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March 25 - March 31, 2022
Bayside residents claim that longtime squatters are
responsible for recent shooting in the neighborhood
BY ETHAN MARSHALL
Members of the Bayside community
claim that squatters at
a residence on 38th Avenue are
to blame for at least 19 gunshots
fired throughout the neighborhood
around 3 a.m. on March 19
that left one person injured.
According to Captain John
Portalatin of the 111th Precinct,
the shots were targeted at a group
of teens looking for a spot to park
their car near on their way to a
party at the house. Police said one
passenger was hit once in the torso
and hospitalized. Additionally,
one bullet went straight through a
child’s car seat in a nearby vehicle,
and additional shots struck nearby
vehicles, local residents said.
The shots were fired by between
four and six individuals
who were attending the party,
though police said their motive
is currently unknown. No arrests
have been made yet.
The squatters living at the
house located at 208-16 38th Ave.
have been wreaking havoc in the
neighborhood since they broke
into the residence two years ago,
according to neighbors who live
nearby. One neighbor, who wishes
to remain anonymous, claims that
authorities have done nothing to
kick them out despite several complaints
from local residents.
In addition to staying at the
house illegally, the squatters
have been renting out the place
on Airbnb, the neighbor told
QNS. Every time Airbnb has taken
down the posting, the squatters
have just posted it on the
site again. Many of the tenants
have allegedly caused trouble
around the neighborhood, including
Police respond to the scene in Bayside where gunshots were allegedly fired from a house that neighbors say is occupied by squatters.
harassing female residents
and holding parties late into the
night. It was during one of these
parties that the gunshots were
fired, the neighbor said.
Neighbors told QNS that the
New York City Office of Special
Enforcement (OSE) looked into
the matter two weeks ago, but
nothing has changed. When they
reached out to OSE, the neighbors’
complaints included “illegal
squatters taking over the
house and renting out apartments
within the house to transient
short term renters, fire, life and
safety violations due to numerous
renters in the house without
a fire sprinkler system, squatters
switching license plates on their
vehicles and leaving a lot of their
trash outside, like empty beer
cans.”
QNS reached out to OSE and is
waiting for a response.
Many in the neighborhood
have become less trustworthy of
the city’s leadership and authorities
since these squatters have
been able to get away with staying
at the building while also renting
it out for two years.
“Other than District 26 Assemblyman
Edward Braunstein,
the other civic servants are useless,”
one resident said.
Braunstein’s office has been
in constant contact with the residents.
QNS reached out to his office
for comment and is waiting
for a response.
Neighbors say they are running
out of patience as they wait
for the proper authorities to do
something about the squatters.
Now that some of the people staying
there have allegedly committed
acts of violence, there is a
greater sense of urgency among
the community to get them out
of there before any more damage
can be done. While an exact date
has yet to be decided upon, the
neighborhood is planning to organize
Photo courtesy of Stephen Murkowski
a protest outside the home.
According to the OSE, these
squatters were previously removed
from another location in
the city prior to breaking into
the house in Bayside. The exact
amount of people staying at the
house fluctuates but according
to residents in the neighborhood,
the main squatters consist of a
man and his two sons, a woman
and her baby and at least one other
man and woman.
The house’s previous resident
vacated the property after the
bank foreclosed on it. The home
has yet to be secured so it can go
up for auction.
Vol. 88 No. 12 40 total pages
/QNS.COM
