More than 60 of the hundreds of tenants displaced after a massive fire at a Jackson Heights apartment building in April are now suing the property’s owners and management, as well as city agencies.
They’re demanding that the building’s owners repair their homes so they may return — and let them back in soon to retrieve possessions from the still heavily damaged and inaccessible block-long complex.
The building remains surrounded by scaffolding and caution tape, with many windows boarded up. The eight-alarm blaze crumbled ceilings and destroyed interior walls, exposing wooden beams in their place.
Tenants allege that in the five months since the fire, Kedex Properties and city officials have provided little sense of when repairs will be completed, if any belongings can be salvaged and when residents might be able to return to their apartments.
Access to the building has been “unreasonable and severely limited,” according to the complaint filed Sept. 10 in Queens Housing Court targeting the owner, along with the city Department of Buildings and Department of Housing Preservation and Development.
Several dozen tenants in one wing of the two-address, 133-unit building have been allowed scheduled visits to retrieve personal items. but former residents of more than 60 apartments in the other wing have not been granted that same privilege, said Andrew Sokolof-Diaz, the building’s tenant association president and a plaintiff in the suit.
U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-6) announced Thursday that she secured $800,000 in federal funding forLIFE Camp, a gun violence prevention program based in southeast Queens.
Assemblymembers Nily Rozic (D-Fresh Meadows) and Ron Kim (D-Flushing) gathered at Assemblyman Kim’s district office in Flushing on Wednesday to discuss the persistent threats of voter fraud and to launch initiatives aimed at safeguarding the electoral process ahead of the June 25 Democratic primary.
Literacy Partners, an organization dedicated to enhancing English proficiency among immigrant caregivers to foster greater involvement in their children’s lives, was honored with the Community Impact Award on April 25. This accolade was part of the New York City Service’s Mayoral Service Recognition Program, celebrating significant contributions to the community.
This weekend, thousands of people all over the world will be celebrating Cinco de Mayo, a holiday commemorating Mexico’s victory over the French Empire in the battle of Puebla in 1862.
On Wednesday, May 1st, 49 extraordinary healthcare leaders were honored at Schneps’ annual ‘Health Care Heroes’ event, held in the ballroom of Terrace in The Park at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.
Marissa Grace believes in community. That’s why the owner of Grace Thai Restaurant on Junction Boulevard was enthused when New York Mets owner Steve Cohen and local community leaders announced Metropolitan Park, the proposal to redevelop the 50 acres of asphalt parking lot around Citi Field.
Queens Assemblymember Jessica González-Rojas and State Senator John Liu joined community advocates Tuesday to celebrate the passage of Sammy’s Law, a legislation that allows for New York City to determine its own speed limits, in the latest New York State budget.