Since its closure in August 2011, the Bialystoker Nursing Home in the Lower East Side has been the subject of a heated preservation debate, with Bowery Boogie going so far as to say it's "a microcosm of all that's wrong with the neighborhood." Tomorrow, the Landmarks Preservation Commission is set to discuss once again for the first time whether or not they should discuss whether or not the 80-year-old facility is worthy of landmark status.
The building has already been marketed as a "highly desirable" location for residential development, and the board maintains that there is still "significant interest" in the property. Many think that the defunct board's own chairman is interested in the building because his real estate firm shares the same address as the LLC that purchased a medical building next door to Bialystoker last year. If the nursing home is landmarked, it would make the sale of the building more complicated, as it would not be able to be demolished or significantly altered. Given the chairman's sketchiness and the board's desire to sell, it seems like landmarking status is really the last hope for Bialystoker's survival.
UPDATE 12/11: A spokesperson from LPC contacted Curbed to let us know that this was the first time they discussed Bialystoker, and they voted to hold a hearing, although a date for the hearing has not yet been set.
· LPC Will Hear Cases for Bialystoker, Seward Park Library Landmarking [Bowery Boogie]
· Bialystoker Nursing Home coverage [Curbed]
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