GET THE LATEST NEWS EVERY DAY AT QNS.COM
Apr. 12-18, 2019 Your Neighborhood — Your News®
ALSO COVERING AUBURNDALE, COLLEGE POINT, DOUGLASTON, GLEN OAKS, FLORAL PARK
• LITTLE NECK LEDGER
• WHITESTONE TIMES
Overnight shelter work riles residents
College Point community calls for action in latest chapter of homeless haven saga
database, the city agency
has received 52 public 311
complaints about after-hours
work. DOB labeled most of
the complaints as “resolved.”
One complaint made on April
8 about after-hours work
remains “active.”
BIS records show that DOB
has not issued any stop work
orders on the property.
Reach reporter Jenna
Bagcal by e-mail at jbagcal@
qns.com or by phone at (718)
224-5863 ext. 214.
A NEW MARKET IN WHITESTONE
Met Fresh Supermarket owners Omar, Ali and Danny Hamdan (c.) cut the red ribbon
officially marking the grand opening of the supermarket chain in Whitestone on April 5
. Photo courtesy of Michelle Mendoza
BY JENNA BAGCAL
College Point residents
claim contractors of a
controversial men’s homeless
shelter are working past the
hours set by the city.
TimesLedger learned that
DOB issued an after-hours
variance (AHV) for the shelter
project at 127-03 20th Ave.
The variance allows work to
be done from 6 to 10 p.m. on
Monday through Friday and
8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday
and Sunday.
But College Point resident
Carola Duarte-Simmons
penned a letter to Queens
DOB Commissioner Derek
Lee revealing that workers
are working past the times
specified in the variance.
“Almost every night the
lights go off around 10 p.m.
and they are back at it around
11 p.m. or 12 a.m. and the
work goes on until 2 a.m. or 4
a.m. Many nights, there is lots
of banging,” wrote Duarte-
Simmons in the letter.
Duarte-Simmons also
included a collection of
photos and video illustrating
violations including
uncovered garbage and the
installation of a fire escape
and elevator without properly
closing off the street or using
any safety equipment.
On the A Better College
Point Facebook page,
community organizer
Jennifer Shannon posted
photos of the proposed shelter
with its lights illuminated
on the evening of Sunday,
April 7. Shannon also posted
accompanying photos of two
cell phones displaying the
times 9:12 p.m., 2:29 a.m. and
2:30 a.m.
“We desperately need
EVERYONE to call 311
before the Tuesday and file
and “Escalated Complaint,”
a complaint against a city
agency (DOB & DEP) because
nothing is being done about
our regular complaints,” said
Shannon in the Facebook
post. “You must tell them that
we call night after night and
nothing is ever done and the
problem is never solved. Tell
them that when a regular
complaint is made you are
told the DOB will respond
within 14 days during
regular business hours. Tell
them that this does not solve
the problem because when
the inspector goes during the
day the contractor is working
within the permitted hours.”
According to records
on the DOB’s Buildings
Information System (BIS)
Vol. 85 No. 15 56 total pages
Thinking About Selling Your Home? Call Me
David Esposito
Today!
(718) 309-8656
David Esposito Lic.
Real Estate Sales Agent
34-36 Union St. Suite #201 Flushing, NY 11354
Multi Language
Associates
/QNS.COM
/qns.com