The Bialystoker Nursing Home building at 228 East Broadway is one step away from officially becoming a New York City landmark. The landmarks committee of the City Council voted a short time ago to sign off on a decision from the Landmarks Preservation Commission to protect the 1931 Art Deco structure.
The building was vacated in 2011, when the nursing home was closed. The Bialystoker board initially opposed landmark designation, but later acquiesced. A preservation group, Friends of the Lower East Side, has waged a long campaign for landmarking. The full City Council now must vote on the proposal; approval is all but assured.
It’s still an open question what will become of the building. The nursing home board has been trying to sell it to a developer, but many months after a transaction appeared imminent, there has been no news about the Bialystoker building’s future. You can read previous coverage of this issue here.
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