QNE_p003

QC10202016

FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.qns.com OCOTBER 20, 2016 • The Queens Courier 3 WELCOME NEWS Photos by Suzanne Monteverdi/QNS Abandoned and crumbling Fresh Meadows home will finally be sold by the city By Suzanne Monteverdi smonteverdi@qns.com /@smont76 Residents were relieved to finally get some good news about an abandoned home in Fresh Meadows that has been a hotbed for various problems in the community for over a decade. At a press conference on Oct. 14 outside of the abandoned house at 50-19 175th Pl., Gerard Sweeney, counsel to the Queens County public administrator, announced that the public administrator has been appointed administrator of the property. The house will be sealed and put up for auction on Dec. 7, according to Sweeney. “The public administrator’s office determined that there was an estate that went back more than 10 years, so that was unusual,” Sweeney said. The residence had been left to disrepair after the original property owner, Stella Beckman, died over 10 years ago, and her son Franklin Beckman could not be located. “When there’s family involved its really not necessarily the quickest path for the public administrator to be working,” Sweeney said. “But when it’s being neglected it gives us an opportunity to try and get involved.” “The homeowners called me a little over a year ago about this particular abandoned home,” state Senator Tony Avella said at the conference. “The weeds on the front yard and on the little grass strip were as tall as I was. You couldn’t even see that there was a shed in the backyard. It was like a forest.” The abandoned property had overgrown vegetation, a raccoon problem and a caved-in roof, according to residents. Most troublesome to neighbors were the two derelict cars parked in the driveway filled with newspapers and debris that posed the risk of a second fire breaking out at the location after a first erupted within the home a few years prior. The two cars have now been removed from the property and the outside of the property has since been cleaned. “We’re very happy that this is being resolved because it’s been a blight on us,” one neighbor said. “We feel confident we’ll be able to sell the property on Dec. 7,” Sweeney said. “We’ve had very good success with properties like this in the past.” “Unfortunately this problem is not unique,” closed Avella. “There are many abandoned properties throughout not only my district but throughout the entire city. And each has their own set of circumstances.” Anyone with information as to the whereabouts of Franklin Beckman are asked to notify the public administrator at 718-526-5037. Those interested in purchasing the property can visit queenscountypa.com for more details. Overnight closure on Queens Blvd. in Elmhurst There’s another bump in the road for those who travel along Queens Boulevard. Two of the three lanes on main portion of the boulevard between 57th Avenue in Elmhurst and 63rd Avenue in Rego Park will be closed in both directions on Wednesday night, Oct. 26, and continuing into the following morning. Westbound lanes will be shut from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m., while eastbound lanes will be out of service from 10 p.m. to 10 a.m. The boulevard’s service roads will remain open for traffic, but drivers can expect delays while traveling through the area. The closures are required to repair a temporary barrier on the Woodhaven Boulevard overpass above the main section of Queens Boulevard, which was installed in August. According to the Department of Transportation (DOT), the changes “will improve pedestrian safety and allow for better operation and maintenance of the walkway during the coming winter months.” For more information, visit the DOT’s website or call 311. Awura Ama Barnie-Duah Maspeth shelter protesters rally in Brooklyn They want answers. A rally was held by a group of organizations from several boroughs, including Brooklyn and Queens, outside four different hotels in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, that have been converted into homeless shelters to shine a light on and hopefully put a stop to a practice that some residents fear endangers the neighborhoods they call home. More than 200 people attended the rally on Saturday, Oct. 15, which began at 24th Street and Fourth Avenue. Phil Wong of civic group Elmhurst United was among those who spoke during the rally. “Just like our friends from Maspeth, we are here from Elmhurst and we are here to fight the same battle right here in Sunset Park,” he said, standing in front of one of Sunset’s hotels. “The rooms behind me cost $160 per night. You do the math and it’s $4,800 per month per room. Meanwhile you look at Craigslist and there hundreds of apartments for rent around here at one-third the cost.” Wong suggested that by declaring an emergency, Mayor Bill de Blasio and the Department of Homeless Services (DHS) get to bypass public review. Maspeth resident Mike Papa blamed the mayor and Commissioner of the New York City Human Resources Administration/Department of Social Services Steven Banks for trying to blame the community. “Mr. de Blasio is trying to villainize us in order to cover up his administration’s wrongdoings and shortcomings regarding the homeless situation. The residents of Maspeth are not NIMBYs not in my backyard. We always will do what we can to help them but that does not include destroying the community that we live in.” Jaime DeJesus, Home Reporter


QC10202016
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