Sunday, April 21, 2024
Saturday, April 20, 2024
The Squatter's Borough
Unwanted visitors are residing in the long-closed Triple Crown Diner in Bellerose, according to members of the local business community.
Joe, who runs a restaurant across the street, told PIX11 News the squatters enter at night via a rear staircase that leads to the roof: “You’ll see people just randomly walking out of there. I pay close attention. You’ll see a lot of garbage stacked up right there.”
Behind the diner, there’s a shed with a mattress on the ground. The identity of the alleged squatters remained unclear as of Friday afternoon.
“I know it has been reported to the 105th Precinct and it’s been reported by them that they’ve come and located an opening in the ceiling, the roof, that they’ve covered with plywood,” said Richard Hellenbrecht, the treasurer of the Bellerose Civic Association. “For anyone to get inside and squat in the diner is really terrible.
Another business owner, Jack, told PIX11 the neighborhood has recently seen some changes for the worse.
“Well, they shouldn’t be living there. They’re vagrants. It ruins our business – it runs the businesses in the area. Sure, it bothers you, but what can you do about it?”
Construction of a new community center in Queens serving young adults with special needs is well underway – and long delayed, says property owner Young Seh Bae.
It’s all thanks to a squatter identified by the Sheriff’s Office as Sean Johnson.
Investigators said he set up camp in the now demolished home that once stood on a lot in the fall of 2022, and then illegally claimed residence after being there for more than 30 days.
“They just broke into the house using the back door,” said Bae.
The Sheriff’s Office also confirmed marshals recovered a gun from
inside the home where Johnson was squatting, adding he was not present
to be taken into custody.
“They caused a nightmare for us. There were people coming and going. They would come on to our side of the sidewalk to intimidate us,” said Angela, who lives across the street.
Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday said he supports updating squatters’ rights, which were originally enacted to help protect against bad landlords.
“There was a reason that squatters’ law was put in place. And I think people are starting to exploit what some of those reasons are,” said Adams.
Under current New York State law, squatters are considered tenants if they have had possession for 30 consecutive days or longer.
Bae said it ultimately took more than six months and six-figures in legal fees to finally reclaim the property her family rightfully owns.
“It was very frustrating, not only mentally but financially. I have to say about $100,000,” said Bae.
State Sen. John Liu acknowledged his newly proposed legislation may not be useful to responding police officers, but he added it will help homeowners in a courtroom.
Liu’s bill clearly defines a squatter as someone who enters onto a property or building without title, right, or permission…”
The bill bans them from accessing a tenant’s rights and protections under the law, and states squatters do not get any rights, even after 30 days of possession.
““New York State law, as it pertains to housing and property, it’s not the easiest thing — no question. We need to erase any kind of ambiguity in our state laws, and this bill will do just that,” said Liu.
Queens residents spoke out with frustrations Wednesday about a run-down property in their neighborhood that they say is attracting squatters.
“Sometimes the front door is actually creeped open. For years, people have just been coming in, dumping garbage,” said Kamran, describing the neglected house next to the home he’s lived in since childhood.
When Kamran says “years,” he means more than a decade. During that time, he and his neighbors say there have been squatters coming in and out of the run-down home.
The home, located at 245-04 Union Turnpike in Bellerose, is barely visible behind the tall brush. Lydia lives within eyeshot of what she says is an eyesore.
“When I see people there that I know are squatters, or they don’t belong there because it’s been empty so long, I just call 911,” said Lydia.
This is the third time in the last week PIX11 News has reported about a suspected squatting situation in Queens, from a now torn-down home in Bayside, to squatters who allegedly entered through the roof of the closed Triple Crown Diner – also in Bellerose.
PIX11 News took Queens Borough President Donovan Richards on a virtual tour of the property Wednesday.
The tour included a growing collection of New York City Department of Sanitation tickets issued to the registered owner – Jan Robert Fortin – who has no listed number and whose son did not answer PIX11 News’ phone call requesting comment.
“So how do we resolve this issue? We need a change at the state law. Yes, enforcement is one key piece of it. OK, they are going to end up on Rikers on a trespass charge possibly. I also have to allude to the fact that we are in a housing crisis, and people are squatting largely because we are in this crisis,” said Richards.
The good news? About an hour after PIX11 News started reaching out to multiple agencies, including the health department, Housing Preservation and Development, and the buildings and sanitation departments, a sanitation supervisor arrived at the house to assess the situation.
Wednesday, April 17, 2024
Dirtbike track of Yes
Hundreds of freshly-planted trees have been ripped out of a Queens park by vandals to clear the greenspace for their DIY dirt bike track — and angry locals are calling on authorities to track down the “very selfish” bikers.
Some 300 shrubs and saplings, planted by volunteers last year not far from a cycling velodrome, were reported to have been uprooted at Kissena Park in Flushing on April 7, the Parks Department said.
“It makes me angry because I love this park. I have been living here for many years. It’s very selfish because this is for the public. They’re only thinking about their own pleasure,” Jane, a Flushing substitute teacher who declined to give her last name, told The Post.
The teacher, who has lived in the neighborhood for 20 years, said she was worried that reckless off-road bikers could potentially hurt her dog, who she regularly walks in the park.“It can be dangerous if they’re going to be riding their dirt bikes here. They usually ride fast. They could run over my dog,” she added.
Photos of the destruction, which will cost the city approximately $15,000 to fix, show overturned soil near paths filled with deep tire tracks. The paths, which appear to have been used by off-road bikes, are littered with broken branches from trees above and plant roots.
Officials said the vandals dug up recently planted trees and cut down portions of other, more mature trees that were part of a larger reforestation effort across 5,000 square feet of the park.
The city’s parks department is working with the NYPD to investigate the crime, Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue said in a statement.
“Trees are so essential to our city – not just for beautifying our neighborhoods but also for cleaning our air, providing much-needed shade, and absorbing stormwater. That’s why it’s so unthinkable that someone would do this,” Donoghue said.
Gobind Singh Negi, 55, a former cab driver who takes daily walks through the park, was also angered by the destruction and slammed it as selfish.
Update by Queens Chronicle
Volunteers planting trees last Wednesday, April 10, in Flushing’s Kissena Park for a reforestation project were shocked to discover that 300 others they had put in the ground over the last two years, worth almost $15,000 according to the Department of Parks and Recreation, had been pulled out, tossed aside and clipped to make way for a new dirt trail.
Members of the volunteer group Kissena Synergy were joined at the same spot by Parks officials, NYPD officers and area elected officials Monday to denounce the vandalism and ask for help in finding those responsible. Leona Chin, a community activist leading efforts to plant more trees in the park, said the arborcide felt like “a betrayal.”
“It was devastating, it’s personal; our investment is our time,” Chin said at the event.
The trail cuts through land where 2,000 new trees had been planted as a part of a reforestation effort in the park by the Parks Department and Kissena Synergy that began in 2022. Though the purpose of the trail is unconfirmed, it appears to have been made to accommodate ATVs, dirt bikes or mountain bikes, as the path features a jump and a U-shaped turn common on bike trails. Tire marks could be found in the dirt on Monday.
Volunteers with Kissena Synergy, founded by Chin, work in the area five days a week, between Tuesday and Saturday. NYPD Assistant Chief Christine Bastedenbeck, the Queens Patrol Borough North commander, said at Monday’s press conference that the incident most likely happened sometime over the previous weekend. Chin said she believes the vandalism occurred sometime on Sunday, April 7, when the volunteers weren’t there.
Chin said volunteers had added branches, logs, rocks and other debris across the trail on Wednesday, April 10, to deter riders from using it. However, the debris was cleared up overnight when the volunteers returned to the site last Thursday to discover fresh bike tracks and a cleared trail. Chin said this felt particularly insulting.
“We’re just angry they thought it was their property to destroy,” she said in an interview. “And then, like I said, to come back and re-clear trails again ... We’re just pleading with the community [to report any new vandalism] because they were the ones that actually noticed, and we’ve had community members reach out to us to tell us things that they have seen.”
Bastedenbeck said law enforcement is looking into the incident. Specifically, she said, additional officers were deployed to the area and detectives were interviewing people in the park and the surrounding perimeter to gather more information on the incident. Bastedenbeck urged Kissena Park visitors and community members to report any illegal motor vehicles in the area.
“We were alerted to the damage in this park on Wednesday, this past week, and believe that the destruction may have happened the prior weekend. Our detectives are currently investigating this incident,” Bastedenbeck said. She encouraged residents to contact the police if they see anyone operating an ATV, dirt bike or moped in city parks.
Tuesday, April 16, 2024
Saturday, April 13, 2024
City Council approves soccer stadium, small turnout for the team's season home opener in Citifield
Willets Point’s long-awaited transformation from industrial wasteland to Queens’ newest neighborhood got the green light from the City Council Thursday.
The legislature approved on Apr. 11 a massive redevelopment that includes a brand new soccer stadium for the New York City Football Club (NYCFC), which has played home games at Yankee Stadium or Citi Field since its inception, and a 100% 2,500-unit affordable housing project that is the city’s largest in four decades.
Mayor Eric Adams called the plan “the goal of the decade” that will generate billions of dollars in new economic activity, and tens of thousands of jobs, through not only the new soccer stadium and housing, but also more than 20,000 square feet of retail and a 250-room hotel.
“We’re building a brand-new community out of the ‘Valley of Ashes’, and we couldn’t have done it without all our partners, including Councilmember [Francisco] Moya and the rest of the City Council, [Queens] Borough President [Donovan] Richards, NYCFC, Queens Development Group, our union members, and everyone living in Willets Point who made their voices heard and demanded a new future for themselves,” the mayor said on Thursday. “After today’s vote, we’re one step closer to delivering that future.”
For years, the city and the Queens community has debated the fate of Willets Point, which for decades has been home to junkyards, auto repair shops and light industry. Even as Shea Stadium rose and was eventually replaced by Citi Field, the industry in the “Valley of Ashes” persisted beyond the Mets outfield while visions for redevelopment never seemed to get off the ground.
Thousands of New York City Football Club (NYCFC) fans packed Citi Field on Saturday, Apr. 6, for the team’s first home game in Queens this season, playing against Atlanta United FC. This match marked the beginning of a series of five straight home games, equaling the club’s all-time record for consecutive home matches.
Fans from across the five boroughs packed Citi Field to support their “Boys in Blue” for an eventful night. Kick-off was scheduled for 7 p.m., but fans, especially from NYCFC’s official supporter groups, arrived early for pregame celebrations outside the stadium.
The match started with NYCFC’s early possession of the ball to mount almost-immediate pressure, including a header from center back Thiago Martins that was parried away by the Atlanta United keeper.
NYCFC goalkeeper Matt Freese was impressive in his own right, saving multiple attempts from Atlanta. In the tenth minute, he showed the breadth of his skills, catching a header directed toward his goal comfortably.
In the 39th minute, NYCFC was awarded a penalty. Santiago Rodriguez put the hosts in front from the spot for his third goal of the season in the 42nd minute.
Tensions were rising in the second half and Atlanta pressure paid off in the 66th minute when Jamal Thiare found an equalizer that ultimately rescued a point for the visitors — the match ending in a 1-1 draw.
Rodriguez was awarded the Man of the Match honors, but NYCFC’s slow start to the season continued as they have taken just five points (1-2-4) from their first seven games of the 2024 MLS season.
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