Sunshine Cinema Signage Carted Away

Sunshine, sunset, swiftly goes the demolition.

Indeed, no sooner did the sidewalk bridge appear at 141 East Houston Street than workers deposed the Sunshine Cinema neon lettering. We’re told that a van carted the signage away yesterday.

Co-owner-developer East End Capital did not return our request about the fate of the letters.

Meanwhile, the demolition of the 1898-vintage property (restored in 2001) will eventually yield a glassy new commercial office building that rises nine stories at a cost of $90 million. There are eight full-floor commercial units available, ranging in size from 5,000 to 6,800 square-feet. Each column-free office will have 12-foot ceilings, floor-to-ceiling windows, concierge services, and private terraces. Other shared amenities include an executive conference room and roof deck. There is also one multi-level retail space with 60 feet of frontage.

Feb. 2018

Owner-developers East End Capital and K Property Group together purchased the Lower East Side theater two years ago for $31.5 million. The Sunshine closed in January 2018, its last movie being Hostiles.

K Property Group managing partner Gregory Kraut noted the following in an interview with the Commercial Observer when asked if he felt bad about replacing the film house:

No, not at all. First of all they were trying for years to make money and they couldn’t. The area has changed, and quite frankly, the business model didn’t, and so we gave them options to renew. They had several opportunities to buy the building.

Photo: East End Capital