Historic Elmhurst home faces demolition threat

The former home of Walentyna and Aleksander Janta-Połczyńska, which a group of community members and lawmakers say should be considered for landmarking, faces the threat of demolition from its new owner. Eagle file photo by David Brand

By Jacob Kaye

In the fall of 2020, a group of historically-minded Elmhurst residents submitted a petition with the city to get a local home certified as a New York City landmark.

For decades, the building was home to a Polish American couple who had opened their door to artists, scholars and civic leaders who had come to New York after escaping the post-World War II Iron Curtain. Mahatma Gandhi, Vladimir Nabokov and Charlie Chaplin all broke bread at Walentyna and Aleksander Janta-Połczyńska’s salon on 43rd Avenue.

Walentyna Janta-Połczyńska, who lived in the home until her death, sold the property to an opaque limited liability company several years before passing away in April 2020, at the age of 107.

Not long after Walentyna died, James McMenamin of the Elmhurst History & Cemeteries Preservation Society, Queens Community Board 4 Chairperson Marialena Giampino and Jennifer Ochoa, a lifelong Elmhurst resident, told the Landmark Preservation Commission that the home should be considered for official landmarking because its of history as a structure and because of the residents who brought it fame.

But almost two years after the landmark petition was first submitted, the LPC has yet to calendar it for consideration, and the developers who own it have begun circulating the news that they intend to soon demolish the home and erect an apartment building in its place.

While members of the public may submit a petition to the commission to have it considered for landmarking, the commission is the sole arbiter of identifying buildings, structures, neighborhoods, interiors or scenic areas that may be considered for the designation.

“That's why the panic is ensuing now, because they can very well get that [demolition] permit, and very, very few people can stop it from happening,” said Christian Cassagnol, the district manager of CB4. “It's just crazy – if this does not get landmarked, I don't know what will.”

Walentyna Janta-Połczyńska served as a secretary to the prime minister in Poland’s World War II government-in-exile, though her duties went far beyond what her title might suggest, according to McMenamin.

She essentially worked as an intelligence officer, translating key reports into English that revealed conditions inside Nazi-occupied Poland and exposed the Holocaust to the rest of the world. She participated at the Nuremberg trials, where she befriended Winston Churchill.

Walentyna Janta-Połczyńska. Photo via LPC recommendation

Aleksander was a prominent poet, writer and journalist who, for a time, was held captive by the Nazis. After escaping, he made his way to Buffalo, where he met his future wife. The couple then moved to Elmhurst in the late 1950s and purchased the now-contested house.

The property, now referred to as the Janta House, served as a point for wayfarers seeking stability in New York City, according to historians.

From inside the home, located at 88-28 43rd Ave., the Janta-Połczyńskas aided Polish immigrants, setting them up with jobs, money, an education and places to live.

But the home had its own history prior to the Janta-Połczyńskas’ arrival.

The structure is believed to have been built at the turn of the 20th Century on a plot of land owned by Christian Meyer, the brother of developer Cord Meyer, who played an influential role in realigning the neighborhood’s grid.

The structure has only one recorded alteration in its 109-year history.

“Elmhurst has been ground zero for developers, right after Flushing,” McMenamin said. “Many of the old colonial homes have been destroyed, many of the businesses have been demolished…It's just given such an ugly kind of look at this kind of a jigsaw puzzle configuration of the neighborhood where it's hardly identifiable from how it was 25 years ago.”

“In this case, I cannot think of any greater example for landmarking,” he added.

The petition for landmarking the property has seen little movement since first being sent to the commission, its supporters say.

Despite drawing wide support from a number of lawmakers, residents, historical societies and Polish leaders, a representative from the LPC told the Eagle in 2020 that it would have to conduct “further study… to determine whether the building retains sufficient integrity to convey its cultural and historical significance.”

Nearly two years later, that study has not been completed.

“This is after they’ve gotten beautiful, detailed support letters from overseas, from educators, from politicians, from people in the know, and I'm like, ‘How much more freaking research do they need?’” McMenamin said. “What more do they want to know?”

In a statement to the Eagle, an LPC spokesperson said: “LPC received a request to evaluate the Janta House for consideration as a possible individual landmark and our staff have been conducting further research to determine its significance and whether or not it merits consideration.”

The spokesperson said they could not provide a timeline on when the research would be completed.

Last week, the owner of the property, an LLC with the name 88-28 43rd Ave LLC, notified several people in the neighborhood, as well as Community Board 4, that it planned to demolish the property in the next 10 days. However, official demolition filings have yet to be submitted to the Department of Buildings, according to City Councilmember Shekar Krishnan.

Fuqiang Zhang, an attorney listed in property records as a representative of the LLC, did not respond to request for comment.

“I think it's absolutely egregious that we find out about any planned or potential demolition from letters on a neighbor’s door from the developer, rather than from the city,” Krishanan told the Eagle.

The recently-elected councilmember has had conversations with representatives at both the DOB and LPC in the past week. But, according to Krishnan, the two agencies haven’t been in communication with each other.

“There clearly has not been adequate communication between the LPC and DOB up until this point – I think they're both equally to blame,” he said.

The DOB told Krishnan that despite community protest, there were no grounds to issue a stop work order on any potential demolition.

If the DOB receives an application for construction and demolition projects which are fully comply with Code and Zoning regulations, the agency is legally required to issue permits, according to a DOB spokesperson.

A representative from LPC told Krishnan that they were unaware that any demolition plan was in the works and that it had yet to complete its study of the property.

“This is also a big surprise for them, too,” Krishanan said.

Queens Borough President Donovan Richards is making his own attempts to pause any demolition plans, a spokesperson told the Eagle. He’s reached out to Mayor Eric Adams’ office in an attempt to move the landmarking process along.

"The Janta-Połczyńska House in Elmhurst is a critical piece of both Queens history and Polish history that deserves official landmark status, not the wrecking ball," Richards said in a statement. "Walentyna Janta-Połczyńska's former home on 43rd Avenue is a living monument to not only her heroic efforts to defeat Nazism during World War II, but also to Queens' thriving Polish-American community.”

“To demolish this home now — as Poland is once again galvanizing an entire continent against an imperialistic dictator threatening Europe — would be an insult to Walentyna, her legacy and all Polish Americans who call Queens home,” he added.

McMenamin, who says he’s experienced failed landmarking attempts in the past, said that he feels hopeless to stop the home, which could potentially be deemed a landmark should it be reviewed, from being raised to the ground.

“We're out of options and there's no more light at the end of the tunnel,” he said. “What more can you do?”