Rockaway Avenue bank closes after 90 years

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The rockaway Avenue bank building, left, after its construction in 1928, and, right, today. On Oct. 13, JPMorgan Chase closed the branch’s doors permanently. The rockaway Avenue bank building, left, after its construction in 1928, and, right, today. On Oct. 13, JPMorgan Chase closed the branch’s doors permanently.
BEFORE: The rockaway Avenue bank building, left, after its construction in 1928, and, right, today. On Oct. 13, JPMorgan Chase closed the branch’s doors permanently.
<AFTER: The rockaway Avenue bank building, left, after its construction in 1928, and, right, today. On Oct. 13, JPMorgan Chase closed the branch’s doors permanently.

Standing three stories tall on the main stretch of Rockaway Avenue in Valley Stream, the gray, neoclassical façade of what is now the Chase Bank in Valley Stream has been a village fixture for 90 years, since its construction in 1928.

Originally the National Bank of Valley Stream, it opened across the street in 1920, at the current site of Ancona’s Pizza, replacing a former saloon, until construction of the dedicated bank building was complete. It has served as one ever since.

The building changed hands twice over the decades — first in 1972, when the Bank of New York purchased the property, and again in 2006, when JPMorgan Chase took it over. Chase closed the branch on Oct. 13.

“In my opinion, I’d like to see the architecture of that building preserved,” said Dominick Minerva, president of the Valley Stream Chamber of Commerce, adding that although he had yet to consult with other chamber board members about Chase’s replacement, he believed the structure would be ideal as an office building or company headquarters.

Mayor Ed Fare said he was working on two ideas for businesses that could take Chase’s place, but added that he wasn’t ready to disclose what they could be. “I’m always looking for new active tenants and businesses throughout Valley Stream,” he said. “. . . [The plans] could be great; they could fall completely through. I don’t want to jeopardize those talks nor make any promises that I cannot keep.”

Responding to a Herald social media inquiry, Valley Streamers discussed what type of business they’d like to see in the corner building.

Timothy Vazquez said he would like to see a craft brew house open in the location. Another resident, Susan Kaszubski, said she would be interested in someplace to eat or drink, similar to the Library Café, a gastropub in-side a former bank in Farmingdale. Maria Andrews suggested a “classy coffee house,” and Joey Carlino, owner of the T&F Pork Store across the street on Rockaway, said he’s prefer a wine bar or high-end sushi restaurant, similar to Monsoon Steak & Sushi in Babylon Village, also built inside a bank.

In 1928, the building served as a national bank — a designation for a bank chartered and supervised by the Office of the Comptroller of Currency, an independent agency within the federal Department of Treasury. It minted nearly $600,000 in $5 bills, the only denomination the location produced from 1920, at the National Bank of Valley Stream’s founding, until around 1935, when it ceased printing money, according to AntiqueMoney.com, a resource for American paper currency enthusiasts and collectors. The bills sported the face of Benjamin Harrison, the 23rd president.

Construction of the building was estimated to cost $90,000, according to Village Building Department records, but ended up exceeding $225,000, according to news reports at the time. Over the years it has undergone various modifications, from the addition of air conditioning during a major renovation in 1950, to a 5,000- square-foot expansion in 1955, to a second-floor bathroom in 1968 as well as the installation of its first ATM for $20,000 in 1996, and an Americans With Disabilities Act-compliant ramp lift in 2001.

The building also served as an exhibition space, hosting various art shows over the decades such as in 1956 when, according to news reports, the Valley Stream Community Arts Council organized a photo contest there for high school students. Additional reports noted that in 1957, 4-H, a youth mentoring nonprofit, held a 4-H in Action art exhibit at the bank. And in 1970, the Salvation Army used the site for a painting exhibition, showcasing depictions of the charity group in action.

“The building served as a cultural institution for a very long time,” said Amy Bentley, a member of the Valley Stream Historical Society. “The bank hosted permanent as well as one-off art exhibitions . . . [It was] very forward-looking to mix business with culture, especially for the times.”

Bentley added that the rise of online banking has made large-scale branches such as the one on Rockaway obsolete, saying, “The need for large brick-and-mortar banks is over.”

Despite repeated attempts, a spokesperson for JP Morgan Chase could not be reached for comment on the building’s future.