8 THE QUEENS COURIER • JANUARY 7, 2021 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Photos by Mari Estrella
Mayor orders shutdown of Kew Gardens hotel after triple shooting
Robert Williams
died in the Jan. 1
fatal shooting
at the Umbrella
Hotel in Kew
Gardens.
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Mayor Bill de Blasio on Jan. 4 said that
he’s moving to shut down the troublesome
Umbrella Hotel in Kew Gardens that has
been the scene of at least three shootings
in recent months, including the fi rst
homicide of 2021.
“I do want that hotel closed,” de Blasio
said during a City Hall press briefi ng
about the hotel.
Th e mayor said he instructed his team
to move to close the hotel immediately,
aft er a “very, very painful report a few
days ago.”
Th e New Year’s Day triple shooting at
the hotel, located at 124-18 Queens Blvd.,
resulted in one fatality, while two others
were injured, according to authorities.
Th e victim, 20-year-old Robert Williams
of 255th Street in Rosedale, was transported
to NYC Health & Hospitals/Queens,
where he was pronounced dead, according
to police. A 40-year-old man was
transported to Jamaica Hospital in critical
condition, and the second 20-yearold
victim was transported to NewYork-
Presbyterian Queens in stable condition.
Th e shooting victims were together at
the hotel and engaged in a dispute with
a group of at least four people before the
shooting, a police spokesperson said. No
arrests have been made and the investigation
is ongoing.
Queens Borough President Donovan
Richards, who is also calling for the shutdown
of the hotel, said the fatal shooting
was a “sad and troubling way to start the
new year.”
“Th is hotel is a public nuisance that
has no place in Kew Gardens or anywhere
in our borough or city. Th e hotel’s
guests and residents of the surrounding
community should not be subjected
to its dangerous conditions,”
Richards said.
Last summer, the hotel was the
scene of a drive-by shooting and
a separate incident, according
to offi cials. In November, the
hotel was hit with more than
a dozen violations from
the city, aft er residents and
elected offi cials had complained
of illegal activity
and loud parties
taking place at the
hotel, disrupting
the quality of life
in the neighborhood.
“We’re checking
obviously
all of our legal
powers here
to make sure
that what we
do is legal and
appropriate,
but I
want it closed,” de Blasio said. “I think
it’s been a blight on the community and
it should not be that going forward. So,
we’re going to use all the power of the city
government to get that closed and stop
having the community suff er from what’s
happened at the hotel.”
In a joint statement, Assemblyman
Daniel Rosenthal and Councilwoman
Karen Koslowitz said the mayor’s instruction
to begin proceedings to shut down
the hotel should have come much sooner.
“For months, we joined the community,
colleagues and law enforcement in drawing
attention to the untenable situation at the
Umbrella Hotel, which included a litany of
crimes including various shootings, underage
prostitution and illicit drug sales,”
the lawmakers said. “While the mayor
has taken the fi rst steps towards a
solution, we must continue to stay
vigilant and hold him accountable
until the hotel is shut down.”
Rosenthal and Koslowitz said
they will continue to work
with their colleagues such as
Congresswoman Grace Meng,
Senator Leroy Comrie and
Assemblymember Andrew
Hevesi, who have been strong
allies of the Kew Gardens
community throughout the
monthslong ordeal.
The scene where one person was killed and two others were injured during a shooting in front of the Umbrella Hotel in Kew Gardens on Jan. 1, 2021.
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