Daily News, October 11, 1998 Historic battle in Flushing Landmark status sought for little-known Waldheim By Claire Serant There's a corner of Flushing known for spacious, century-old homes and tree-lined streets that conjure images of Queens' historic past, but the area is not readily known by its name - Waldheim. Now, residents of the little-known enclave - named for a German word that means "houses in the woods" - think it's time Waldheim received a little more attention, particularly from the city Landmarks Preservation Commission. For more than a decade, locals have asked the commission to recognize the neighborhood's architectural significance. Long-time Waldheim resident Nelly Frers insists the mix of Italianate mansions, Greek revivals and newer brickface houses might hurt the community's chances of achieving landmark district status. "When I saw the inside [of the house she bought] and saw the arch [ceilings] and oak floors, I said: This house is for me,' recalled Frers, a former business executive from Argentina who moved to the area in the late 1970's. Twenty years after purchasing their Ash Ave. home, Frers and her friend Amal Martelli fear for Waldheim's future. Their seven bedroom home is sandwiched between a modern brick two-family home and property that the Korean Presbyterian Church plans to use for a house of worship. Adjacent mini-mansions were torn down in the name of progress, said local preservationist Paul Graziano. "We have looked at the properties three times in the past. The commission has decided not to move forward," said Landmarks Commission spokeswoman Katy McNabb. She added, however, that the panel will take yet another look at the site. Some preservationists are concerned that Waldheim - an area originally bounded by Ash and Delaware Aves., Bowne Street and Parsons Blvd. - might run out of time as speculators and developers eye the community for growth. Intrusion into the "historic fabric" of a neighborhood, said McNabb, would deter the commission from granting landmark status. Queens has three landmarked districts; Jackson Heights, Douglaston Manor and Hunters Point. Citywide there are 72 such districts. Waldheim's proposed landmark boundaries would start at Frankin Ave., and include Parsons Blvd., Bowne St. and extend beyond Delaware Ave. To include several homes near New York Flushing Hospital. "I know some residents made serious efforts a number of years ago," said Jim Driscoll, director of research with the Queens Historical Society. "It's not too late, but it should have been done 15 or 20 years ago." Waldheim was originally built around 1875 as a 15-acre subdivision of the estate of New York politician Nathan Sanford. Architects George Appleton, W. B. Richardson and J. W. Doolittle created the upscale housing that cost, on average, $15,000 at the turn of the century. Some of Waldheim's stately homes feature stained-glass windows, pillars and puddingstone facades. While many remained single-family homes, in recent years others have been converted into rooming houses and multiple-dwellings. Today, about six Waldheim homes are for sale, Graziano said. "These people do what they want," Frers said, referring to new homeowners and absentee landlords who permit illegal uses of their properties. Long-time Waldheim resident Ann Christensen said she was distressed to see new residents chopping down trees. "They think roots of the trees are going to crack [their] house's foundation, and that's not true," said Christensen, a retired city schoolteacher who grew up on Cherry Ave. Graziano said that in the past 15 years, six of Waldheim's more than 70 original properties were demolished to make way for newer housing. "It's a sad story," said Hedwig Reiner, who has lived in the neighborhood since the mid- 1950's. "We're all sticking together trying to fight it." Landmarking would not only protect Waldheim from encroaching development, but would bring improved services as well, say preservationists and long-time local residents. Stanley Cogan, president of the Queens Historical Society, said that anything that protects the architectural history and culture of the city's past should be preserved. "There have been so many changes in Flushing in the last decade," said Cogan, "people want to hold to what was." go to top