26 THE QUEENS COURIER • DECEMBER 19, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Schumer, Meeks land $91 million in federal funds to
overhaul and expand the Jamaica Readiness Center
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Th e old Jamaica Armory will be getting
$91 million in federal funding for a massive
City’s ‘Worst Landlords List’ includes fi ve property owners — and NYCHA
BY TODD MAISEL
In releasing his offi ce’s “Worst Landlords
List” on Monday, Public Advocate
Jumaane Williams exposed fi ve of New
York’s most neglectful landlords while
also lambasting city government for failing
to maintain and fi x New York City
Housing Authority properties.
Williams released a watchlist of the top
100 most egregiously negligent landlords,
as determined by widespread and repeated
violations of building codes. Th e list
included major violations such as peeling
lead paint, rats, roaches and other vermin,
dangerous black mold and water leaking
into apartments.
Surrounded by tenant advocates at the
Dec. 16 announcement in Manhattan,
Williams was also joined by State Attorney
General Letitia James, Councilman
Ydanis Rodriguez and state Senator Brian
P. Kavanagh. All castigated the NYCHA
for not keeping up with work orders and
taking long to make repairs.
NYCHA had nearly 350,000 outstanding
work orders — more than 100,000
more than last year’s total — following the
installation of a federal monitor and a new
chairman, Williams reported.
Of the private landlords, the number
one violator was Jason Korn, who had
2,877 open Housing Preservation and
Development violations, Williams said.
Th e other four top off enders include:
Nathan Montgomery with 1,581 open
violations; Eric Silverstein, with 1,144
violations; Abdul Khan, with 1,135 violations;
and Chris Deangelis, with 978
open violations. Each of them own multiple
buildings are in all fi ve boroughs,
Williams said.
Kim Statuto is a tenant leader at 1515
Selwyn Ave. in the Bronx, where landlord
Abdul Khan is alleged to have neglected
her building. She said they have not
had gas service in 14 months because the
landlords made an oil conversion without
proper permits.
Statuto said Section 8 housing is threatening
to terminate their contract with the
landlord, thus endangering the tenants
they are supposed to protect.
“We demand that HPD sues the landlord
in housing court and to get warrants
to remediate all hazardous conditions in
the building,” she said. “We demand the
city takes 1515 Selwyn Ave. away from
Abdul Khan and helps put the building in
to non-profi t ownership.”
Attorney General Letitia James, the
city’s former public advocate, warned
landlords that if they fail to correct violations
and continue to build up violations,
she would take actions against them.
“Th ey need to know, there is a new sheriff
in town,” James said. “We will not go
silently into the night, we know the power
of this list and the shame they will face.”
Williams observed that Korn was the
“worst landlord” and having nearly 3,000
violations is something anyone should be
ashamed of.
“He was number 9 last year, and now he
is number 1,” Williams said. “But there
is one landlord that gets special ringing at
the top, and that is NYCHA, and the city
shouldn’t get away with having 290,000
work orders, over 100,000 from last year.”
Across 326 developments, Williams
said, NYCHA had 342,840 open work
orders as of November 2019 — many with
unsafe or unsanitary conditions eff ecting
more than half a million residents.
He said he will continue to press the city
to improve their response times — some
serious problems are found on a Friday,
but not remedied till Monday.
Photo by Todd Maisel
A Spanish speaking resident of a delapidated Bronx building cries over the conditions she is forced
to live in, with rats running rampant.
expansion and renovation, according
to Senator Charles Schumer and
Congressman Gregory Meeks.
Th e two leaders announced Friday that
following their push, sorely-needed and
long-sought projects at the facility, now
known as the Jamaica Readiness Center,
cleared a major hurdle and the funding
will be included in the National Defense
Authorization Act for 2020, which has
just been fi nalized and is expected to pass
next week.
“Th is huge federal investment will
completely revamp and modernize the
Jamaica Armory and serve as a boon and
anchor to the Queens community, the
National Guard and all of New York City,”
Schumer said. “Working with my partner,
Congressman Gregory Meeks, I am proud
that we have secured tens of millions in
vital federal funding in the NDAA. Th e
readiness of our nation’s military in built,
in part, on adequate facilities that support
troops. Soon the National Guard
will have the funds needed to improve
the long-term readiness and recruitment
capabilities of the Jamaica Armory here
in Queens.”
Th e inadequate and outdated condition
of the facility impacts the New
York Army National Guard’s emergency
response capabilities in the city. Th e funding
will provide essential new infrastructure,
replace outdated mechanical systems,
and eliminate current environmental
and safety hazards.
“Th e readiness center, along with with
the repairs and improvements of the existing
space, has been a much sought aft er
upgrade for the National Guard, and will
be instrumental in their continued operations
here in my district,” Meeks said. “I
thank Senators Schumer and Gillibrand
for their leadership and cooperation in
getting this done.”
At the urging of Schumer and Gillibrand
last March, the military construction project
at the Jamaica Readiness Center was
listed number one on the Army National
Guard’s Unfunded Priorities List. Prior
to the senators’ and congressman’s intervention,
no funds were allocated to the
Jamaica Readiness Center in the Future
Years Defense Program.
“Th e funding will be used to support
unit training, mobilization, emergency
response, and logistics,” Gillibrand said.
“Th e Jamaica Armory is essential to our
country’s national defense, the Army’s
mission, and the New York community.”
A Meeks’ amendment, prohibiting the
Department of Defense from naming
assets aft er confederate leaders or battlefi
eld victories, was included in the fi nal
passage of NDAA.
“Any homage to the Confederacy serves
only to glorify that inglorious moment in
our nation’s history, where brother turned
on brother for the preservation of slavery,”
Meeks said. “Confederate symbols have
historically been used as tools of oppression
and intimidation, during the height
of Jim Crow long aft er the Civil War, used
by states championing the segregation of
African Americans. Th ey are used today,
among white nationalists and neo-Nazis.
To ignore the racial context of confederate
symbols is to whitewash the fundamental
reason our nation went to war with itself.”
Assets includes any base, installation,
facility, aircraft , ships, equipment, or any
other property owned or controlled by
the DoD.
“Th ese are not symbols to be exalted,
not in our public square and certainly
not in our armed forces,” Meeks
said. “Th ose we’ve entrusted to defend
the union should not be serving on ships
named aft er those who fought to undo it.
I think all of my colleagues who joined
together across party lines to rightfully
end this practice once and for all.”
Photo via Commons.Wikimedia
The old Jamaica Armory will get an extreme makeover after Senator Charles Schumer and
Congressman Gregory Meeks scored tens of million in federal funding for the project.
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