Higher Rent, Netflix Force Kim’s to Close its Doors

In the face of rising rents and a string of commercially crippling summer lulls, Kim’s Mediapolis, the video and music store long considered a staple of Morningside Height’s cinephile culture, will close on September 15.

Located at Broadway between 113th and 114th streets, the store has been in business for nine years, catering to film and music buffs’ taste for lesser-known titles and highbrow productions. Various other outlets in the Kim’s chain, which is owned by a local businessman after whom the store is named and includes locations in New York and New Jersey, have already shut down, leaving open only two stores downtown once this one closes.

“Business has really slowed down with the advent of Netflix,” said Morningside Heights branch manager Kenny Mativey, referring to the online rental service that mails DVDs to customers’ homes. Competition with similar services, coupled with the store’s struggle to stay afloat while students are away during the summer, has pushed it out of the neighborhood, he said. An increase in rent has also hurt Kim’s, which leases property from Columbia.

Known to attract those with a penchant for cerebral and foreign cinema, Kim’s differs from the typical video rental store in its setup and atmosphere. Most movies are arranged not by genre but by categories aimed at the educated movie-lover. “Director,” “American,” “classic,” and “documentary” are just a few of the sections at the store, where the merchandise sits on multi-colored wooden bookshelves and a large glass model of film stock hangs from the ceiling.

While some customers regret to see Kim’s departure, they realize the store has no other options.
“It’s kind of outdated and it didn’t respond to the ways the industry changes,” Brian Bergy, a resident of the area, said. He said that people who want the “obscure music” found at Kim’s will turn to the Internet.

Others wonder what could replace Kim’s. “It’s a shame. It was a great thing in the neighborhood,” said Jeff Shah, who lives in Morningside Heights. “I hate to think what would come in its place—another bank?”

Though no details are definite, Mativey said that Ricky’s, a cosmetics franchise, might take over the location.

Greer Feick, CC ’11 and a former Kim’s employee, agreed that the community the store provided will be difficult to recreate. “I’m really going to miss Kim’s,” Feick said. “I loved how customers would sometimes stop for half an hour to sit and watch the films I had picked out for the day, or when an awkward couple on one of their first dates would ask me for a good film suggestion.”

Customers with KimMoney—rental credit used for transactions­—will not receive a refund on their account unless a substantial amount remains at closing time, according to a sign posted inside. Mativey said the store has followed a similar non-refund practice since its inception.

scott.levi@columbiaspectator.com