Umbrella Hotel (Google Maps)
Nov. 25, 2020 By Allie Griffin
A troublesome hotel in Kew Gardens, which has been a hotbed for crime and illegal activity since the summer, was served with more than a dozen summonses from city agencies last week.
The Umbrella Hotel was hit with 15 summonses – including two criminal summonses — following a multi-agency inspection by the NYPD, FDNY, DOB, DEP and Sheriff’s Office, local lawmakers announced Wednesday.
The hotel, located at 124-18 Queens Blvd., was issued three civil violations from the NYPD, nine violations from the FDNY and three by the DOB in total for a variety of issues such as lack of egress and a faulty fire alarm system.
The operators of the hotel were slapped with multiple fines and court appearance tickets as a result of the violations. They could face further sanctions, local Assembly Member Daniel Rosenthal said.
The Umbrella Hotel was the scene of two shootings over the summer — one of which left the front door bullet-ridden — as well as a sex trafficking incident involving a minor.
Bullet holes in the door of the Umbrella Hotel (Courtesy of Assembly Member Daniel Rosenthal’s Office)
Elected officials, including Rosenthal, have been calling on City Hall to address the violence and criminal activity at the hotel for months.
This past weekend, the Mayor’s Office approved a Multi-Agency Response to Community Hotspots (MARCH) Operation in response to their calls, the assembly member said.
“For months, we have been asking City Hall to take action and assist the 102nd Precinct and our community in shutting down this hotel,” Rosenthal said in a statement. “The MARCH operation was a good first step in bringing these concerns to the forefront of enforcement, but we need continued cooperation from the City to ensure that violent crimes and public health violations come to an end at this location. We cannot accept anything less.”
Lawmakers praised the 102nd Precinct for its response. They remain hopeful that the hotel will be shut down and viewed the MARCH operation as an important first step toward that end.
“I want to offer, on behalf of myself and the Kew Gardens community, a sincere thank you to Captain Ficadaro of the 102nd Precinct for his resolute determination to bring the indefensible and outrageous situation at the Umbrella Hotel under control,” Council Member Karen Koslowitz said. “Hopefully, this mayoral multi-agency response under the Captain’s leadership will provide the impetus for shutting down the Umbrella Hotel.”
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