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Sale of Trylon Theater property rankles house of worship

Sale of Trylon Theater property rankles house of worship
Photo by Bianca Fortis
By Bianca Fortis

Controversy has erupted after the sale of a Rego Park commercial property containing a synagogue amid fears the house of worship will be evicted. The new landlords contend they want to preserve the synagogue and support its huge congregation.

Nahum Kaziev, the rabbi of Ohr-Natan, said that when the property was sold in December, the new landlords laid plans in place to demolish the synagogue, as well as other storefronts, and build a high-rise apartment building in their place.

“They just want to build a building to make money,” he said. “It would be a luxury condo not even for the middle-class people that live here.”

The Art Deco-style building in which the synagogue resides, located at 98-81 Queens Blvd., was built for the 1939 World’s Fair. It served as the Trylon Theater, a moviehouse, until it was shuttered in 1999, according to 1939worldsfair.com.

Kaziev said the origins of the synagogue trace back to more than 20 years ago, when members of the community, predominantly Bukharian Jewish immigrants, began to meet. They rented out different meeting places while the community continued to expand, he said.

In 2002, they took over the lease of the vacant theater with the intention of staying there for a long time.

He said they spent $2.1 million to restore the building and moved in four years later.

Kaziev said the congregation has about 1,000 members and provides services, such as senior programs, kids programs and couples’ counseling.

“Where are 1,000 people going to go?” he said. “You cannot destroy a community center just to make a few dollars.”

Kaziev said members of the congregation, which includes Holocaust survivors, World War II survivors and people who were persecuted by the KGB in the former Soviet republics, feel as though they are losing a home.

But the new landlords, under the name Trylon LLC, disputed the rabbi’s claims.

One of the owners, who declined to give his name, said there are no specific plans in motion for the property just yet. He said there has been some discussion about turning the property into a high-rise building in the future, which was discussed with the tenants of the building, including the rabbi.

“We’re developers,” he said. “That’s what we do. We have the right to do so under the zoning there.”

He said if the high-rise were built, the landlords would help relocate the businesses temporarily during construction, and then give them new space once the building is complete.

He said the landlords are concerned about all of their tenants, especially the synagogue, which they want to preserve.

“They are part of our community,” he said. “We never once suggested that we would evict them or shut them down,” he said.

He said the synagogue’s lease is not up for a few more years. In the meantime, the developers are continuing to lease out some of the other empty storefronts in the building.

“Why would we continue to rent it out if we are going to demolish it tomorrow?” he said.

Reach reporter Bianca Fortis by email at bfortis@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4546.