Apr. 12-18, 2019 Your Neighborhood — Your News®
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Overnight shelter work riles residents
College Point community calls for action in latest chapter of homeless haven saga
database, the city agency
has received 52 public 311
complaints about afterhours
work. DOB labeled
most of the complaints as
“resolved.” One complaint
made on April 8 about
after-hours work remains
“active.”
BIS records show that
DOB has not issued any
stop work orders on the
property.
Reach reporter Jenna
Bagcal by e-mail at jbagcal@
qns.com or by phone at (718)
224-5863 ext. 214.
A NEW MARKET IN WHITESTONE
Met Fresh Supermarket owners Omar, Ali and Danny Hamdan (c.) cut the red ribbon
officially marking the grand opening of the supermarket chain in Whitestone on April 5
. Photo courtesy of Michelle Mendoza
BY JENNA BAGCAL
College Point residents
claim contractors of
a controversial men’s
homeless shelter are
working past the hours set
by the city.
TimesLedger learned
that DOB issued an afterhours
variance (AHV) for
the shelter project at 127-
03 20th Ave. The variance
allows work to be done
from 6 to 10 p.m. on Monday
through Friday and 8 a.m.
to 6 p.m. on Saturday and
Sunday.
But College Point resident
Carola Duarte-Simmons
penned a letter to Queens
DOB Commissioner Derek
Lee revealing that workers
are working past the times
specified in the variance.
“Almost every night the
lights go off around 10 p.m.
and they are back at it
around 11 p.m. or 12 a.m.
and the work goes on until 2
a.m. or 4 a.m. Many nights,
there is lots of banging,”
wrote Duarte-Simmons in
the letter.
Duarte-Simmons also
included a collection of
photos and video illustrating
violations including
uncovered garbage and
the installation of a fire
escape and elevator without
properly closing off the
street or using any safety
equipment.
On the A Better College
Point Facebook page,
community organizer
Jennifer Shannon posted
photos of the proposed
shelter with its lights
illuminated on the evening
of Sunday, April 7. Shannon
also posted accompanying
photos of two cell phones
displaying the times 9:12
p.m., 2:29 a.m. and 2:30 a.m.
“We desperately need
EVERYONE to call 311
before the Tuesday and file
and “Escalated Complaint,”
a complaint against a city
agency (DOB & DEP)
because nothing is being
done about our regular
complaints,” said Shannon
in the Facebook post. “You
must tell them that we
call night after night and
nothing is ever done and the
problem is never solved. Tell
them that when a regular
complaint is made you are
told the DOB will respond
within 14 days during
regular business hours. Tell
them that this does not solve
the problem because when
the inspector goes during
the day the contractor
is working within the
permitted hours.”
According to records
on the DOB’s Buildings
Information System (BIS)
See QGuide,
Page 33
Vol. 28 No. 15 56 total pages
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