Sunchester Hotel
Long Island Star Journal July 10, 1939, p. 13 
New York World Telegram and Sun 1965 April 19, p. 46 Known Name(s)
Sunchester Hotel
Address
37-52 80th St., Jackson Hts, 72 Queens, NY
Establishment Type(s)
Hotel
Physical Status
Extant
Description
The Sunchester Hotel was located in the Jackson Heights neighborhood at 37-52 80th Street in Queens, NY. According to a deed transferring the property in 1965, the complex stretches from 80th Street to 79th Street. It consists of two U-shaped buildings that frame an open courtyard. The courtyard has four sidewalk pathways that lead to a center square. According to the NYC Department of Finance, it is a class D1 structure, meaning it’s a semi-fireproof apartment building with an elevator and does not contain stores.
The building is a six-story brick apartment complex with 58 living units. The topmost portion of the center section of the facade facing 80th Street includes embellishments inspired by medieval architecture. Along the roofline there are two projecting decorative rectangular shapes with castellated tops. On and below them is a diapering pattern in the brickwork.
The front entrance on 80th street has a glazed black framed door with eight panes arranged in two columns. A limestone door surround frames the door, and a single lamp hangs directly above it. At one point the main entrance was embellished with a stone veneer, but the veneer has been removed as of 2022 leaving discolored brickwork around the limestone door frame. There is a sunken window framed by quoin stonework directly to the left of the front door. The entrance to the courtyard on 80th street is framed by an archway with a large central opening and two smaller openings to either side. The entrances to the courtyard are decorated with quoin stonework.
These days 37-52 80th St. Jackson Heights is part of an apartment complex and sits within what is considered a “foodie” hub for diverse, multi-cultural cuisine. SW Queens Mezzanine LLC currently advertises the building’s units as pet friendly studio apartments with hard wood floors.
Detailed History
The Sunchester Hotel was originally constructed in 1926 with alterations subsequently made to it from 1932 to 1958. An advertisement for the hotel from 1939 in the Long Island City New York Star Journal described it as “exquisitely furnished” with “free refrigeration.” The advertisement noted that it was only 9 minutes from the fairgrounds, the site of the 1939 World’s Fair.
It was a Green Book site listed in issues 1963, 64, and 66. In 1965, Sunchester Hotel was highlighted in the New York Times as ideal accommodation for travelers looking to visit the 1964-65 World’s Fair and conveniently located only 15 minutes from the heart of the city. The ’65 advertisements also listed it as offering moderate rentals with air conditioning, housekeeping, a TV, and garage access.
Notably, in the same 1965 advertisement it was also described as an “apartment hotel,” which suggests something of its interior arrangement. Prior to 1929, the apartment hotel classification was a roundabout method developers used to circumvent the constraints that the 1867 Tenement Housing Act placed on height and lot coverage for residential buildings. Hotels were technically outside of tenement legislation and therefore wouldn’t fall under these restrictions. This loophole was eventually abolished in 1929 with the passing of the Multiple Dwellings Law (https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/MDW).
The ownership of the building transferred in 1972 to Joseph Brisman. This appears to be a financially strategic move on Brisman’s part to leverage finances, as he immediately transferred ownership to Acquisition Funding LTD. From then on, the building transferred ownership multiple times. It is currently owned by 37-52/37-56 80TH REALTY LLC. Today the structure is an apartment building in the Jackson Heights neighborhood that is simply referred to as 37-56 80th St. Jackson Heights.
