Council rejects designation of Queens Blvd. bank

Objections by building owner and lack of positive support by council member sank designation. On October 27, 2005, the City Council overturned the Landmarks Preservation Commission’s designation of the 1966-built, former Jamaica Savings Bank on Queens Boulevard in Elmhurst. Landmarks designated the bank in June 2005, calling it a striking example of 1960s popular modernist architecture. 2 CityLand 92 (July 15, 2005). The bank, designed by William F. Cann, features a 116-foot long curved copper … <Read More>


Queens Bank designated

Building is bold expression of mid-twentieth century engineering. On June 28, 2005, Landmarks designated the former Jamaica Savings Bank located on a diamond-shaped parcel at the intersection of Queens Boulevard and 56th Avenue in Elmhurst, Queens. The unique building, constructed in 1966-68, features a 116-foot long curved copper-clad roof that rises from a low floor-to-ceiling height to a 43-foot height at the Queens Boulevard facade. At the public hearings, North Fork Bank, the owner, strongly … <Read More>


Parking lot approved for Queens residential district

Residential uses found infeasible due to the site’s odd shape and Astoria Boulevard frontage. Showky Kaldawy, owner of four vacant lots in East Elmhurst, sought a variance to allow his residentially-zoned lots to be used as a 33-space accessory parking lot for an adjacent rental car company. Three of the four lots comprising the 17,866 square-foot site front 110th Street, and the fourth fronts Astoria Boulevard, one of Queens’ major commercial arteries.

Kaldawy argued that … <Read More>


Owners oppose designation of Queens buildings

Owners claimed designation will force them to close their business or hinder needed repair. On March 15, 2005, Landmarks held public hearings on its proposed designations of two separate commercial buildings in Queens: the Sohmer & Co. Piano Factory building in Long Island City and Elmhurst’s Jamaica Savings Bank.

The six-story Sohmer & Company Piano Factory building, built in 1886 and designed by Berger & Baylies, has a unique mansardroofed clock tower, making the building … <Read More>


COMMENTARY: Could Landmarks Have Saved Dangler House? City Should Conduct Post-Demolition Official Review

On July 21, 2022, the Jacob Dangler House at 441 Willoughby Avenue in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, was demolished less than two weeks after the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a public hearing to consider its designation as an Individual Landmark. Despite the attempt by Landmarks to save the Dangler House by commencing the designation process, the Commission has been criticized for not acting quickly enough. Could Landmarks have actually done more?


Old Saint James Episcopal Church Designated

City’s second-oldest surviving religious structure designated an individual landmark. On September 19, 2017, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to designate the Old Saint James Episcopal Church at 86-02 Broadway in Elmhurst, Queens as an individual City landmark. Completed in 1736 for the Anglican community in the town then known a Newtown, the timber framed meeting hall featured a single tower and wood shingling. In 1848, the building was converted to a parish hall as … <Read More>