Chinese Temple On New Utrecht Avenue Nears Completion

Reader Howard Weiss sent us this photo of a new religious facility being built at 7927 New Utrecht Avenue, at the corner of 80th Street.

Department of Buildings records show that it will be a two story house of worship, sitting on a 1,658 square foot lot. Most of the first floor will be given over to prayer space for about 30 people, with an office and smaller prayer space on the second floor for eight people.

While many bemoan the changing demographics of the neighborhood, with some dubbing it “Beijinghurst,” we’re happy to see a cool, unique architectural design in the area. The pagoda-style roofing, typical of Buddhist temples in East Asia, is a particularly cool upgrade to the one-story, disheveled looking fish market and garage that stood at the site previously.

The entrance to the building will be on New Utrecht Avenue. Typical of similar houses of worship, it appears the parking requirement for similar buildings of this size have been waived; no parking spaces are part of the plan. You can see the building’s layout below:

We tried to get in touch with the owner and contractor to see when it would be completed and to learn more about what sect will practice here, but our calls went unanswered. In some of the DOB documents submitted by the construction company, it’s repeatedly referred to as a temple, which leads us to believe it will be Buddhist. Do any of our readers know for sure? And is there an existing group associated with this temple?