In the heart of Western Queens, 20 minutes by the #7 subway from Times Square, Sunnyside Gardens is a National Register Historic District that’s recognized internationally as a model of urban planning. Integrating architecture and landscape design, the neighborhood is a 20th-century American “Garden City” that continues to reward its diversity of residents and visitors. Explore this site to learn more about our neighborhood and its unique features.
We’re on track for a public garden park at the border of Woodside and Sunnyside. Since 2009, dedicated neighbors have worked together in a variety of ways to save the parkland at 39th Avenue and 50th Street and create a green environment that’s open to the public. Through 2012, we sought private funds to buy and create a garden park, establishing a wide consensus (for example, see here).
Professional staff of the National Park Service have informed our Preservation Alliance that they’re interested in naming Sunnyside Gardens a National Landmark. This would raise our National Register Historic District to the highest national designation. You can help achieve this honor by e-mailing Neighborhood@SunnysideGardens.us.
Our resolution is firm as we lead the call for the restoration of an irreplaceable building by Clarence Stein within the Sunnyside Gardens National Register Historic District.
Local movers and shakers responded swiftly during the summer and fall of 2015 to oppose a disturbing proposal from the Phipps Houses corporation for an enormous new building on Barnett Avenue. In the footsteps of our historic and far-sighted neighbor Lewis Mumford (in Sunnyside Gardens from 1925 to 1936), who espoused communities built on a human scale, our neighbors demonstrated a commanding consensus throughout Woodside and Sunnyside, recording some 2500 petition signatures…
During Sunnyside Gardens' ongoing celebration of the 90th anniversary of our construction (1924-1928), there are many important founders to be grateful for. In 2016, none is more important than Alexander M. Bing.In 1926, builders completed Lincoln and Washington Courts, and the south court in what became Jefferson Court.
Marjorie Sewell Cautley (1891-1954), the landscape architect who designed the plantings across the Sunnyside Gardens Historic District, was recognized with an honorary New York City street sign on November 21, 2015. An enthusiastic multitude from around the city and across the country gathered at 45th Street and Skillman Avenue to applaud when Lee Hill, Cautley's granddaughter, and Dr. Thaïsa Way, the foremost scholar of Cautley’s career, joined City Council Majority Leader Jimmy Van Bramer to unveil the new sign.
On the 50th anniversary of New York City’s Landmarks Law, April 19, 2015, we marked this milestone with thanks to the hundreds of volunteers who worked to make Sunnyside Gardens a New York City Historic District and to acquire the historic brown street signs that distinguish the neighborhood. Unveiling the last of those signs (our Historic District markers) kicked off our own 90th anniversary celebration last fall. Details of that event follow.You may download the Roll of Honor as a PDF….
Queens Borough President Melinda Katz officially proclaimed October 25, 2014, "Sunnyside Gardens Day" as she unveiled one of three new historic district markers, each displaying a map of the full neighborhood. The unveilings were part of our 90th anniversary event, led by our neighbor, City Council Majority Leader Jimmy Van Bramer, with contributions and commendations…
Shortly after the Nazis seized power in Austria in 1938, two sisters escaped with their families, settled in Sunnyside Gardens, and reinvented their careers. Our National Register Plaque Program honored each of them with historic markers on the homes they lived in. Adding to our knowledge and admiration of these women, the Sunnyside Reformed Church hosted 2 plays and an evening of films….
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Ask the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) before making a change to the exterior of your building:
Contact LPC’s Public Information Officer at info@lpc.nyc.gov, or call 212-669-7817.
