You are reading

Iconic Shalimar Diner Demolished; Efforts To Relocate It To Long Island Squashed

The former Shalimar Diner at 63-68 Austin St. (Photo: Queens Post)

July 11, 2019 Shane O’Brien

The Shalimar Diner in Rego Park has been demolished, despite the efforts of local preservationists who had planned to relocate it to Long Island.

Forest Hills native and preservationist Michael Perlman, who is credited with previously saving the Moondance and Cheyenne Diners from the wrecking ball, had launched a campaign in April to save the Shalimar. However, pictures emerged on social media yesterday of the iconic diner lying in piles of rubble at its former home at 63-68 Austin St.

Perlman had teamed up with New York attorney Ronald Hariri and former Mets player and 1986 World Series champion Lenny Dykstra to attempt to save the diner by moving it to a new home in Riverhead Long Island, but the plan failed because of strict zoning laws in the town, according to Hariri.

“The town of Riverhead is extremely restrictive in trying to keep the rural character of the hamlet and our professionals advised us that the diner would not meet the town’s tough zoning standards, and that an application for a variance would likely be unsuccessful and take too long,” Hariri said.

“We are disappointed that another part of New York’s past with so many great memories is gone,” he added.

The diner, which was featured in the 2013 movie “The Wolf of Wall Street” and the CBS show “Blue Bloods,” closed in November of last year due to rising rents and declining business.

email the author: news@queenspost.com

2 Comments

Click for Comments 
Florence

I’m. Very sorry to hear about the shalimar diner
Was looking forward to visiting the diner in riverhead
I feel terrible

6
8
Reply
Sara Ross

I still miss the food and some of the wait staff. I wish there were stricter zoning laws in Forest Hills so that those ugly structures that were built on Jewel Avenue and surrounding areas and the ones that will unfortunately be built since 3 more homes are for sale wouldn’t be allowed. They’ve destroyed the area.

11
25
Reply

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Holden calls out Mayor Adams—will he reopen ICE office on Rikers Island and tackle migrant crime?

One day after Mayor Eric Adams expressed his willingness to collaborate with the incoming Trump administration on addressing the migrant crisis and signaled a readiness to meet with former U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) head Tom Homan, Council Member Robert Holden called on the mayor to reopen the ICE office on Rikers Island.

Holden, who represents District 30 in Queens, which encompasses Maspeth, Middle Village, and parts of Glendale, Ridgewood, Elmhurst, and Rego Park, has been advocating for changes to the city’s sanctuary policies since July. In a letter, he previously urged the mayor to roll back laws that restrict local law enforcement agencies—including the NYPD, Department of Correction, and Department of Probation—from cooperating with ICE.