Summer Of Division

Residents raise ruckus over displacement of theater synagogue and diner for luxury tower

NY Post

More than 3,500 residents have signed a petition to save the beloved Ohr Natan Synagogue — housed in an Art Deco-style building with an iconic clock tower — and the Trylon Theater & Tower Diner in Rego Park, according to a change.org petition.

The project was hotly debated at a Community Board 6 meeting Wednesday evening.

“This is one of the most cultural, social, significant, historical, and architectural sites of the community,” the petition proclaims. “The redevelopment plan would not only demolish historic buildings, but uproot a synagogue providing religious & humanitarian services, and likely pose an economic hardship on all the small businesses in the area.”

During the public hearing period at Wednesday night’s meeting, many locals voiced their opposition to the plan.

“This proposed change is not just disturbing, it is devastating,” Queens resident Carol Hagarty said in written testimony to the board.

“No accommodations are in place to preserve whatever is of historic, architectural, or social value on the block!” said Hagarty, who has lived in the area for over 40 years.

Another public commenter, Joanne Davis, wrote: “Build apartment buildings elsewhere. Raze ugly square buildings. Do not destroy this beautiful building.”

Shanda! That's a lot of shekels for synagogue property

 

Queens Post 

 The Forest Hills Jewish Center is on the market for $50 million.

The 106-06 Queens Blvd. property has been listed with Manhattan-based B6 Real Estate Advisors and is being marketed as “a prime block front development site located in the heart of Forest Hills.”

The property has hit the market about a year after the synagogue scrapped plans to redevelop the site itself.

The synagogue, along with a real estate firm, initially planned to demolish the property and build a 10-story mixed use building that would include space for the center. However, the plans were shelved after the center had a disagreement with the developer.

Deborah Gregor, the executive director of the center, said the synagogue reached out to the B6 Real Estate about two weeks ago to have the property listed. She did not disclose why the center chose to sell the property, as opposed to develop the site itself.

The center, which houses a synagogue, classrooms and other services, encompasses the entire block front on the east side of 69th Road between Queens Boulevard and Austin Street. Much of the site consists of a four-story building.

The congregation was founded in 1931 on Kessel Street, and moved into its current building in the late 1940s. The synagogue can seat 1,200 to 1,300 congregants and the center serves about 500 families.

The property is situated within a C4-5X, FH (R7X equivalent) zoning district as well as a Qualified Opportunity Zone.