MAYOR ORDERS SHUTDOWN OF KEW GARDENS
HOTEL AFTER NEW YEAR’S DAY HOMICIDE
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.10 COM | JAN. 8-JAN. 14, 2021
in stable condition.
The shooting victims were together
at the hotel and engaged in a
dispute with a group of at least four
people before the shooting, a police
spokesperson said. No arrests have
been made and the investigation is
ongoing.
Queens Borough President Donovan
Richards, who is also calling for
the shutdown of the hotel, said the
fatal shooting was a “sad and troubling
way to start the new year.”
“This hotel is a public nuisance
that has no place in Kew Gardens
or anywhere in our borough or city.
The hotel’s guests and residents of
the surrounding community should
not be subjected to its dangerous
conditions,” Richards said.
Last summer, the hotel was the
scene of a drive-by shooting and
a separate incident, according to
officials.
In November, the hotel was hit
with more than a dozen violations
from the city, after residents and
elected officials had complained
of illegal activity and loud parties
taking place at the hotel, disrupting
the quality of life in the
neighborhood.
“We’re checking obviously all of
our legal powers here to make sure
that what we do is legal and appropriate,
but I want it closed,” de Blasio
said. “I think it’s been a blight on
the community and it should not be
that going forward. So, we’re going
to use all the power of the city government
to get that closed and stop
having the community suffer from
what’s happened at the hotel.”
In a joint statement, Assemblyman
Daniel Rosenthal and Councilwoman
Karen Koslowitz said
the mayor’s instruction to begin
proceedings to shut down the hotel
should have come much sooner.
“For months, we joined the community,
colleagues and law enforcement
in drawing attention to the
untenable situation at the Umbrella
Hotel, which included a litany of
crimes including various shootings,
underage prostitution and illicit
drug sales,” the lawmakers said.
“While the mayor has taken the first
steps towards a solution, we must
continue to stay vigilant and hold
him accountable until the hotel is
shut down.”
Rosenthal and Koslowitz said
they will continue to work with
their colleagues such as Congresswoman
Grace Meng, Senator Leroy
Comrie and Assemblymember Andrew
Hevesi, who have been strong
allies of the Kew Gardens community
throughout the monthslong
ordeal.
Reach reporter Carlotta Mohamed
by e-mail at cmohamed@
schnepsmedia.com or by phone at
(718) 260–4526.
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
Mayor Bill de Blasio on Jan. 4
said that he’s moving to shut down
the troublesome Umbrella Hotel
in Kew Gardens that has been the
scene of at least three shootings in
recent months, including the first
homicide of 2021.
“I do want that hotel closed,” de
Blasio said during a City Hall press
briefing about the hotel.
The mayor said he instructed his
team to move to close the hotel immediately,
after a “very, very painful
report a few days ago.”
The New Year’s Day triple shooting
at the hotel, located at 124-18
Queens Blvd., resulted in one fatality,
while two others were injured,
according to authorities.
The victim, 20-year-old Robert
Williams of 255th Street in
Rosedale, was transported to NYC
Health & Hospitals/Queens, where
he was pronounced dead, according
to police.
A 40-year-old man was
transported to Jamaica Hospital in
critical condition, and the second
20-year-old victim was transported
to NewYork-Presbyterian Queens
The scene where one person was killed and two others were injured during a
shooting in front of the Umbrella Hotel in Kew Gardens on Jan. 1, 2021.
Photos by Mari Estrella
One of the shooting victims is carted away from the scene in a stretcher.
/schnepsmedia.com
