Conversion of Historic Sunset Park Police Precinct to School Nears Completion

After years of neglect, the historic 68th Precinct building on Sunset Park’s 4th Avenue has reopened as a public school thanks to a restoration project and the addition of a new building that wraps around two sides of the original structure.

When Brownstoner walked past the 1890s Romanesque Revival building at 4302 4th Avenue last week, scaffolding had come down from the historic facade, which appeared nearly restored to its glory days. At one time crumbling, covered in graffiti, and dark red in color with weeds growing out of it, the brick and brownstone building now glows, its Roman brick restored to its original yellow-orange color after a thorough cleaning and repointing.

Clearly visible for the first time in years are gargoyles punctuating the drip molding that tops the entrance portico, a lacy band of terra-cotta accenting a corner tower and, along 43rd Street, a rose window and a three-story-high arched recess concealing a balcony.

Light shines through the windows of the building’s upper story, which has been turned into an open-air playground for the school.

Not yet restored is the row of five Venetian-style windows at the top of the building’s south side (now covered in protective sheathing) nor the jaunty finials crowning the building’s corners. Both can be seen in historic photos of the building.

The new building (which permits say is four stories, although it appears to be five stories on the 43rd Street side) has a minimalist look with large horizontal windows and a paneled facade the color of terra-cotta. In each window, four slim bars painted detergent blue give a subtle pop of color that contrasts with the facade.

Counter to initial fears the new development would tower over the precinct house, it seems to blend in with its surroundings and not drown out the historic structure.

A green construction fence and scaffolding still cover the new building on the 4th Avenue side, but not on 43rd Street.

According to the Department of Education, the precinct house and new building opened to students as K557 in the fall of 2023 with a temporary facade on the new structure. Part of the final phase of building improvements, a permanent facade is now being installed on the new building along 4th Avenue, a rep for DOE told Brownstoner, adding the school remains open to students during the replacement. The restored facade of the precinct building can be seen in Google Maps images from November 2024.

In a 2022 letter to Sunset Park Avenues Elementary School families, Community Schools District 15 Superintendent Rafael Alvarez said students in K through 3 and pre-K at P.S. 516, which is across the street from the new K557, would be relocated to the new building.

The letter says the new school includes “classrooms specifically designed for young children, a gymatorium [a combined gym and auditorium], project room, and a rooftop play space, which P.S. 516 students do not currently have access to in K333.”

In 2017, the School Construction Authority bought the site from developer Yosef Streicher for $7.999 million, according to public records. The building had been caving in after years of neglect and a string of owners.

While the eye-catching precinct building, designed by George Ingram and built circa 1890-1892, was landmarked in 1983, it lost protection as soon as it was purchased by the School Construction Authority, whose projects are exempt from LPC rules. The agency initially said it planned to raze the structure and replace it with an elementary school.

However, because the site is listed on the National Register and the project uses state funds, the agency was required to follow State Historic Preservation Office guidelines.

In 2017, to the relief of many locals who had fought for years to stabilize and restore the once glorious Romanesque Revival structure – which has touches of the Venetian and Byzantine – the two agencies worked out a compromise and agreed the street-facing facades of the main building would be preserved while the stable would be demolished.

The School Construction Authority in June 2018 submitted an application to demolish the entire structure. Then they submitted an Alt-1 clarifying they’d be shoring up some of the walls to protect them during demolition.

A new-building permit for a four-story school “with the integration of two historic street facades” was approved in 2019 and last renewed in April this year. A rep from DOE said the new facade is the last of the ongoing work.

[Photos by Susan De Vries]

Related Stories

• Part of Landmarked But Crumbling Sunset Park Police Precinct May Soon Be Demolished
• Decaying Sunset Park Police Precinct May Become School (Photos)
• Sunset Park Police Precinct Restoration Could Include Condos, But Not a “Glass Cube”

Email tips@brownstoner.com with further comments, questions or tips. Follow Brownstoner on Twitter and Instagram, and like us on Facebook.