Michael Perlman is a fifth generation Forest Hills resident and Chair of Rego-Forest Preservation Council, who takes pride in commemorating architectural and cultural history, as well as proposing sites for Individual Landmark and sections for Historic District status to the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission. He is completing RFE nomination forms for Forest Hills (founded 1906) and Rego Park (1923), where the latter community was selected as a Historic Districts Council “Six To Celebrate” 2020 community in advance of turning 100 in 2023.
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| Michael Perlman honored at Local Heroes reception by Queens Community House, Forest Hills Stadium stage, May 2023 |
Perlman is a Class of 2000 vocal major graduate of LaGuardia HS of Music & Art and the Performing Arts, and achieved a BA in Communications and Writing from Marymount Manhattan College in 2004.
Perlman is the recipient of a 2014 Historic Districts Council Grassroots Preservation Award for NYC, and was appointed Grand Marshal of the 2017 Forest Hills Memorial Day Parade. In May 2023, he received a crystal “Local Champions” trophy by the Queens Community House on the Forest Hills Stadium stage.
“Legendary Locals of Forest Hills and Rego Park,” a book by Michael H. Perlman (foreword by Jerry Springer) features local history, landmarks, and the stories of 210+ notables ranging from celebrities to unsung heroes.
Perlman, a Forest Hills Times columnist since 2012, spotlights historic preservation, human interest stories, humanitarian initiatives, and the arts. He is an admin of Facebook groups Rego-Forest Preservation Council and Forest Hills, Rego Park, Kew Gardens – “Our Communities.”
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| Forest Hills Stadium, Michael Perlman in center with James Dylan Burris, great-great-grandson & Lynne DeWardener-Burris, great-granddaughter of Stadium architect Kenneth Murchison |
Perlman is a member of the West Side Tennis Club’s Tennis History & Archives Council. He played a significant role in rescuing the iconic Forest Hills Stadium from demolition after founding a committee and spearheading a PR and preservation campaign, salvaged the Art Deco neon Jay Dee Bakery sign among other features, secured State & National Register of Historic Places status for Rego Park Jewish Center and First Presbyterian Church of Newtown, acquired landmark status for the Ridgewood Theatre, and prevented Cinemart Cinemas from shuttering.
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| Historic Rego Park Jewish Center, Photo by Michael Perlman |
Perlman earned the nickname “Diner Man” as a result of preserving NYC’s Moondance Diner and Cheyenne Diner via transport to WY and AL in 2007 and 2009, respectively. In recent times, he brokered a deal to reopen the T-Bone Diner (1934) as T-Bone Diner & Delicatessen.
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| Forest Hills Tree Giveaway Event in MacDonald Park, Photo by coordinator Michael Perlman, May 2014 |
In partnership with New York Restoration Project, Perlman founded the Forest Hills Tree Giveaway event in MacDonald Park. In 2011 to 2015, he recruited local volunteers, and with the help of sponsors, donated 1,225 trees to property owners and board members.
In November 2019, Perlman’s architectural photography and restored vintage prints exhibit, “Reflections of Historic Forest Hills” opened at Jade Eatery’s gallery. He decorated various lobbies with his prints. He also formed the Tea Garden Restoration Committee, which seeks to restore what feels like a magical tea garden from 1912. He spearheaded the replication of a detailed 11-foot ring for tea stand through a partnership with Jade Eatery, Flushing Iron Weld, and Noble Signs.
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| Replicated Ring For Tea stand in front of Tea Garden's ornate gate upon delivery |
In 2020, Perlman co-founded the Forest Hills & Rego Park Graffiti Cleanup Initiative, which restores storefronts and street furniture. In 2021, he founded the Forest Hills & Rego Park Historic Plaque Initiative. As of 2023, the Tudor style Sutton Hall and the Mid-Century Modern style Park Briar have “Forest Hills Historic Site” bronze plaques, which he co-designed with Frank DiBella of Academy Engraving.
In partnership with the New York Sign Museum since 2022, Perlman arranged several deals to salvage historic signs in Queens, Manhattan, and Brooklyn.
Along the LIRR Ascan Avenue underpass, Perlman developed two murals, “A Tribute To Ascan Avenue & The Forest Hills Gardens” (2017) and the “Helen Keller Forest Hills Tribute” (2019), painted by Crisp and Praxis, with a Helen Keller pictorial plaque in collaboration with Continental Photo.
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| Forest Hills & Rego Park architectural mural, "Wish You Were Here... Forest Hills & Rego Park Historic Buildings" by Gigi Chen & accompanying sign by Michael Perlman |
Since June 2025, The Bagel Spot at 101-01 Queens Boulevard, features his mural project with national artist Gigi Chen, which bears homage to local architectural treasures, where some have been demolished, such as the Trylon Theatre, Tower Diner bank building, Howard Johnson’s, and the Gulf Station building. Forest Hills Stadium is among the represented preserved properties.
Last September, Perlman traveled 500 miles to rescue famed muralist Andre Durenceau’s circa 1939 40-foot mural from Hugh Kelly of MA, who first salvaged it in 1974 from Rego Park’s once iconic Howard Johnson’s. Restoring the mural and resurrecting it in Queens is a goal.
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| One of three sections of the Howard Johnson's mural by André Durenceau, which Michael Perlman rescued last September in its entirety, 1940 photo in Fortune |
Another goal is to erect a “Little Free Library” in Federoff Triangle, which will be modeled after a demolished historic building, as well as co-name streets after historic architects and builders.
His interests also include singing, dancing, deltiology, photography, botany, public relations, long exploratory walks, and travel. He performed solo shows at Carnegie Hall, NYC clubs, and aboard cruise ships.
It is always timely to fulfill mitzvahs. To volunteer, email Michael Perlman at mperlman@queensledger.com and join www.facebook.com/groups/
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