We have been following developments at the Bialystoker Nursing Home, which is being shut down and, its board of directors hopes, transformed into a residential apartment complex. According to a listing from Grubb & Ellis, 228-230 East Broadway is “available for development.”Today there’s a new development to report. A Lower East Side preservation activist and Community Board 3 member, Linda Jones, has filed a “request for evaluation” with the Landmarks Preservation Commission.
“According to the National Register Lower East Side Historic District Report,” she noted in her submission, “the building dates from 1929. It is considered a contributing building. ‘Nine-story, Art Deco brick institutional building with terra-cotta trim; especially notable English lettering in Hebrew style.’ The building is a remnant of the once vibrant Bialystoker Jewish community in the area. It has recently been announced that the Nursing Home plans to close. It is probable that the building will be sold for development and demolished.”
The AIA Guide to New York City offers a few more details about the Bialystoker building:
“Surviving among acres of adjacent post-World War II projects, (the Bilaystoker Center is) an amusing Moorish Art Deco product of the Roaring 20’s. Two families vying for recognition are represented in two cornerstones at the facade’s far ends… (shrubbery conceals the rivalry.”
We’ll let you know if the LPC responds to the request for evaluation.
Thanks to Linda for submitting the request. It is an interesting building with a real history and adds, I think, to the area’s charm and historic significance.
Who is selling the 80yr. old Bialystoker Home?What will happen to the 90 aged,infirm
seniors?Who is Ira Meister? Who is Jason Meister?Money is the root of all evil.Solve
this and you will open a big can of worms.