TIMES, THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 2014 • 30 A Year After Collapse, Woodhaven Eyesore Set To Be Torn Down Nearly a year to the date that 78-19 Jamaica Ave. suffered a partial collapse (right), the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) announced it would begin the process of demolishing the remains of the structure. Acting at the order of the Department of Buildings, the building is being demolished after its owner failed to appear at an Apr. 11 public hearing and correct the damages, which continue to prevent the reopening of the Woodhaven-Richmond Hill Volunteer Ambulance Corps’ nearby headquarters. Months after the collapse, a sidewalk shed was erected around the building (left photo) to protect passersby from potential falling debris. Meeting Examines Knockdown Center Liquor Lic. issues. Further concerns were recently raised after it was announced that rapper M.I.A. plans to hold two concerts at the Knockdown Center on May 8-9. On its website, the Knockdown Center also advertises other upcoming events including a “Redbull Music Academy” show on May 16 and a “Maspeth World of Wheels” car show and tailgate festival on June 21. According to documents on the SLA website, the Knockdown Center indicated “the principal, two managers, 30 employees and 9-25 security guards will be on staff at the premises.” It also noted the “proposed maximum occupancy for the premises is 5,000” patrons. The Department of Buildings, however, has previously denied applications for a certificate of occupancy permitting 5,000 individuals from occupying the Knockdown Center at a given time. The SLA indicated it had received a petition with 100 signatures in support of the application, but also letters of objections from Community Board 5, Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan, City Council Member Antonio Reynoso, State Sen. Joseph Addabbo and representatives of the Juniper Park Civic Association, the Communities of Maspeth and Elmhurst Together, the Queens Civic Congress and Citizens for a Better Maspeth. Last year, City Council Member Elizabeth Crowley voiced her support for the center’s operation, claiming it would serve as an economic boom to the community. The SLA board meeting will begin at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the SLA Zone 1 headquarters, located in the Harlem Center Tower Office Building at 317 Lenox Ave. The hearing will be streamed live online at https://www.sla.ny.gov/full-boardmeeting nyc-140. For additional information, call 1- 518-474-3114 or send an email to Secretarys.Office@sla.ny.gov. -CONTINUED FROM PG. 1- Driver Had Gun, Pot In Tow Truck Perez. In doing so, police noted, the officers detected a marijuana smell emanating from the vehicle. Officers reportedly recovered while searching Perez two bags of marijuana from his pants pocket. Additionally, authorities stated, a loaded 9mm Hi-Point pistol with seven rounds in the magazine was found contained in a bag located on the passenger’s seat. The weapon had a defaced serial number, law enforcement sources said.P olice also recovered a wooden baseball bat located between the driver’s seat and the center console, it was noted. Perez was taken into custody by P.O. Jason Bianchini and charged with second- and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, unlawful possession of marijuana and several traffic violations— including having tinted windows darker than permitted under law. According to court records, he was arraigned last Friday, Apr. 11, in Queens Criminal Court before Judge Toko Serita, who ordered him held on $30,000 bail. Perez is due back in court on Apr. 25. -CONTINUED FROM PG. 1- If You See Breaking News On Your Block... Contact The Times Newsweekly Call 1-718-821-7500 • Email info@timesnewsweekly.com city will place a lien on the property. Civic groups such as the Woodhaven Residents’ Block Association (WRBA) and local elected officials repeatedly called on the city to have 78-19 Jamaica Ave. stabilized or demolished since last April’s collapse. The event damaged the neighboring headquarters of the Woodhaven-Richmond Hill Volunteer Ambulance Corps, located at 78-15 Jamaica Ave., sidelining the corps and also forcing out the Woodhaven-Richmond Hill Senior Center, which operated at the headquarters on weekdays. Structural damage to its base, combined with a loss of rent from the senior center, has crippled the ambulance corps’ operations, according to WRBA President Martin Colberg and State Sen. Joseph Addabbo. They—along with Assemblyman Mike Miller, City Council Member Elizabeth Crowley and activists—participated in a rally at the site on Mar. 2 urging that the damaged building be demolished, fearing that further collapse of the damaged building would further risk public safety and the corps’ existence. Colberg, Addabbo and Miller welcomed the news of HPD action in phone interviews with the Times Newsweekly on Tuesday, Apr. 15. “It’s a big step forward,” Colberg stated. “If all goes well, within a month it could be gone.” Addabbo added the HPD informed him an asbestos inspection was being done that day at 78-19 Jamaica Ave. Demolition could take place within “four to six weeks,” depending on whether asbestos abatement is required. “They got the paperwork from the DOB Friday. It’s Tuesday, and they’re already going out there to do the asbestos inspection,” the senator said. “They’re moving quick, and we definitely appreciate this.” “It’s about time that action is being taken,” Miller added. “We gave the owner plenty of time to take care of his responsiblities; he didn’t do that. We look to HPD to take care of this situation as quickly as possible.” “Finally the Department of Buildings is taking action—it has been a difficult year trying to push both the agency and the land owner to do the right thing,” Crowley said in a statement to the Times Newsweekly on Wednesday, Apr. 16. “I will continue to work with DOB and the Woodhaven community to make sure that the senior center and the ambulance corps have proper access to the building, and that responsible development happens at this site.” Addabbo stated that he and other lawmakers would seek state and city funds to help the Woodhaven- Richmond Hill Volunteer Ambulance Corps repair its headquarters and become active once again. On its Facebook page, the corps publicly thanked the HPD, Addabbo, Assemblyman Mike Miller and City Council Members Crowley and Eric Ulrich for their efforts to have the city take action at 78-19 Jamaica Ave. “We’re looking forward to seeing this dangerous eyesore gone,” according to the post. -CONTINUED FROM PG. 1- (left photo courtesy of Project Woodhaven) Shop Locally! Support Your Neighborhood Merchants!
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