As early as 1890, Polish immigrants chose Maspeth in which to settle. In 1921, the Polish National Home (or in Polish, “Polski Dom Narodowy”) was founded by a newly formed organization comprised of Polish Americans – “Gmina Polska” – to teach younger generations about their Polish heritage. Members of this organization opened the 1939 World’s Fair, dedicated Maurice Park and participated in the opening of the Kosciuszko Bridge. They erected this building at 61-60 56 Road in 1934. It was known in the community in subsequent decades simply as “National Hall.” Generations of Maspeth residents hosted weddings, christening and communion parties, and other social events there. As time went on, membership dwindled while maintenance and repair costs climbed, forcing closure of the building around 2009. A developer based in Greenpoint bought up shares in the club and became the majority shareholder and Chief Executive Officer of the organization. Although the organization’s rules stated that consent of ALL shareholders was required to dissolve the organization or sell property, the deed was sold for $942,000 to a Limited Liability Corporation owned by the majority shareholder in 2022, who then dissolved Gmina Polska in 2024. The owner is currently fighting the City of New York over the building’s tax assessment, but with City of Yes having been passed, it’s probably only a matter of time before yet another piece of Maspeth history gets replaced with something hideous and out of character.