Parkside Memorial Chapels in Rego Park, pictured, is established to be completely demolished (Photo courtesy of Michael Perlman)
Sept. 7, 2021 By Michael Dorgan
A Jewish funeral household in Rego Park is heading to be bulldozed to make way for a multi-tale apartment constructing.
GVA Cash LLC, a New York development company, submitted programs with the Division of Properties final month to demolish the Parkside Memorial Chapels, situated at 98-60 Queens Blvd.
The demolition of the 60-yr-outdated structure will make way for a 7 tale, 51-device complex, according to constructing strategies initial documented by Crain’s.
GVA Money acquired the web page in July for $10.95 million from PMC Proprietors Corp., the corporation that had operated the funeral house. Parkside vacated the setting up very last year and moved its procedure to 114-03 Queens Blvd. It now operates below the Dignity Memorial community.
The developers experienced at first prepared to build a higher-rise reasonably priced housing elaborate devoted for seniors on the internet site, Council Member Karen Koslowitz told the Queens Post.
Koslowitz claimed the advancement company initially sought a zoning variance for the undertaking, in which it would get further square footage in return for building the economical housing. Having said that, the application was rejected by the Metropolis Organizing Fee (CPC), she claimed.
The developer is now continuing with an “as of right” development at the website, in accordance to Koslowitz.
“With the Town Arranging rejection, I am assuming that the 100 % very affordable housing prepare is off the desk,” Koslowitz mentioned.
The impending demolition will conclusion a marketing campaign by a compact group of people who purpose to protect the current structure.
The people say that the setting up is of historic significance and introduced an online petition before this 12 months to prevent the framework from currently being levelled.
“This is a exceptional instance of mid-century Modernism and is a single of the most significant examples of architecture of its sort regionally,” stated Michael Perlman, chair of the Rego Park-Forest Hills Preservation Council.
Parkside Memorial Chapels was built in 1961 and is recognized for its exterior star-patterned partitions – shaped like the Star of David – which represented the sand of the Sinai Desert, according to Perlman.
There are also concrete screens in between the walls with Star of David-formed holes.
A submitting was designed on Nov. 9 for a partial demolition of the building to tear down the “decorative masonry walls” on the to start with two floors, as very well as the removing of structural steel supports and canopies.
Perlman mentioned that some demolition work occurred in March where by aspect of the exterior wall on Queens Boulevard was torn down. He reported that the remaining Star of David-shaped holes on the developing was filled in.
He stated the group known as on the Landmarks Preservation Fee to declare Parkside a landmark, but the request was denied.
No comments still
