FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM JANUARY 14, 2021 • THE QUEENS COURIER 3
DA investigation leads to arrest of Umbrella Hotel supervisor
BY JACOB KAYE
jkaye@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Th e front desk supervisor of a
troublesome Kew Gardens hotel
home to a slew of shootings and
sex traffi cking charges in the past
year, was arrested on Monday,
Jan. 11, aft er an investigation by
the Queens District Attorney’s
Offi ce.
Gulshan Gandhi, the front
desk supervisor at the Umbrella
Hotel, located at 124-18 Queens
Blvd., faces two counts of criminal
nuisance in the second
degree, Katz said. In his role as
front desk supervisor Gandhi,
68, created “conditions that
endangered the safety and health
of hotel guests and the community
at large,” Queens District
Attorney Melinda Katz said.
Th e infamous hotel has been
the scorn of residents and local
elected offi cials for the past year.
Mayor Bill de Blasio recently
explored shutting down the hotel
using his mayoral powers, aft er
a New Year’s Day triple shooting
in front of the hotel left one
dead. Th e hotel’s management
voluntarily closed its doors on
Friday, Jan. 8, according to signs
posted in the hotel’s lobby.
Over the weekend, around 20
Kew Gardens residents, including
City Council candidate
Douglas Shapiro, rallied in front
of the hotel calling for its permanent
closure.
“Th is was a decision taken unilaterally
by the owners under
public pressure. Perhaps the
owners are afraid of serious legal
liability or of a tarnished reputation,”
Shapiro said. “But we must
understand their decision to voluntarily
close is reversible. Th ey
have carried out some furnishings
last night to prove their seriousness,
but they can carry the
furnishings back tomorrow, if
they change their mind.”
Th e New Year’s Day shooting,
which killed 20-year-old Robert
Williams and accounted for New
York City’s fi rst homicide of
2021, was the last straw for many
in the neighborhood.
Queens Borough President
Donovan Richards and
Assemblyman Daniel Rosenthal
and Councilwoman Karen
Koslowitz joined the call for the
hotel’s closure following the New
Year’s slaying.
“Th is hotel is a public nuisance
that has no place in Kew
Gardens or anywhere in our borough
or city,” Richards said. “Th e
Photo by Gabriele Holtermann
hotel’s guests and residents of the
surrounding community should
not be subjected to its dangerous
conditions.”
Koslowitz and Rosenthal, in
demanding a shutdown, lamented
that the hotel’s closure hadn’t
come 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
in a joint statement. “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.”
In November, the Umbrella
Hotel was hit with more than a
dozen violations from the city,
aft er residents complained of illegal
activity and loud parties taking
place on the hotel’s property.
Over the summer in 2020, the
hotel was also the scene of a
drive-by shooting, according to
offi cials.
Gandhi was working at the
hotel during several fatal incidents.
“Th e defendant, who regularly
worked as a supervisor for the
9 p.m. through 9 a.m. shift , was
in charge during at least three
nights of violence at the hotel,
including shootings on July 3,
Aug. 9 and, most recently, a triple
shooting on New Year’s Eve
that took the life of a 20-yearold
man,” Katz said. “Th e defendant
allegedly – and repeatedly –
allowed unsafe gatherings on the
premises of the hotel, even aft er
a shooting left bullet holes in its
front door. Th is hotel has been a
danger to the community.”
Gandi was issued a desk
appearance ticket by police and
will appear in court at a future
date, the DA said.
Appeal or not, busways are coming to Flushing’s Main Street: Mayor
BY MARK HALLUM
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
Despite the best eff orts of mass transit
naysayers in one of the largest hubs in the
city, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that
Jan. 19 would be the offi cial start date for
the Main Street busway pilot in Flushing.
Aft er Queens Supreme Court Judge
Kevin Kerrigan slapped aside a temporary
restraining order fi led by business owners
along the corridor, the city Department of
Transportation plans to move ahead with
the dedicated bus lanes between Sanford
and Northern Boulevard, threats for an
appeal be damned.
“Mass transit is the present and future
of this city. New Yorkers deserve better
bus service, and today I’m proud to transform
the way New Yorkers access an iconic
Queens neighborhood,” de Blasio said.
“Successes like the 14th Street Busway in
Manhattan and the Jay Street Busway in
Brooklyn have proven that these initiatives
work. I can’t wait to build on this project and
expand faster, more reliable transit options
to even more neighborhoods this year.”
Daily bus ridership through the transit
hub linking up to 11 bus lines with the
Long Island Rail Road’s Port Washington
Line and the Flushing-Main Street Station
on the No. 7 train was recorded at 155,000
daily, and this improvement will serve to
speed up the commutes of these straphangers
in a post-COVID-19 city.
“Th roughout the COVID-19 crisis, one
of the most important objectives of this
administration is to keep New Yorkers
moving safely, and buses have played a
critical role,” acting DOT Commissioner
Margaret Forgione said. “Since the start
of the pandemic, buses have transported
commuters, including essential frontline
workers, between their homes, workplaces
and vibrant commercial districts
around the fi ve boroughs.”
The Flushing Chinese Business
Association and attorney Randall Eng
launched their attempt to halt the city’s
proposal over the summer, and much like
litigation against the 14th Street busway
and the Fresh Pond Road bus lanes, did
not pass the smell test in court.
Eng said in an interview with amNewYork
Metro on Jan. 5 that they would be
seeking an appeal.
“We have seen over and over that as
File photo
bus speeds go up, ridership goes up,” said
Craig Cipriano, president of the MTA
Bus Company. “Bus priority is essential
throughout the city. New Yorkers
demand and deserve more effi cient commutes
with shorter travel times.”
Th e busway through one of the most
congestion-choked roadways in the city
is part of the mayor’s larger plan to speed
the commutes of 750,000 New Yorkers
as part of the Better Buses Restart plan
announced in June 2020.
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