Leader-Observer - From Pin Boys to La Z Boys by Daniel Bush - Leader-Observer

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The former Woodhaven Lanes building is one step closer towards its transformation into a major discount furniture store.

An attorney for Woodhaven Realty, which owns the shuttered Glendale bowling alley at the intersection of Woodhaven Boulevard and Metropolitan Avenue, appeared before the City Planning Commission April 28 to apply for a special permit for the site.

The permit would allow for a retail store in excess of 10,000 square feet.

Last month, Bob's Discount Furniture announced plans to open a branch at the site, which is conveniently located near a busy shopping mall and comes with a large, 42-space parking lot. The chain furniture store plans to renovate the building's exterior before opening.

“We're seeking a special permit for a retail space,” Weisbard, the attorney for Woodhaven Realty, said after the CPC hearing. He said now it's a matter of waiting on the commission's decision. “They'll be voting” later this month, he said. “We'll find out more at that time.”

Community Board Six approved the project in March, even before knowing who would take over the 50,000-square-foot bowling alley, which closed in 2008 after a successful 50-year run. At the time, CB6 District Manager Frank Gulluscio said the site was ripe for revitalization.

A new store would bring “jobs, an economic base, and a tax base,” to the area, he said.

Councilwoman Karen Koslowitz is also supporting the venture.

“I look forward to the former Woodhaven Bowling lanes becoming a viable retail store,” Koslowitz said in a statement. “I am confident that the future occupants of the retail space will become responsible and respectful members of the community.”

Shuttered Woodhaven Lanes Bowling Alley to Become Bob's Discount Furniture Store by Nicholas Hirshon - NY Daily News

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Members of the Kings and Queens League bowl Friday nights at Woodhaven Lanes in Glendale. The bowling alley closed in 2008 and will soon be home to a furniture store. Stevens for News

A historic Glendale bowling alley that closed amid teary farewells in 2008 is slated to become a furniture showroom this fall.

Bob's Discount Furniture, a chain known for its ubiquitous and lively TV ads, is slated to open at the site in November with about 65 employees, said company spokesman Eric Montague.

The recently unveiled plan will outfit the brick box once known as Woodhaven Lanes - a pin paradise for 50 years - with arched entryways, metal roof panels and newly planted trees.

"Our plan is to take it, rehab it, make it very attractive for the neighborhood," Montague said, adding that plans also call for canvas awnings, split-face block veneer and windows.

He said the company's lease will run at least 10 years.

The renovations would radically alter the rather bland facade of Woodhaven Lanes, which hosted a nationally broadcast TV game show called "Jackpot Bowling" in 1959 and 1960.

The 60-lane alley soon became a community mainstay. It was still popular in 2008 when its operator, Brunswick, decided to focus on alleys in areas where the company already had a strong presence.

The hangout soon closed despite outcries from bowlers. The site's owner then met with the proprietor of a chain of bowling alleys in Brooklyn and on Long Island, but they failed to strike a deal.

Later that year, city officials rejected a bid to honor the site as the city's first bowling alley landmark - a distinction that would have protected the building from major renovations or demolition.

Bowlers are now raising cash for a historical marker by the alley, hoping to preserve its memory even if its facade changes.

"The exterior of the building is incredibly ugly," said Robert Corroon, an agent for the site's owner. "If anybody wants us to maintain that look for historical purposes, the answer will be no."

Jim Santora, a one-time Woodhaven Lanes regular, said he hated watching the alley close, but felt even worse as it sat vacant.

"It deserved better than that," Santora said. "At least it gets a new life now."

Barbara Stuchinski of the Forest Hills Community and Civic Association praised plans for 42 spots for cars and bikes at the site.

"It's wonderful, it's perfect and there isn't any furniture store around," she said. "It definitely is an improvement. It just finishes off that whole strip on Metropolitan Ave."

Woodhaven Lanes Could Get a New Tenant by Holly Tsang - Forest Hills Times

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After two years of being an eyesore, it looks as if the former Woodhaven Lanes building will once again be a boon to the Queens community.

Following several months of deliberation, Community Board 6 voted last Wednesday to approve a special permit application for a furniture company that has chosen to remain anonymous.

Despite the applicant’s unknown identity, CB6 District Manager Frank Gulluscio said the board did not feel uncomfortable approving the application.

“That piece of property has been vacant for some time,” said Gulluscio. “This will bring jobs, an economic base, and tax base.”

There was some concern regarding the impact on traffic, which is already congested in the area because of the popularity of Trader Joe’s, but the pros ultimately outweighed the cons. Gulluscio added that he hoped DOT would finally get its act together and work with the community board on a plan for the traffic-choked neighborhood.

According to Robert Corroon, a spokesperson for Woodhaven Realty, LLC, which owns the property, the proposed store will be a showroom only, with incoming truck deliveries only once a week from a warehouse in Connecticut. There will be 42 on-site parking spots for customers.

“I think it’s a very good use for this space because it has a low traffic impact, considered one of the lowest traffic impacts of any retail-type use,” said Corroon.

He said that the approximately 50,000-square-foot building would undergo minor renovations to the facade. Woodhaven Realty has already done some landscaping work in the parking lot.

“Certainly, it’s going to make the building much more attractive than what it is right now,” said Corroon. He added, “obviously it will increase sales taxes to the city; the sales tax revenue to the city will be much greater from this use than the bowling facility.”

The application now moves to the Borough President’s office and then the City’s Board of Standards and Appeals, said Gulluscio.

Saving Boro's 7 Wonders: Landmark Effort to Preserve News' 'History in Peril' Sites by Nicholas Hirshon - NY Daily News

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A Flushing museum is unveiling an exhibit and launching a series of tours and lectures on Sunday to push the city to landmark significant Queens sites profiled last year in the Daily News' History in Peril series.

The display at the Queens Historical Society at 143-35 37th Ave. will serve as the starting point for a 1 p.m. bus ride past seven structures from the series, followed by a cautionary tale about two lost icons from the 1939 World's Fair.

None of the seven structures - such as the former homes of writer Jack Kerouac, baseball icon Jackie Robinson and Malcolm X - have been designated landmarks, leaving them at risk of major alterations or even demolition.

"It's bringing to light a lot of places that have either been forgotten or people didn't know existed," said Danielle Hilkin, the society's outreach coordinator.

Lisi de Bourbon, a spokeswoman for the city Landmarks Preservation Commission, promised to alert the panel's 11 members about the exhibit, tours and lectures.

The exhibit, which will run through September. will be accompanied by three tours, held the last Sundays of April, May and June.

The post-tour talk on May 31 will focus on Kerouac, who lived in Ozone Park in the 1940s, while the June 28 edition will highlight Woodhaven Lanes, a shuttered bowling alley in Glendale.

The exhibit features rare memorabilia like a bookshelf from a library where Kerouac planned his "On the Road" trip.

Also on display will be mementos from the 1939 and 1964 World's Fairs, both held in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.

The 1939 collection includes pins depicting the iconic 610-foot-tall Trylon and 180-foot-wide Perisphere - which were demolished after the fair closed and will be the focus of Sunday's lecture by historian Pierre Montiel.

"People should realize Queens has a history," Montiel said. "If you keep tearing it all down, you won't really have a history."

The most prominent remaining structure from the 1939 fair is the New York City Building - also not landmarked - an early headquarters for the United Nations.

Other tour sites include the Ridgewood Theatre, which opened in 1916 and was the nation's longest continuously operating movie house until it closed in March 2008.

To RSVP for the tours, call the Queens Historical Society at (718) 939-0647, extension 17.

Bowling Alley Artifacts Planned for 2009 Exhibit by Ben Hogwood - Queens Chronicle

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Woodhaven Lanes may be gone, but it is far from forgotten.

The Queens Historical Society is planning an exhibit that focuses on losing history in Queens and will feature the bowling alley, which closed in May. Marisa Berman, the executive director of the society in Flushing, said the exhibit is still in the works, but it is expected to go up in the spring.

Jim Santora, the long-time president of the Ball and Chain bowling league which previously played at the alley, tried relentlessly to save the business. Now he is trying to gather memorabilia so others can see the memories he was surrounded with for years.
Queens is losing landmarks that may not be considered historical in the eyes of the city, but really are to local neighborhoods, Santora said. “One thing I learned trying to save Woodhaven lanes ... is how important the old bowling establishments are to a community,” he said.
For example, Gerard Montuori, known to his extended bowling family as “Mr. G.,” met his wife at the alley. After their wedding ceremony almost 15 years ago, the two went to Woodhaven lanes to have their pictures taken in tux and gown.
And when Santora’s father died earlier this year, it was his bowling buddies who helped him deal with the loss and who came out to the funeral.
Rumors of the lane’s closing first circulated over a year ago, when word got out that Brunswick Bowling, which had leased the site for most of Woodhaven’s nearly 50-year existence, was renegotiating.
When Brunswick decided not to renew, locals pegged their hope on John LaSpina, a bowling alley owner interested in the site. However, Parkway Management Corp., the property owners, eventually rejected the bid.
The last hope was lost when the city denied a request to designate the building as historic. Santora knew it was a longshot: the building wasn’t very old and, at least on the outside, wasn’t historically significant.
Now Santora is looking for items from the alley that can be put on display. He has a few of his own to offer. During its final days, Santora looked around the alley for something that still said “Woodhaven Lanes.” Most items had been marked with “Brunswick” instead.
At first, he couldn’t locate anything but the sign outside on the structure, which was much too big to keep as a souvenir.
Then he noticed, on the machine that pushes balls back to bowlers, a plate that bore the original logo. He looked at others and managed to find four of these. Santora secured them from management, keeping two for himself and giving two to friends.
He is hoping to find some bowling shirts and awards from the alley, as well as memorabilia from the protests to keep it open.
“It was a place where you go and, like the old song, everybody knows your name, knows your history. Sometimes they know it better than you,” he said.
To lend memorabilia to the exhibit, email Santora at jim.santora@bowljib.com.