Designated 5/21/2013
The Bialystoker Center itself grew out of efforts to provide foreign aid to the regions of Eastern Europe devastated by World War I. By the mid 1920s, with the recovery of Eastern Europe and the passage of national immigration restrictions, the Center refocused its mission to supporting the existing Jewish community in New York, which resulted in the creation of its Home for the Aged.
The prominent nine-story structure built to house the Bialystoker Center and Home for the Aged is a distinguished example of the Art Deco style of architecture, characterized by its complex massing, patterned yellow brickwork, and highly stylized, geometric cast-stone ornament, and by its elaborate entrance enframement.