic sense for you to take your kids to the movies at Court St. for a couple hours: where else can you get a baby sitter for two kids, for two hours at just $6/hour? And when you see others doing the same thing, it tends to reinforce that this is acceptable behavior. In my view, if you stop the kid discount you will significantly decrease all the other problems at the theater. Just a theory…
May I suggest a move to the suburbs?
Following up on my previous post, I do not think it’s necessarily fair to deprive poor parents of this valuable opportunity. (How would we feel if this was taken away from us if we were in that situation?) So, as an alternative, perhaps it makes sense to restrict the kids discounts to only certain movies (e.g., PG and PG-13), or only to certain hours. That might be a good compromise.
When my husband and I went to see Superman a few summers ago, what looked to be a 6-month-old infant screamed at the top of her little lungs for 30 minutes before someone came into remove her and her mother. Not to mention the fact that the whole place is filthy.
Yes, the natives are quite revolting. I propose that we get some buses and ship them out to Bed Stuy so that we can watch our movies unperturbed. Please pass me the crumpets.
I completely agree. This is the worst theater ever. Very dirty, no customer service, most of the concessions are closed. My wife and I would rather go to Manahttan or Queens to watch a movie or visit local Henry Street theatre. I am on board with a petition.
This whole discussion doesn’t even border on racist; it dives in headfirst. So the affluent white folks don’t like the movie theater? Go elsewhere. Our neighborhood is enough of a classist/racist enclave; at least the movie theater draws the sort of people who make up the majority of our borough.
Anon, you’re a riot.
pass the crumpets.
There are some vedy vedy un-U people
at the local cinie.
don’t they have movies in the projects?
my word.
would you like a little clotted cream?
dirty ghetto movie theater.
I avoid Court Street as much as possible.
I wondered how long it would take for this post to devolve into a race/class thing. That said, I’m not so sure if I would choose to see a movie in this theater were it not in my neighborhood: it’s not clean, the service is borderline, and I’m not sure it provides for a fun-filled evening of film. And if you don’t know about the endless reports of street crime around the theater, you’re denying certain facts. Is anyplace in New York really safe? Who knows. But I would tend to prefer to spend my movie dollars at a location that might be less likely to be the site of “disputes,” muggings, or worse.
I remember a conversation I had with an adult friend of mine about how he went to see the Jim Carrey movie, “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas,” with his adult girlfriend at a certain suburban theater, and complained about teen girls and others yapping throughout the entire movie. While I agreed that anyone who talks during any movie should be punched hard in the face, I felt compelled to remind him that watching the “Grinch” at the suburban multiplex is not exactly attending the Cannes film festival. I’m sure the same applies here. Yes, if you pay money to see a movie, you should expect a clean theater and respectful patrons. But this theater seems to cater to the big Hollywood blockbusters, action films and base comedies, which almost always suck and are marketed to the lowest common denominater. So why even bother paying money to see them here, and then complain about the quality of your surroundings? It’s like complaning of the cleanliness and ambiance at the McDonalds up the street.
Just rent the dvd’s and let the kids watch them in the SUV as you house hunt in Connecticut.
Look. No one is being racist here. When you go to the movies and see kids being loud and rambunctious, that ruins your experience. Just because they’re black and you’re not, doesn’t mean u shouldn’t be allowed to say anything about it. If they were quiet in the movie, like everyone else, you’d have no issue with them. Regardless, it’s up to the theatre to maintain an enjoyable atmosphere. If they had a zero tolerance policy for interrupting the movie, then the noisemakers would go elsewhere. But in the end, its a question of who’s spending the money there. Maybe there’s more money in catering to the noisy crowd.
This theater is totally fine! I’ve been there many times. You all are calling it ghetto because a lot of black people go to the movies there. Get over yourselves and focus on petitions for worthier causes. I 100% agree with BKBS.
I knew this would happen when they took the porn out. It used to be soooo cool with the stick floors, and the action in the bathrooms. I miss the good old neighborhood.
I NEVER go to this theatre anymore. after countless shitty experiences there with people screaming and bringing babies to midnight shows… I told a kid to stop kicking my chair after he did it for 2 hours at least 50 times on purpose.. he then took his large popcorn and dumped the whole thing on my head. looking back it was kind of funny.. but i will never go back to that shithole ghetto place again
This discussion reminds me of the HBO special with black comedian Martin Lawrence a few years back when he discussed the differences between white and black people when they both come together in a movie theater. Basically he said that black people like to be loud & rambunctious while white people are usually quiet & reserved. He also said the whites who are usually afraid to say anything will instead just turn their head around for a second (if some black people sitting behind them are being too loud). If the blacks don’t get the “message”, they’ll “tell on them”.
Anyway, it’s just a clash of two cultures and another reason I’m getting a large flat panel for my living room in the next couple of months with a Blu-ray player and extra speakers/subwoofer attached. I can wait 3-5 months for the movie to come out on Blu-ray or pay-per-view. Besides most movies that are released in that theater are not even worth half the money you pay.
I don’t think it’s any worse than the other multiplexes in or outside of the city.
My only specific complaint is that when you stumble upon one of the screenings specifically marketed to parents and babies, they warn you about the potential crying (which is, IMHO, much less disruptive than various adult behaviors) but not the fact that many of the speakers are turned off to protect little ears. Everyone eventually ends up moving to sit on top of each other at the front just so they can hear what’s going on. But really, after that happened once, I just made a point to remember when they schedule those.
I don’t understand the point of a petition. I dislike this theater for the same reasons my teenage son and his friends enjoy it–action-oriented films, lots of young people in the audience, and a youngish staff that in my experience skews toward rudeness but that they experience as fast-moving and efficient. So I prefer BAM or the Henry Street theater–does this mean the Court St. theater should have to change to accommodate my taste? Why?
white people are stupid
I agree with the poor conditions of the theatre. I’ve been to two movies there and will never go back — too much audience participation. My wife and I either use the Cobble Hill theater further south on Court St., the Henry Street theater in the Heights or the Battery Park theater for more mainstream movies — less crowds.
With the condo development on and off Court, I hope the street gets cleaned up. One good step recently is the anticipated opening of Busy Chef at Court & Schmerhorn (?). The best we can hope for in the neighborhood is that the north part of Court is like Montague… not great or charming, just clean and functional.
Ghetto is a harsh word as 23rd Street in Manhattan has the same stores and that isn’t ghetto. THe biggest problem on Court is the sidewalk vendors preventing an easy stroll. If we want to petition anything, let’s find a way to close the vendors. Downtown Bklyn is what it is, a government district and until the rest of the condos pop up that everyone seems to oppose, Court St. won’t get cleaner.
Instead of boycotting the UA theater, let’s fight to keep the Cobble Hill theater in its place!!
I do not believe it is a “race thing”…
I am an African American (old word Black, Colored, Negro…whateva) single mother of an 8 year-old boy. I have lived in Cobble Hill since 1993. My son was born at LICH….I HATE that theatre! The culture of rudeness and rowdyness of the PATRONS is just too much (the staff seems pretty okay). For the convenience, we do go there, but mostly (only) for eaaaarrrly shows. I feel nervous just walking by from the 4/5 to get to the B61 on Fridays (and Thursdays!)
ps. This is the same reason that we OOONNNNNNNLLLYYYY go to Chuck E. Cheese at Atlantic Center at 10:30 am on Saturdays and have pizza for breakfast. We are outta there by 12:30-1:00.
My wife and I saw “Training Day” at this theater and will never return. The crowd was so loud and obnoxious and people kept taking calls on their cell phones throughout the movie. Thankfully, I prefer indie and foreign films, which usually attract a more civilized crowd. I also agree with the poster who prefers to see films on DVD.
I love this theatre! 2 blocks from home. Here’s a tip: Don’t see an Ice Cube piece of crap on opening weekend! To the UA clean up crew: Wait until you see the Panavision symbol at the end of the credits before you turn on the lights and pick up! Yeah, I’m the kinda guy who likes to see who did the music and where it was filmed.
I saw Talladega Nights and Superbad there, and probably made more noise than anybody from laughing so hard, and I’m a caucasian professional. Live a little. Also, I have no taste in movies.
Why pay $10 for this crap? Go to http://www.ovguide.com and watch current release films at home for free. Leave the theater to the ‘call and response’ crowd.
I’ve been to this movie theater twice in the years I have lived in the Heights and both my experiences were good. Perhaps it was because we went to the earliest show in the morning, and we went weeks after the movie premiered. The theater was empty and clean. I would never go during the middle of afternoon nor would I go the weekend of the opening.
Like many people I avoid Court street because of the accumulation of street trash is unsightly. Additionally, the lady who stands on the corner of Remsen and Court street by the Starbucks always asks for money, and the anti-abortionists passing out their literature doesn’t make for a pleasant Sunday stroll.
This past cold Sunday morning I was walking down Court Street from Montague to Atlantic Avenue and saying to myself “How many times have I walked past these stores and never go in,” especially the fast food stores.
When you live in the Heights, Brooklyn’s most expensive, and architechturally beautiful area, Court Street is revolting. However, when one lives in less splendid area, Court Street seems like heaven: a destination worth the time and energy needed to travel there.
Perhaps the United Artists movie theater is the highlight of many people’s weekend.
Bart
I think I can safely say that I have had a worse experience at the Court Street Cinema than everyone has reported. In the summer of 2003 I was stuck on the top floor of the building for nearly 5 hours. There is only one elevator in the building, and for a person in a wheelchair that means trouble. The manager of the theater refused to come upstairs and speak with me and lied that the elevator company had been called. When I realized the desperate nature of my situation I called 911 and 84th precinct. The manager lied to them as well.
At the peak of the incident there were two policemen, two EMS workers, six firemen and one fire department lieutenant waiting around. This went on for nearly 3 hours more. The lieutenant finally got frustrated and called the repair company directly. Guess what, they had never been called. By now it was after 9:30 in the evening. The fire department said they could carry me downstairs but that my wheelchair would have to remain behind. For some reason, carrying a wheelchair is not permitted. I explained that I could not walk of all. Their response “we will drop you off at the hospital”. I am not sure which is worse, going to a hospital or leaving unattended my very expensive equipment. I declined either of these options.
Whether the rules were bent, or interpreted differently by someone higher up, the fire department eventually agreed to carefully bring my wheelchair down as well. As I am somewhat fragile, they had to lift me into a rescue basket and try to keep me as horizontal as possible during the 12 flight descent. Before they carried me down, I showed them how to disassemble the wheelchair to get it to something manageable in size/weight. The police, fire and EMS workers were all fantastic and made a bad situation tolerable.
But apart from the great broken elevator incident of 2003, the theater uses the elevator for cleaning purposes and takes all of the garbage down this way. Consequently, the elevator almost always reeks! As bad as the Court Street theater is, at least there is accessible and integrated seating. The Brooklyn Heights Cinema and Cobble Hill Cinema are both very old and not very accessible. I have thought about bringing a lawsuit against both of these places, but my sister threatened not to speak to me ever again. In the interest of family harmony I will not go to court and watch my movies somewhere else.
The only racism in here is the assumption that because people are poor and/or not white they are unable to behave properly and shouldn’t be expected to.
like stated above, just avoid the big budget blockbuster crap on weekends and you’re fine. and this is true everywhere from the burbs to brownsville.
also, to the two little old ladies at the heights pavilion who love to explain plot points to each other throughout the whole movie, you’re no better than a crying baby or rambunctious teens. SHHHHHHHH!
i agree with most of these posts – totally ghetto movie theater. i saw ’28 weeks later’ there and the crowd was more rambunctious than the flesh-eating zombies that star in the film. at one point in the movie, as a zombie is murdering his wife, a guy in the front row yells ‘kill that b-tch’ to the amusement of the rest of the theater.
after that experience i will never see another movie there.
I just sent UA a link to this blog.
Ghetto is defined in Webster’s as “a slum section of a city occupied by a minority group who live there because of social or economic pressure.”
The people who live in the area (non-African American) but go to the movies at Court Street are clearly the minority. Ironic.
I’m really surprised by this blog. I’ve been going to that theater for 7 years and have never had a problem with it.
The whole street is Ghetto. What a culture shock when coming up from Brooklyn Heights.
While many of you posting here are flat-out bigots and clearly negrophobic, I would say the real racism comes from the Regal management itself.
It is not uncommon for large corporations to survey the clientele of their establishments and decide from there who gets what resources. IOW, because the theater is mainly patronized by young black men and women, there is less of an imperative to keep the place clean and to hold the customer service folks accountable, and the money is better spent elsewhere.
This is common corporate thinking. You used to see it alot in the chain stores in the Fulton Mall. That’s why a petition or constant calls to Regal management could, in fact, be effective.
Or you could keep ranting on the internet about the darkies on Court Street (maybe most of you should move to the Island with the rest of your ilk).
UA plays announcements before every show telling people to remain quiet and respect others’ enjoyment of the film. This is a corporate policy that should be enforced to protect the value of all patrons’ tickets, which all cost the same amount. This has nothing to do with race, class, etc.
Dude — I too saw Talladega Nights at the UA Cinema and laughed so hard, I almost snorted soda out of my nose. Made some obnoxious noises. Also caucasian, but highly unprofessional. I say if you want a “big screen” experience, go to UA Cinema. If you want small and quiet, go to the BH theater or Cobble Hill Cinemas. Chain movie theaters often suffer from a lack of good management and cleanliness because they aren’t run by “mom & pop” or anyone who is truly vested in the business. Profit is the bottom line. You are well within your rights to provide them with constructive feedback, but throwing the word “ghetto” around is really ridiculous…have you ever been to a movie theater outside of New York? It doesn’t corner the market on sticky floors, loud teenagers and stinky bathrooms…
That being said, TK Small, I’m very sorry to hear about your horrible experience! And thank you AliG for your definition of “ghetto”…much appreciated….
I come to this blog frequently, and am blown away at the racism expressed here. I think this will be my last visit. I only wish that you all had the courage to express your true feelings so openly away from your computers, so that I won’t waste the time greeting you on the street.
-A “black” Brooklyn Heighter
i, too, am in shock over the seemingly racist, predjucided tone of this commentary. i currently live in b’lyn heights; i’m white, from the south (atlanta) & find it ironic that the south is always labeled as being the most intolerant region of the country. as i have always known, the south clearly does not have a monopoly on racism/prejudice; it is alive & thriving in good ole brooklyn. shame !!
“…just calling it as I see it.”
Sadly, I’m sure that’s true.
stanley, i agree with Tim N. “…as i see it…” hmmmmm….therein lies the problem that you and others are making out of all this; on another note, i seek out the incense peddlers every saturday…i hope my dollars keep ‘em in business !!!
Two things Ive seen at the Court Street UA:
- A black male teenager cuff a black female teenager on the side of the head, yelling “Stop it, Bitch!” for throwing popcorn at him
-Someone (I could not see who) throw a wooden broom into a semi-crowded theater (it did not hit anyone)
While its true there seems to be an abnormally high amount of talking in the theater, this is actually sometimes welcome… I have been more entertained by hecklers in the crowd than the movie itself.
On the other hand, discussing plot points of the film with the film is unwelcome. For example, I sat next to a woman who spoke to the screen, saying, “He no good for you, girl; he don’t love you!”
To be fair, this type of behavior is not the sole providence of the Court Street UA nor black people. After being dragged to see Happy Feet at 34th street, the only thing that made the evening tolerable (even enjoyable) was the hispanic gentleman behind me heckling the film.
Eric thanks for your detailed tour of “movie habits of ethnics”. A real gem.
Regarding race: perhaps we cry wolf way too often.
What really matters in this issue regarding the United Artists Cinema on Court Street is that many people have found their theater experience unpleasant for many reasons:
Rudeness of patrons
Filth of the Cinema
Unhelpful staff (that could leave a person stuck in an elevator for hours)
This type of behavior is unpleasant in anyone regardless of the volume of their melanin production. I’m sure we humans all agree on that!
Bart
Look, it’s sad to say but if little blond girls with pigtails were robbing banks and shooting people, we wouldn’t be feeling too warm and fuzzy toward them either. Or hey, how about guys from Bulgaria with german shepherds who like to keep a collection of pipe bombs in their apartments??
Living in Cobble Hill all my life, I for one am NOT surprised at the racism prevalent in the Heights. Its just the silent and cowardly kind (like being too afraid to tell someone to be quiet in a movie theater, but sounding out about it on an anonymous blog) or avoiding Court street all together for its “ghetto”ness. Racism is built out of fear and its a shame adults in this day and age cant come to terms with what scares them. So Stanley, when that “tacky, obnoxious”, white woman on her cell phone cuts me on line at the bank on Montague street, by your terms thats considered ghetto? according to “My statement would be the same if it was white people or any other ethnicity or race.”- it is. Or do you just reserve that statement for incense sellers and movie theaters? And AliG, if blond girls with pigtails were robbing banks,and shooting people, would you be callling that ghetto? or do you just save that term when referring to blacks?..
lifer, if a coven of little blond girls with pigtails were chilling in Starbucks on Montague and I was afraid to go in there, it would be ghetto. And I would dub them “white trash”. So, being a blonde, white girl, I consider none of that racist.
alig, how sad that you go through life creating labels for the people you encounter…you’re missing out on so much by doing so…i trust that you’ll not understand any of this perspective…too bad
stanley…yes, that makes you a racist, so good for you…
jim, Enjoy your incense. Keep on truckin’.
Do any of you commenters realize what court street used to be like before the barnes&noble/UA went in? One of the above posts touched on this, but as someone who has lived a few blocks from this location for going on 24 years, I say you don\’t have any idea how good you have it. I still remember getting mugged outside that porno theater when I was 12 or 13. Its a popular movie theater, and the race/socio-economic status of the patrons reflect that of the borough as a whole. Get over it!
alig, i will…thanks !!! it’s good stuff over there on court; you should try !!! :)
Look, if people want to be quiet and reserved, or loud and rambunctious, as Martin Lawrence put it, that’s fine w/ me. Court Street schedules mainstrem movies (horror, action, comedy) that is going to result in crowd participation. That’s true no matter where you are. Brooklyn, UWS, Greenwich, Bed Stuy, Bay Ridge. People laugh, cheer, yell, etc.
I think what people don’t like or understand, is why the people that go to Court Street (and this crosses all races) insist on bringing their children to R-rated movies, and then refusing to move the kids outside when they start crying. If I go to see Happy Feet at 1pm, I expect kids. If I go to see the post-midnight showing of Cloverfield, I shouldn’t have to deal with an 8 year old screaming kid.
Why do people bring in full picnic lunches to eat, spreading out over three-four seats. Why do people spend the whole time talking to their friends, or texting, or on the cell phone. Doing everything but watching the movie. Yes, the theatre draws mainly African-Americans, so it might seem like they are predominantly to blame, but as someone who has seen 30+ movies there over the past three years, everyone’s doing it. White, black, Latino, whomever.
Compounding the problem is that Court Street management clearly doesn’t care. One bit. They must be raking in the dough. The staffers don’t care either. Not to mention the quality of theatres themselves are poor — dirty, broken seats, and screens that are routinely underlit. I know it’s a little Pollyanna-ish to say “If the theatre cared more, then maybe the customers would be more respectful” but maybe it’s at least a little true.
The sad truth is that the only way to get change is through our pocketbooks — by not going. But since the theatre thrives on teenagers (who clearly don’t care about the issues above) and parents with young kids (ditto) the theatre will keep up their shoddy service, and the poor behavior will continue. Which is a shame, because that theatre could really be the jewel of the area…it has enough screens to schedule a few indies, along with all the blockbuster crap.
I guess I should get back to work now.
I love it… “GFY”… the last refuge of the idiot, the bigot, the troll… when the truth is exposed, curse loud and walk away.
This is beginning to sound like Brownstoner! Love it.
The difference is on brownstoner, everything is in code (“Park Slope” is better than “Clinton Hill”) whereas here, apparently, all the dirty laundry is out in the open.
I went to a few movie theaters in New Jersey last year and there were loud people in those theaters as well…white male teenagers. Maybe a bunch of white guys making noise is more acceptable to some people. I grew up in the Heights, so maybe I’m more tolerant of the diverse population in my hometown than some people who just arrived here in recent years from a more sheltered, mostly white community. I went to Court St. a couple of times last year and it wasn’t that bad. Of course I went to movies which were already playing for about a week or two on a weekday afternoon.
Anyway, let’s keep the comments flying.
To those making disparaging comments about the general Court Street area: I believe you may be lost. Greenwich, CT is a little bit further north.
I’m a resident of Brooklyn Heights for 6 years now and I can’t stand that place. First let me mention that I’m black (of Brazilian descent) and I will tell you as it is. The African Americans that go there are extremely rude and rude and obnoxious, both male and female, young and old. People screaming, playing with cell phones and etc. This shouldn’t have to turn into black and white argument, but untill AA people learn how to behave and understand that when you share your space with others you must keep a certain level of respect that’s not going to change. I’m sure they are aware of the fact that the behaviour they display is lame and unclassy, but some people can help it. You might be able to take some people out of the ghetto but you won’t be able to take the ghetto out of some people. I guess you can call me uncle tom now, but yes I’d rather turn my cell phone off and keep my conversation for later when I go to the movies. Do what I do, leave the blockbusters for cable, if I go to the movies now is only at BAM, Angelica and IMAX (once in a blue moon).
Hi there Teddy,
I’m sure you can find white male teenagers that are just as loud as their AA counterparts. They dressed the same way, listen to the same music and they even have a name for them. You know the deal, it’s all the same.
Before we moved into a doorman building, white students from Packer used to congregate on our stoop, smoking, listening to radios, and making out. They would leave lunch trash and cigarette butts. It was a nuisance, definitely, but I’m not clear on how different this is from the “ghetto” behavior described above, other than that these were entitled white kids. It certainly didn’t occur to us to brand all white kids, or even all Packer students, with a disparaging label.
Susan, there are certainly many posts on this blog complaining about those white college kids you mention (or, at least, the ones outside St. George.) Plenty. They go at least as far back as that kid throwing that brick off the roof.
“but untill AA people learn how to behave and understand that when you share your space with others you must keep a certain level of respect”-hmmm “AA people”? …I’m not sure if this is racist or just broken English…
“I am not a racist. I pretty much dislike everybody…”
Huh. My mistake.
“You want to save humanity, but it’s people that you just can’t stand…” John Lennon
Well, Eric, that was my point–the behavior at the UA has been labeled “ghetto” or “AA,” whereas when young people who are white and apparently more affluent engage in similar behavior the objection is to the behavior itself, or to the individual–not to white or upper-middle-class people generally.
All teenagers are punks. The only thing that differentiates them is their choice of weapons.
Don’t really agree with you, Susan. The complaints here are (mostly) about black people outside and inside UA and not black people in general, just like the complaints about the white kids outside St George, not white people in general.
Aside from T.K. Small’s experience from a wheel-chair bound perspective, nobody seems to be concentrating on the serious design issues in the theater. The only real means of egress are the single-file escalators, which are scary. Sad to say, this theater was destined to polarize the neighborhood (remember the brouhaha before it was built, and similar over the Pool Lady at the foot of Joralemon). The physical building and its upkeep is what the original letter-writer was concentrating on, and the only issue I would cite in a complaint to the Regal management.
To all you folks lamenting the “getthoization” of Court Street, please take heart in the fact that the Busy Chef is opening right across the street from the UA. That’s sure to bring back some class to the block!
The sad thing is people don’t even know they are being racist. You might not be a cross burning, bed sheet wearing klansman but there are gradations of racism. The simple fact you would use the word “ghetto” to describe the theater is racist. You could have just said it was dirty with unruly patrons which would have been fine but by attaching race into the discussion and describing the theater as ghetto makes it racist. In the St George situation I’ve never read anyone on these boards about the student’s skin color. They are more angry about the “dumb loud kids” not those “white kids”.
People can continue denying it but living in Brooklyn and being a liberal doesn’t keep you from being a racist–it just means you do a better job hiding it. So good in fact you don’t even realize it yourself.
I submit to you:
Joe, although its possible some of the posts here are indeed racist, meaning, they pre-judge a person based on his race, I do not believe your arguement proves the point.
The St Georgie kids are in a predominantly white, 30-something area. Therefore, what makes them stand out is not their color, but their age (as you state, “dumb loud *kids*.)
If those same kids were in a young korean neighborhood, the locals would associate their delinquent behavior with their race, not their age.
Noting that the majority of the people in a set of people engaging in delinquent (read: outside one’s own norm) behavior are of a certain race, height, weight, age, IQ level, or number of limbs is not racist, heightist, weightist, ageist, intelligencist, or (cant come up wth a word.) Rather, its pattern recognition.
If one were to say ALL black people are loud and obnoxious in movie theaters, its racist. Saying that there are an abnormally large number of people in the UA Court theater who are loud and obnoxious, AND an abnormally large percentage of those people are black, is not. Its simply an observation fo a fact.
Susan, I think your point is very valid. Teenagers and adults that are Caucasian are never labeled ghetto even if their behavior is similar to an African American doing the same thing. I have never read people calling the mainly Caucasian students that hang out around the St. George a ghetto. I’m sorry, but smoking cigarettes and constantly vomiting on the sidewalk is despicable behavior. Racist people, or those who assimilate to our culture’s undercurrent of racism, use the term ghetto. As AliG, even in her faulty wisdom points out, ghettos are about a place minorities are forced to be because of social or economic factors. In fact, the word ghetto was originated in to describe the conditions Jewish people were forced inhabit in the early twentieth century. So, please stop using the word ghetto only to describe black people. Please use the words, “I don’t like to be in a theatre with rude people.” You can also say, “The street is dirty.” This has no racist connotations, but can get to the point and then maybe you can do something about your feelings. Just call Regal’s headquarters. Complaining does nothing but show your biases.
Dear Loving Brooklyn, please keep on truckin’ down that “dirty street” on which the “theatre with rude people” can be found.
Very touchy subject. If you don’t like UA and you are an avid movie watcher, I recommend joining the BAM Cinema Club. Not only will you get to see free screenings with filmmakers in attendance (i just saw one this week), the selection of films are fantastic, albeit smaller. Ticks are only $7 too.
That aside, I do have to say I believe this to be the most shameful post of all:
“To all you folks lamenting the “getthoization” of Court Street, please take heart in the fact that the Busy Chef is opening right across the street from the UA. That’s sure to bring back some class to the block!”
I sincerely hope that was a sarcastic post…ya (pondering) it’s got to be.
Brooklyn Heights is full of hypocritcial, white liberals. Similiar to the ones in NH that told pollsters they would vote for Obama and then pulled the lever for Hillary on voting day. You guys ‘value diversity’, as long as it is not in your own backyard. Maybe you wankers should move to Chappaqua and live next to the King and Queen of hypocrisy.
That theater is notoriously terrible because of the management AND some – not all- of the patrons. Also, there have been numerous crimes committed in that movie theater including theft and assult (which I heard about in detail during grand jury duty a few years ago). The assault, btw, was committed by a theater EMPLOYEE who attacked a customer over a perceived insult to someone’s cousin. A gun and a knife were involved.
You can be white and be ghetto:See Bill Clinton
and
You can be black and classy: See Barack Obama
Ghetto refers to the way you conduct yourself and has nothing to do with color
First of all, BO is not black, he’s mixed or other. You can’t simply deny 50% and the fact that they are white. Not to mention that this white portion is the dominant on BO’s case since he was raised
on that side of his family. BO is not black and he doesn’t know the first thing about being black. Give us a real example will you?
Not to mention that I’m sure Obama turns off his cellphone when he walks into a movie theater and you certainly won’t hear him talking to anybody.
How long does it take the average person to get to the top of that theater? It’s like going all the way into another neighborhood… with the travel time.
Yes, RJ that was an attempt (somewhat feeble) at levity, a quality that this particular thread is short on. I’m not trying to belittle the issue of racism, but I don’t think it should be the entire focus either. The fact is, as long a movies remain a (relatively) inexpensive form of mass entertainment, you’re going to encounter knuckleheads of all stripes at whatever theater you frequent, especially one that’s showing 12 new release movies at the same time. The fact that the romantic comedy you paid $12 to see happens to be playing right next to the theater showing SAW IV is a by-product of commerce, not bad management.
Nabeguy,
I agree with your point entirely, by showing a horror film next to a family film there will certainly be an overlap of diverson patrons that will rub someone the wrong way.
However I disagree with your claim that a movie ticket is “(relatively) inexpensive. With mortgage payments for our four bedroom Brooklyn Heights apartment, two kids going to St. Ann’s at $25,000 a year each, a nanny for our toddler, and a dog walker, we could never afford the price of a movie. Compared to the masses who can afford to go to a movie every weekend, we are poor. You have to be rich to go to the movies today!
Bart
Correction:
I meant to write “an overlap of DIVERSE patrons”
Okay, um…back to the original post? (As much as arguing with strangers on the internet is satisfying and productive…)
If you don’t like the theater – which I don’t – don’t go. Which I don’t. As Jim astutely said above, there is no incentive for management to change because their audience is satisfied with the conditions. Take the big 8 block walk to the Cobble Hill Cinema, or if you’re hankering for surround sound, hop a train to Battery Park.
No one here is “entitled” to have a great theater on their block. I have lived in plenty of neighborhoods of Manhattan in which the nearest theater / grocery store/ dry cleaner / bodega wasn’t to my liking either. I moved on.
Life’s too short for stupid boycotts.
Oh please – stop trying to hide bad behavior behind racism – it has nothing to do with racism. I’m a minority myself – GAY – and I have plenty of friends from all different minorities. I am not racist, but I am against going to a movie theater where the patrons don’t shut up during the movie, bring infants into the theater, have no respect for thier fellow theater goers, and don’t give a shit about anyone else but themselves. GET A CLUE !
I don’t understand what being happy and peppy all the time has to do with this discussion or how that makes you a minority.
I go there a lot, as I live very close. I don’t get the “dirty” complaints. I don’t think it’s especially unkept, at least in comparison to other urban theaters.
I agree, the crowd at times lacks manners and is unruly, but hey, this is NYC. I select the movies days and times I see there and can avoid the worst of it. Otherwise, I agree, move to some pristine suburb if it bothers you so much.