Well, this is tremendous news! It seems that the Film-Makers’ Cooperative‘s eviction from the Clocktower Gallery has turned into a blessing in disguise. The New York Times is reporting that the underground film distributor is now moving to 475 Park Ave. thanks to the astounding generosity of real estate developer Charles S. Cohen.

Back in February, the FMC was told they had to vacate their office and warehouse in the Clocktower Gallery because the P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center, from whom FMC was leasing, was turning the space over to Alanna Heiss, who is going to use the facility to expand her Internet radio pet project.

For months, the FMC had nowhere to go until they were offered a sixth-floor suite on Park Ave. at 32nd St. by film aficianado Charles S. Cohen. More amazingly, Cohen is leasing the space to the FMC virtually rent free. He’s only charging the organization a symbolic $1 a year.

Plus, the new space is about four times larger than the one in the Clocktower Gallery; and the FMC is planning on building a small theater where researchers and historians can view films in the FMC library.

The FMC hopes to fully moved into their new location by Labor Day. (They currently house over 15,000 films and videos, so it’ll take awhile to move it all.)

Although making his money in the real estate business, Cohen has always been a film lover. He’s made short films himself, wrote a book of movie trivia called TriviaMania and was the main producer behind the Oscar-nominated Frozen River, a really fantastic film in my opinion.

Read the full New York Times article for more info.