Movies are returning to White Plains after six months without the silver screen

The movies are soon returning to White Plains after a six-month stint without the big screens.

Mayor Tom Roach announced that Apple Cinemas has signed a lease to operate the former Showcase Cinemas theater at the City Center in the heart of downtown White Plains. He said on social media Tuesday that the projected opening is the first week of May.

"See you there!" Roach posted.

Showcase Cinemas' 15-screen Cinema De Lux closing in October was seen by many as a potential blow to the downtown. The theater opened in 2005 and was among the last several multiplexes in the region from the pre-Netflix era. Showcase Cinemas said they were leaving White Plains because they could not reach a new lease with Kite Realty, which owns the City Center.

It was not immediately known how many screens Apple Cinemas will offer at their new site.

Apple Cinemas is not related to the other Apple. According to Apple Cinemas' Linkedin page, the independent company is based in Walpole, Massachusetts, and opened its first theater in 2013. It now operates 11 theaters with 119 screens in six northeastern states.

Apple opened its first theater in New York state in December in Pittsford, outside Rochester. The company says it has several new sites and leases pending.

"From the beginning Apple Cinemas has been committed to providing quality state-of-the art family entertainment, offering varied and dynamic programs features blockbusters, art films, and foreign films in several languages," its Linkedin page says.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Apple Cinemas signs lease to operate movie theater in White Plains NY