30 THE QUEENS COURIER • AT HOME • AUGUST 13, 2020 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
at home
Roof replaced at historic College Point building
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
A leaky roof that was in dire condition
at the historic College Point Little League
building is no longer a problem aft er a
Queens contracting company stepped in
to lend a helping hand, off ering a reduced
cost for repairs.
For more than two decades, A Real
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Aft er reading aQNSarticle about the
College Point League’s calls on the community
to help cover the costs of the roof
replacement, Michael Wesley, president
of the company, reached out to the organization.
“I was raised in College Point and I did
play Little League when I was young, and
I have an aunt that goes to the senior center
over there,” Wesley said. “I said, ‘You
know what, let me do something that’s
going to help the situation and the community.’”
Th e old leaky cedar roof has been
replaced with a new golden pledge roof
that came with a warranty from the manufacturer,
Wesley said.
Rafael Rivera, president of the College
Point League League, which serves the
youth of College Point, Flushing and
Whitestone, had initiated a fundraiser last
year to cover the costs of removing and
replacing the shingle roof and the wood
underneath, and leak-proofi ng the Yankee
gutters around the building.
Th e lowest estimate the organization
had received to fi x the roof was $23,100
— an amount that they could not aff ord.
According to Wesley, the College Point
Little League organization ran into some
diffi culties with another contracting company
that charged an additional $20,000
to replace the wood deck.
“Sometimes these contractors do a baitand
switch and next thing you know
they’re switching things around you,”
Michael said. “I asked CPLL what their
budget was and I told them I’ll do it. We
went in there and stripped the roof down,
and there’s still some exterior work —
such as changing the windows and capping
— that needs to be done to bring the
building up to date.”
Rivera said he’s grateful for the help they
received from A Real Advantage Inc.
“We had discussed what would be manageable
and I was very happy,” Rivera said.
“It was almost $16,000 less than the lowest
number we found while we were looking.”
Th e league owns the historic building
that was constructed in 1906 for the
Fireman’s Benevolent Association as a
meeting place for local volunteer fi remen
and other community groups. It is
also a registered New York state historical
national landmark and continues to be
a meeting place for the community. Th e
Angelo Petromelis Senior Center meets
in the building, where seniors partake in
activities and become involved in their
communities.
Rivera said there’s still a lot of work that
needs to be done on the building, and
they hope to receive funding for the additional
repairs.
“Th ere’s water damage from when the
roof leaked and there are boarded up windows,”
Rivera said. “I’m hopeful the work
will be done though because our senior
center operates at that building, but obviously
not now due to COVID-19.”
Photo via GoFundMe
The historic College Point Little League Building located at 13-28 123 St.
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