4 THE QUEENS COURIER • APRIL 11, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Building violations force
closure of Little Neck spa
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com
@jenna_bagcal
A Little Neck massage parlor has shut
its doors following a slew of building violations,
according to police sources.
Offi cers at the 111th Precinct reported
that Angel Spa at 253-20 Northern Blvd.
had closed aft er they and the Department
of Buildings (DOB) issued summonses
to building owners Bif Furniture. Th e
parlor operated in the building’s second
Photo credit: Louis La Sala
fl oor space.
Photo via A Better College Point Facebook
New Starbucks is brewing on Bayside strip
BY JENNA BAGCAL
Buildings approved an application for
jbagcal@qns.com
an Alteration Type 1 permit back in
@jenna_bagcal
September 2018. Th e application would
change the building usage from a bank
Bayside residents can get their caff eine
to an eating and drinking establishment,
fi x at a brand-new Starbucks location.
change the building’s footprint and allow
Th e popular Seattle-based coff ee chain
for interior renovations to occur.
set up shop at 32-02 Francis Lewis Blvd.,
Th e store operators fi led an application
replacing a former Capital One Bank
for a Certifi cate of Public Assembly
branch. Th e location is the third to open
in November 2018 and DOB issued work
in Bayside.
permits for the location in February
QNS learned that the Department of
2019.
Locals were excited to check out the
newly minted location, which features
ample seating and an on-site parking lot.
DOB said that they had not received an
application for a drive-thru at the location
when QNS inquired in March.
In December, Starbucks opened up at
Th e Bay Terrace shopping center at 23-98
Bell Blvd. Other nearby locations include
215-29 Northern Blvd. in Bayside and
224-04 Horace Harding Expy. in Oakland
Gardens.
“Pursuant to community complaints,
@nypd111pct and @NYC_Buildings
issued multiple summonses for building
violations to Angel Spa at 253rd
& Northern this Feb. Th e business has
closed,” the 111th Precinct tweeted on
April 10.
According to DOB public records, the
massage parlor received a violation for
exposed electrical wiring in February
as well as four separate Environmental
Control Board (ECB) violations. One of
the ECB violations was for the illegal use
of a commercial space as a massage parlor
in a C1 district.
“Partitions erected in massage parlor
creating fi ve rooms. Partitions erected
without a permit,” reads part of the
violation.
According to the DOB website, the
agency issues Offi ce of Administrative
Trials and Hearings (OATH) or ECB
violations when properties do not comply
with a part of the New York City
Construction Codes and/or Zoning
Resolution. Respondents can challenge
violations at a hearing or pay the penalties
if found in violation.
Th e fi rst complaint against Angel Spa
was made in 2016 when the location was
reported as the site of an illegal massage
parlor contrary to zoning.
Th e spa is located near the fi ve
Northern Boulevard massage parlors
that received multiple ECB summonses
back in February 2018. Offi cers from the
111th Precinct along with the Mayor’s
Offi ce of Special Enforcement and DOB
inspectors conducted a joint operation to
issue a combined 20 summonses to the
massage parlors.
Since last February, R Station at 255-
08 Northern Blvd.,which has since been
renamed Top Beauty Spa, earned four
additional violations.
“Observed 1st story commercial space
occupied as massage parlor contrary to
C of O, illegal use in a C1 district.
Partitions erected in massage parlor creating
six rooms. Partitions erected without
a permit,” reads the February violation
on the DOB website.
College Point fumes over shelter work
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com
@jenna_bagcal
College Point residents claim contractors
of a controversial men’s homeless
shelter are working past the hours set
by the city.
Th e Department of Buildings (DOB)
issued an aft er-hours variance (AHV)
for the shelter project at 127-03 20th
Ave. Th e 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 specifi ed 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 fi re escape
and elevator without properly closing
off the street or using any safety equipment.
According to records on the DOB’s
Buildings Information System (BIS)
database, the city agency has received
52 public 311 complaints about aft erhours
work. DOB labeled most of the
complaints as “resolved.” One complaint
made on April 8 about aft er-hours work
remains “active.”
BIS records show that DOB has not
issued any stop work orders on the property.
Photo via Google Maps
/WWW.QNS.COM
link
link
link
link
link
link
