NYC Landmarks Commission Votes No on Siting Aluminaire House in Phipps Nursery

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In the fall of 2013, The Cultural Landscape Foundation reported on proposed development plans for the Phipps Outdoor Nursery, an important open space prominent in the planned New York City Landmark historic district of Sunnyside Gardens. On October 15th at a public hearing of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) a proposal to relocate the Aluminaire House onto the site became the central focus of discussion within a permit application, which also called for the construction of eight apartment units.

In an unusually large turnout for an LPC hearing, some 40 speakers voiced their opposition to the Sunnyside Gardens proposal including District residents and elected officials. When the LPC Commissioners reconvened in late January to announce their decision, they reported their unanimous objection to the Aluminaire House’s relocation to Sunnyside Gardens. The LPC's decision was to "take no action" on the proposal for a permit to develop the land.

The Aluminaire House, designed by architects A. Lawrence Kocher and Albert Frey, is renowned as the first prefabricated metal house designed and built in the United States. The International Style House was originally constructed for the 1931 Architectural and Allied Arts Exposition, before being purchased by architect Wallace K. Harrison who moved the structure to his Huntington, NY property where it fell into disrepair after his passing in 1981. A push to save the building resulted in its donation to the New York Institute of Technology which had the structure re-sited on its Central Islip Campus. After the campus closed in 2012 the building was disassembled and placed under the care of the Aluminaire Foundation.



The attention that the Aluminaire House proposal brought to the Phipps Outdoor Nursery has proved fortunate for the retention of the historic park space and its historic design intent. Additionally the public discourse helped to highlight the need to preserve this contibuting open space in the face of future development proposals. The owners of the Aluminaire House have expanded their search to look at other potential sites throughout the U.S.

The Sunnyside Gardens Preservation Alliance now hopes to see the land purchased and re-opened as a public park and community garden. Since taking office in January, the new Borough President of Queens, Melinda Katz, and her Deputy Borough President, Leroy Comrie, are contributing to this goal-- Katz has requested that the City explore a purchase proposal. The purchase initiative is led by City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer and endorsed by U.S. Congressman Joseph Crowley, State Senator Michael Gianaris, Assemblywoman Margaret Markey, and Queens Community Board 2.