The Malverne Cinema Keeps Moving Its Opening Date. What's Actually Happening Behind the Marquee?

At 3 p.m. on New Year's Eve, Maria Dente signed the lease on the Malverne Cinema. "Our goal was to get it signed by the end of the year," she told Newsday, "so we were really pushing it." She and her partner Nick Hudson picked up the keys on Jan. 2, 2026. The theater at 350 Hempstead Avenue had been dark since September 2024. It opened in 1947, and Anne and Henry Stampfel ran it from 1990 until it closed.

The opening date has been moving ever since. That makes more sense once you look at what's being built. Dente and Hudson aren't just turning the projector back on. They're turning a movie house into a performance space and arts center with a café bar in front. Each of those additions comes with its own work and its own approvals.

Four Opening Targets in Under a Year

These are the opening targets as the local papers reported them:

1. December 2025. Dente had hoped to open the Malverne by then, according to Newsday's January 5, 2026 report.
2. Spring 2026. The same Newsday piece said she was then aiming for spring.
3. Early July 2026. At the May 6 Village Board meeting, the Herald reported that the opening was tentatively set for the beginning of July.
4. Fall 2026. After a private fundraiser on Aug. 19, the Herald wrote that "the theater hopes to reopen this fall."

The project's own site, MalverneCinema.org, opens with four words: "It's coming back." It doesn't give a date.

The Wall That Came Down

The best explanation for the moving targets is what has gone on inside the building. The old Malverne showed films and nothing else. The new plan, as Hudson and Dente described it to the Village Board, is a multipurpose venue with three theaters, a live performance space and a combined coffee lounge and bar.

Each screen has a job. One will show premieres and re-runs of classic films. One is set aside for afternoon matinees. The third is for independent and documentary films.

The biggest physical change is in the back of the building. "The back two theaters, which were the original, the 40-foot wall that's in the middle was able to be taken down and turned into a larger space that we can do live events at," Hudson told the board, according to the Herald. Dente added that the room would host "live events, comedy, music, sensory friendly showings of movies." Newsday had described the same idea in January as reaching a small stage that had been hidden for decades.

Renovations started in early January, aimed at making the cinema more wheelchair accessible and adding sensory-friendly seats. In early April, volunteers started on the floors. By the May board meeting the old floors were out and the new ones had been chosen. In August, the Herald reported that accessibility and Americans with Disabilities Act compliance were still renovation priorities.

The work was also split into two phases. In January, the first phase covered HVAC and smaller improvements, and bigger structural changes were pushed to a second phase.

Why the Café Needs a State License First

The front room facing Hempstead Avenue is set to become the café and bar, and serving alcohol there requires a New York State Liquor Authority license. In May, Hudson tied that license to the opening date. "It looks like our liquor license will probably be approved and ready to go by July," he said, according to the Herald. "That's basically aligned with when we are hoping to open."

The state publishes its active license list and pending application list as open data, both last updated Oct. 31, 2026. As of that update, neither list has an entry at 350 Hempstead Avenue. Plenty of the cinema's neighbors are on the active list:

Harvest House, at 352, is right next door to the cinema. Il Villagio's license was first issued Jan. 21, 2026, three weeks after the cinema's lease was signed. The table also works as a list of places on the same stretch for dinner before, or instead of, a movie.

A Volunteer Crew, and Its First Shift

The other thing that sets the timeline is who is doing the work. The project describes itself as "an all volunteer-led nonprofit." It combines two organizations. Dente's Dreamers is an inclusive production company that gives people of all abilities a chance to work in every part of theater. Entertainment 2 Affect Change, or E2AC, uses digital, film and live storytelling for community causes. In January, Newsday reported that the Malverne could be staffed by adults with disabilities.

That plan got its first real test on Aug. 19. Steve Buscemi, who grew up in Valley Stream, hosted a fundraiser at the theater for the 30th anniversary of "Trees Lounge," the 1996 film he wrote, directed and starred in. It was shown in a newly restored 4K version. The Herald reported that dozens of Dente's Dreamers worked their first shift that night, greeting guests and helping all evening. "I love that they're making it all inclusive," Buscemi told the Herald. "That, to me, is the definition of community."

Hudson told the paper that people from well beyond Malverne had reached out to help. "Tonight makes you feel like our idea wasn't dumb," he said. Mayor Timothy Sullivan helped get the building ready for that night. Back in May, he had told the board that the first thing the pair said to him was that the space "has got to serve the community."

The screening was also a private event. The site's FAQ explains that screenings so far are private events hosted at The Malverne by individuals, groups, companies or nonprofits. When tickets are available, they're posted under "Request Tickets" on the event's page.

How the Money Comes In

A volunteer project moves at the pace of its fundraising. In January 2026, the organizers had raised more than $100,000 toward a $500,000 goal. Fundraising had started with private donations and an online store selling branded T-shirts, hoodies and pajamas, which opened in early December 2025.

The ongoing ask on MalverneCinema.org is a supporting membership at $19.47 a month, priced as "a nod to our founding year." The site says donations go through E2AC as the project's 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor and are kept as restricted funding for the Malverne Cinema & Art Center. If you're thinking about giving and the tax side matters to you, that's a question for your own tax professional. This post is general information, not tax advice. The same page has a sign-up form for the volunteer committee. The site also thanks the Stampfels, the longtime owners, for their guidance.

The Rest of the Block This Season

Whatever happens at 350 over the coming weeks, the village's holiday calendar is already set. Registration for the Village of Malverne's 2026 holiday events runs from Nov. 7 to Nov. 21. The events listed are Breakfast with Santa, Downtown Decorating, a Cookie Workshop, an Ornament Workshop, Bowling with Santa, the Holiday Gala and the Holiday Light Tour.

The Malverne Historical & Preservation Society's 2026 Holiday Gala is Friday, Dec. 4, from 7 to 11 p.m. at St. Mary's Knights of Columbus in Lynbrook.

Our team keeps a close eye on Hempstead Avenue because the businesses along it are part of what a home nearby is close to. If you own a home near the cinema and want to know how this block figures into its value right now, The Evangelista Team will put together a free home valuation with comps from this part of Malverne.