Elmhurst Among Top 6 Historic NYC Neighborhoods To Save: Council

ELMHURST, QUEENS -- History buffs will soon have help preserving the legacy of St. James Church and other famed buildings in Elmhurst after the NYC Historic Districts Council put the Queens neighborhood at the top of their list of historic locales to save this year.

Elmhurst was named among the Historic Districts Council's 2018 "Six To Celebrate" list, which targets six neighborhoods citywide to be its preservation priorities each year.

The program, now in its third year, provides resources and hands-on help to the six neighborhoods chosen "at a critical moment to reach their preservation goals," according to the council's website. That includes teaching local activists how to use tools like documentation, research, zoning, landmarking, publicity and public outreach to their advantage during preservation campaigns in their neighborhood.

Elmhurst - a West Queens neighborhood home to roughly 88,000 New Yorkers - was chosen for its "many charming, yet unprotected, residential, commercial and religious structures" and high number of historic burial grounds whose poor upkeep has put them at risk of being damaged, the HDC said.

The HDC will work alongside the Elmhurst History and Cemeteries Preservation Society, a new civic group that brought the neighborhood's preservation issues to the council's attention. The local organization is working to document Elmhurst's historic treasures and ensure their survival, while also hosting walking tours through the neighborhood to promote pride in its history.

Other neighborhoods joining Elmhurst on the HDC's list of top preservation priorities are: Arthur Avenue and Westchester Square in the Bronx, the Prospect Heights Apartment House District in Brooklyn and Manhattan's Upper West Side. This year's sixth "neighborhood" is dedicated to citywide landmarks with cultural significance, the HDC said.

Lead photo via Google Maps.

Caption: Among Elmhurst's historic buildings is the St. James Church, the neighborhood's oldest church, at Broadway and 51st Street.