FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM JANUARY 10, 2019 • THE QUEENS COURIER 11
Jackson Heights residents go to court to stop Target
BY ALEJANDRA O’CONNELLDOMENECH
adomenech@qns.com
@AODNewz
Th e Jackson Heights and Elmhurst
residents fi ghting against the construction
of a Target on 40-31 82nd
St. will have their day in court.
State Senator Jessica Ramos, community
members and members of
the anti-gentrifi cation group Queens
Neighborhood United (QNU), will
bring their case against the large
chain store to the New York Supreme
Court on Jan. 10.
Residents argue that developers
Sun-Equity Partners and Heskel
Group violated local zoning regulations
that only allow small-local businesses
to be established in the area.
Th ey also claim that construction
impedes access to Elmhurst Hospital
and that Target will displace low- to
middle-income residents.
“Th ose stores aren’t for us,” said
Josselyn Atahualpa, a member of
QNU about big-box stores. Atahualpa
was one the multiple members of QNU
that gathered at Duningham Triangle on
Jan. 6 to hold what they called a “People’s
Court” against Target and its developers.
Community members and allies in opposition
Queens Neighborhoods United member Tania Mattos announces that Target is guilty of gentrifi cation at a
“People’s Court” that was held on Jan. 6. at Duningham Triangle.
to the Target’s construction were
given a few minutes with a megaphone to
state why they believe Target would hurt
the neighborhood.
Most of the speakers charged that the
national chain store would likely displace
local immigrant-run small businesses
that provide many jobs for the
neighborhood while also preventing new
small businesses from opening up at the
site or nearby.
According to press release from QNU,
Photo: Alejandra O’Connell-Domenech/THE COURIER
Target’s lease “excludes other businesses
from opening in the same building,
including supermarkets/groceries, laundromats,
pharmacies, second-hand, beauty,
cosmetics and convenience stores.”
Atahualpa introduced over a dozen
speakers as fellow QNU member Tania
Mattos — playing the role of judge by
donning a wig and robe — listened. No
one present argued in favor of Target
or the development in general.
Aft er all had their say, Mattos
reached a verdict: Th at Target and
the developers were “guilty of gentrifi
cation” and therefore needed to go.
Since 2017, protestors have been
fi ghting against the expected Target.
In September of 2018, a stop-work
order was issued by the Department
of Buildings (DOB) stating that the
Target does not adhere to zoning
codes. Th is came about a month aft er
Target decided that the new store
would be two stories. Originally it
was meant to be 13 stories high. But
the stop-work order was eventually
lift ed.
Presently, nearby residents say that
they’re feeling the immediate impact
of construction, as crews work to
deepen the large hole on 82nd Street.
“I recently woke up with extreme
anxiety from the noise and the fl oor
shaking,” said neighboring resident
Piya Patwwary.
Several community members present
complained of their inability to rest
because of construction. Elia Rubi, who
lives across the street from the Target site
on Baxter Avenue, said that traffi c has
already become horrible.
Th e Courier reached out to Sun Equity
Partners and Heskel Group for comment,
but the fi rms declined when phoned on
Jan. 9.
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