14 THE QUEENS COURIER • NOVEMBER 18, 2021 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Residents reject plan to demolish Tower
Diner and Ohr Natan Synagogue
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Forest Hills and Rego Park residents
are speaking out against
the demolition of two historical
buildings on Queens Boulevard
to make way for a mixed-use
development, which they say
does not fi t the character of their
community.
During the Community Board
6 Land Use Committee virtual
public hearing held on Nov.
3, board members and residents
were presented with a redevelopment
plan to erect a 15-story
building on the triangular block
of the Trylon Th eater that houses
the Ohr Natan Synagogue at
98-81 Queens Blvd. and Tower
Diner at 98-85 Queens Blvd.
Th e public hearing is the fi rst
step to getting the rezoning
application approved. It’s part of
the Uniform Land Use Review
Process (ULURP) that is used
by the city to assess rezoning
applications.
The development plan
Th e applicant, RJ Capital
Holdings under Trylon
LLC (via Rudy and Michael
Abramov), is seeking to construct
a 153,000-square-foot
development, which includes
144 total units with 44 of those
units as aff ordable housing at
an average of 80% Area Median
Income (AMI) under the
city’s Mandatory Inclusionary
Housing Program. Th e plan proposes
136,000 square feet for residential
space and 17,400 square
feet for commercial space, with
45 parking spaces, including
bicycle parking on site.
Eric Palatnik, who’s representing
the developer, is requesting
to rezone the area currently
under an R7-1 zone, to an
R8X zone, which would permit a
higher building height that produces
15- to 17-story apartment
buildings.
Th e height requirement for
R7-1 districts encourages lower
apartment buildings on smaller
zoning lots and, on larger lots,
taller buildings with less lot coverage.
As an alternative, developers
may choose the optional
Quality Housing regulations
to build lower buildings with
greater lot coverage.
“I’ve watched Queens
Boulevard and have grown up
with it, and I’ve seen the potential
that it has to create housing
that’s transit rich and transit
based smart development,”
Palatnik said.
According to Palatnik, the
building they’re proposing fi ts
well with the community’s character
that has several high-rise
buildings.
Th e developers intend to begin
demolition next month, and it
would take about 30 to 45 days
to complete, Palatnik said.
In previous meetings with the
CB 6 Land Use Committee, concerns
were raised about keeping
the confi guration of the Tower
Diner, which is housed in the
colonial bank building with a
distinguished clock tower.
Th ough the site isn’t a registered
historical landmark,
Palatnik said they’re planning
to call the new development the
Trylon Building, in addition to
replicating the Tower Diner in
the design and a clock mimicking
the historical structure.
The history of the Trylon
Theater and Tower Diner
According to Michael Perlman,
a fi ft h-generation Forest Hills
resident, historian and chair of
the Rego-Forest Preservation
Council, the 1939 World’s Fairinspired
Art Deco-styled Trylon
Th eater was designed by notable
architect Joseph Unger. Th e
cherished colonial style Tower
Diner is in a historic bank building
with its distinctive clock
tower architecture.
Th e Trylon Th eater was named
aft er the 1939 World’s Fair’s symbolic
spire-like monument, the
Trylon, which stood alongside
the globular Perisphere
monument. Analogous to the
fair’s theme, “Th e World of
Tomorrow,” where exhibits featured
technological innovations,
the theater was known as “Th e
Th eater of Tomorrow.”
Th e Trylon was shuttered aft er
its 60th anniversary celebration
in 1999, and was presumably one
of the last single-screen theaters
citywide. Since 2006, the theater
has operated as the Ohr Natan
Synagogue, which is comprised
of over 1,000 congregants who
are mostly Bukharian Jews.
Th e popular Tower Diner
is owned by Spiro and John
Gatanas and their parents. Th e
family emigrated from Greece,
fulfi lling the “American Dream,”
and adapted the colonial-style
bank building in 1993 while preserving
its authentic features.
Th e diner is considered a
must-stop by patrons who enjoy
its extensive menu of American
and cultural foods. It was the
home of the longtime tenant
Emigrant Savings Bank and formerly
City Savings Bank. Beside
the clock tower are columns, a
cornice, a pitched roof and colonial
interior features.
Community opposition
The Ohr Natan/Trylon
Th eater, Tower Diner and surrounding
local businesses bear
signifi cance on an architectural,
cultural, religious and small
business basis, Perlman said.
“It is a shame that its future is
even being debated upon, all for
a largely unwelcomed high-rise,”
Perlman said. “Th is application
would demolish historic and distinctive
sites and place an economic
burden on tenants, not to
mention additional congestion
and a domino eff ect of demolitions
nearby of other preservation
worthy sites.”
Th ose sites include Parkside
Memorial Chapels and Forest
Hills Jewish Center, which are
award-winning historic, sacred
and beautiful sites designed by
foremost architects and artists,
Perlman said in his written testimony.
“Not everything needs to
change, and everything does
not change in other communities.
Th ere are landmarks that
are offi cial or awaiting designation.
Sites can be adaptively
and creatively reused rather than
demolished. Preservation is also
greener based on retained materials
and a building’s embodied
energy,” Perlman said.
A majority of the community
members are calling on CB 6 to
reject the developer’s application
in an online petition to save the
Trylon Th eater, Tower Diner and
nearby small businesses from
demolition.
To date, the petition has
received 3,727 signatures.
Many residents submitted
their written testimony that were
read aloud during the public
hearing, while others spoke on
the panel voicing their concerns
regarding quality-of-life issues.
Phyllis Zimmerman said
there’s no need for another highrise
building in the neighborhood.
“So many people are disgusted
with the overdevelopment,
and what does this building
do for people in the neighborhood?
I would say nothing,”
Zimmerman said. “Forest Hills
is going to become a crowded,
dirty neighborhood and the very
things that make it desirable in
the fi rst place will be destroyed
by overdevelopment and crowding.”
Other residents pointed out
the lack of aff ordable housing
developments in the area, and
said the developer’s units aren’t
“truly aff ordable.”
RJ Capital Holdings plans to
off er 44 units — 30% of the total
units — to residents who earn
70%, 80% or 90% of the AMI.
The proposal offers nine
aff ordable one-bedroom units
for approximately $1,500 at 70%
AMI, nine for $1,790 at 80%
AMI and nine at $1,950 at 90%
AMI, according to Palatnik.
A CB6 member requested for
some units at 60% AMI, but
Abramov said they crunched the
numbers and can’t do it without
jeopardizing the quality of the
apartments they hope to build.
Forest Hills resident and student
Zeke Luger said he wouldn’t
be able to aff ord the so-called
“aff ordable” apartments.
“If I were to move out of my
parents’ home, which I’m hoping
to do once I graduate, there’s no
way in hell I’d be able to aff ord a
$2,000 rent,” Luger said during
the hearing. “Th at’s not aff ordable.
Th at’s already the average
rent in our neighborhood.”
Another resident said it’s disappointing
that her friends are
unable to aff ord an apartment in
the neighborhood.
“We have to make a conscientious
eff ort to have more aff ordable
housing and become less
exclusionary and elitist and
allow for more opportunities for
people of lower-income to aff ord
more housing,” the resident said.
Meanwhile, Pat Morgan spoke
of her late father’s frequent visits
to the diner.
“My father was one of the
‘mayors’ of the diner. If he didn’t
appear when he was supposed to,
which was usually twice a day,
they would call to make sure he’s
OK,” Morgan said. “Th is diner
serves an incredible community
of people and the regulars are
treated like gold.”
In regards to the Ohr Natan
Synagogue, Abramov said they
have allocated space for its members.
Currently, the synagogue
has relocated to the 99-cent discount
store across the street from
the site, and Abramov is continuing
to have an open dialogue
with the rabbi.
As for the Tower Diner,
Palatnik says it has been invited
to return to the new and
improved location.
Read more on QNS.com.
Photos courtesy of Michael Perlman
Tower Diner (l.) and the Trylon Theater that houses the Ohr Natan Synagogue (r.) on Queens Boulevard.
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