City to consider 3 historic Bronx locations for landmark status

A public hearing on Tuesday will allow city dwellers to weigh in on potential landmark designations for three historic buildings in the Bronx.

The three sites include the firehouse for Engine Company 88/Ladder Company 38, the Fire Alarm Telegraph Bureau's Bronx central office and the Bronx Opera House. Once passed, the designation would protect the buildings from future alteration, reconstruction, demolition, or new construction without specific city approval.

The Bronx Opera House, located at 436-442 East 149th St., used to be a major center for the growing Latin music scene in the 1960s, but has more recently been operating as a hotel. It was built as a theater and restaurant between 1912 and 1913 and showcased early Broadway acts along the “Subway Circuit," the city Landmarks Preservation Commission said.

Kate Lemos McHale, director of research for the Landmarks Preservation Commission, said the building was a big cultural hub as the Puerto Rican community took off in the South Bronx the 1960s.

"There were various clubs in the building and it was really a place where, in the midst of the growth and birth of this cultural expression in the South Bronx, that was really actually focused in this building," McHale said.

The Fire Alarm Telegraph Bureau's Bronx central office at 1129 East 180th St. in Bronx Park is one of four borough offices constructed in the early 20th century as the FDNY’s Fire Alarm Telegraph Bureau decentralized its operations, the Landmarks Preservation Commission said. It was designed in the Italian Renaissance Revival style by Brooklyn architect Frank J. Helmle and built in 1915.

The firehouse for Engine Company 88/Ladder Company 38 at 2225 Belmont Ave. was built in 1908, it was designed by architects Herts & Tallant, best known for their Broadway theaters, such as the New Amsterdam Theater.

Mayor Eric Adams unveiled an action plan earlier this month with the goal of preserving the city's most vulnerable historic buildings by protecting buildings designated as historic landmarks that are at risk due to pre-existing unknown structural conditions, owner neglect and contractor negligence.

"New York City is home to some of our nation's richest history and protecting our most fragile landmark buildings is a crucial way to ensure those stories continue to be told," Adams said in a statement. "I am proud of our administration's ability to drill down, locate the gaps in the preservation process, and create a plan to fix it. This action plan will undoubtedly help save the incredible historic buildings that decorate our city."

The public hearing is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday. Residents can access the discussion via the Landmarks Preservation Commission YouTube channel. The commission will soon put the three sites to a vote, and if successful, the City Council will have the final say on whether the designations make it through.