22 THE QUEENS COURIER • AUGUST 30, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Funding secured to continue
renovations at a Sunnyside playground
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
edavenport@qns.com / @QNS
Work on a Sunnyside playground will
continue thanks to some newly secured
funding.
Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer
announced on Aug. 21 that he had secured
$2.5 million in funding for the third phase
of renovations to Lance Corporal Th omas
P. Noonan Jr. Playground.
Th e funding will go toward the reconstruction
Photo: Twitter/@JimmyVanBramer
Legal Aid sues landlord, city for Elmhurst
tenants who have been without gas since Jan.
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com/ @jenna_bagcal
Th e Legal Aid Society has fi led a lawsuit
in Queens Housing Court against a building’s
landlord and the city on behalf of
Elmhurst residents who have been without
working gas since January.
Residents at 83-45 Broadway, a 195-
unit building, have reportedly been unable
to use gas in their apartments since early
January 2018. On Aug. 23, the New
York City-based nonprofi t announced
legal action against Regent Equities
LLC, the New York City Department of
Buildings (DOB), and the New York City
Department of Housing Preservation and
Development (HPD) on behalf of 45 residents
living in the apartment.
According to Legal Aid, aft er the tenants’
gas went out in January, DOB records
showed that the landlords attempted to
perform gas work without a valid work
permit. Upon inspecting the building, the
DOB issued a Stop Work Order, which
was rescinded in early February.
Since then, the tenants said that the landlords
have not attempted to restore their
gas, which resulted in them increasing
their household expenses to purchase premade
foods and resorting to unsafe cooking
practices like the in-home use of portable
propane burners.
“Landlords have a legal obligation to
provide essential services, such as cooking
gas, to their tenants. When landlords fail
to do this, tenants and their families suffer
immensely,” said Nelson Yeung, staff
attorney with the Queens Civil Practice of
Th e Legal Aid Society. “We as a city have a
duty to help our neighbors who are forced
to live under these conditions. Th e residents
of this building have suff ered far too
long because of the landlord’s negligence
and the city’s failure to monitor this situation.
Enough is enough.”
Legal Aid said they are seeking an order
for the landlord to correct the conditions
that violate the Housing Maintenance code
“including the restoration of gas services.”
Other violations listed in Legal Aid’s documents
include vermin infestation, mold,
cracked and peeling paint and water leaks.
Th e organization is also pursuing a harassment
claim due to Regent Equities “continuous
failure” to restore gas over “an
extended period of time” and also an order
to prevent further “acts of harassment.”
Th ere are currently over 20 recorded
complaints made to the HPD and six open
“Class C” violations in regards to the gas
outage, which landlords have 24 hours to
repair due to their “immediately hazardous”
nature. Legal Aid said that HPD is
conducting housing inspections for the 45
tenants involved in the case and they will
create an updated list of the building’s violations.
Andrew Rudansky, a spokesperson for
the DOB said that the agency was working
with the landlord to remedy the lack of gas
in the building.
“While it is the landlord’s responsibility
to provide gas service to tenants, DOB
works diligently to bring owners into compliance
with gas-safety rules. A permit to
correct extensive illegal gas work at this
building was approved this week.”
A spokesperson from HPD said that
they are not allowed to comment on ongoing
litigation and Regent LLC could not be
reached for comment at this time.
Photo via Google Maps
83-45 Broadway.
of the sitting area located at
42nd Street and Greenpoint Avenue into
an additional play area for children with
new accessible play equipment, shrubbery
and fencing.
“Noonan Playground is the heart of our
neighborhood and I am incredibly excited
to oversee the fi nal stages of its complete
transformation,” Van Bramer said.
“With the $2.5 million I allocated for new
renovations, we will ensure that Noonan
Playground is one of the cleanest, safest
and most fun destinations for children
and families in Sunnyside and Woodside
to spend an aft ernoon. I look forward to
seeing our community’s vision for the
redesign.”
Van Bramer emphasized that the third
round of renovations will incorporate
input from the community. Public feedback
regarding what the community
would like to see at Noonan Playground
will be collected online or in a suggestion
box located at the Sunnyside Branch
of the Queens Library. Van Bramer’s
offi ce will also be collecting suggestions
by phone and email.
Th e fi rst phase of renovations was completed
in April 2015 and brought new
accessible play equipment, more swings,
a toddler area and new spray shower to
the playground. Th e second phase, which
included new basketball and handball
courts, was completed in July 2016.
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