A Queens man who struck and critically injured a teenage prankster who was throwing eggs at cars on Halloween night has been charged with attempted murder, cops said.
Keith Richard, 50, in a Dodge minivan, slammed into Christopher Miraba, 17, who was tossing eggs with a group of young men on 23rd St. at Jackson Ave. in Long Island City at about 8:20 p.m. Tuesday.
Miraba suffered a broken leg, a broken pelvis, a fractured skull and bruised lungs, sources said.
Sources said Richard was irate because the teens had hit his sweatshirt with an egg.
Witness Frank, 33, of Astoria, who asked his last name not be used, said he and his wife, 27, had stopped in at a Dunkin Donuts for a snack when the van jumped the sidewalk and tried to run over the teens.
Richard was going east on 23rd St. and south on Jackson Ave. when he jumped the curb after running a red light.
“There was this group of teenagers,” he said. “This guy jumped the curb and tried to run them all over. I thought it was another terror attack.”
Frank said the teens ran to get out of the way, but one got separated from the group.
“This guy made a U-turn and ran him over,” he said. “Then he backed up and ran him over again. The kid was in real bad shape. He was bleeding from his head and his leg was twisted up real bad.”
Sources said Miraba wound up pinned against a traffic stanchion at the southeast corner of Jackson Ave. and 23rd St.
The driver proceeded for about a half block, then abandoned the car.
“There was no denying it was intentional,” he said. “This was absolute evil.”
Another witness told Frank that the man screamed at the kids “One for one!” before trying to running them over, he said.
Cops confirmed that Keith drove at the teens because they were egging cars.
Keith fled the scene, but was soon arrested. He was also charged with reckless endangerment, leaving the scene, vehicular assault, and reckless driving.
“I thought he was going to jump out of the minivan and start shooting people. That’s what seems to be happening afterwards these days.”
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Keith Richard, 50, drove his car onto the sidewalk on Jackson Avenue, striking a 17-year-old boy, police said. View Full Caption
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LONG ISLAND CITY — A man drove his minivan onto a sidewalk to mow down a 17-year-old who had been with a group of teens throwing eggs at his car on Halloween night, police said.
Keith Richard, 50, was in his Dodge minivan when he got into an argument with the teens, who had tossed the eggs at his vehicle near Jackson Avenue and 23rd Street about 8:20 p.m., police said.
As the teens tried to run away, Richard drove after them with his van, making a U-turn onto the sidewalk on the northern side of Jackson Avenue before slamming into the group, police said.
He struck a 17-year-old, whose name wasn’t immediately released, before fleeing the scene on foot, police said.
The teen was treated at Elmhurst Hospital and was listed in stable condition, officials said.
Richard, who lives nearby on Jackson Avenue and Crane Street, was arrested soon after, police said. He was charged with attempted murder, reckless endangerment, leaving scene of an accident, vehicular assault and reckless driving, according to police.
He had not yet been arraigned Wednesday morning, according to the Queens District Attorney’s office. Information on his defense attorney was not immediately available.
A 50-year-old Long Island City resident whose car was hit pelted with eggs by teenagers on Halloween night retaliated by running over a 17-year-old with his car.
According to police, Keith Richard was driving a 2008 Dodge caravan when he started arguing with teenagers who had vandalized his car at the intersection of 23rd Street and Jackson Avenue at about 8:19 p.m.
Richardson started following the teenagers, making a U-turn on 23rd Street and then turning right on Jackson Avenue onto the sidewalk, where the group was trying to run away.
He slammed into the group, hitting a 17-year-old whose identity has not been released, police said. Richardson fled eastbound on Jackson Avenue.
When officers arrived at the scene, they found the teenager on the ground with head and body trauma. He was taken to Elmhurst Hospital in stable condition.
According to the Daily News, the teenager’s name is Christopher Miraba; he suffered a broken leg, a broken pelvis, a fractured skull and bruised lungs.
Police said Richardson was arrested soon after near a Bank of America at 24-10 Jackson Ave., a short distance from his home.
He was charged with attempted murder, reckless endangerment, leaving the scene of an accident, vehicular assault and reckless driving. Richardson has not been arraigned, according to the Queens District Attorney’s office.
Two very valuable black-and-white photographs at MoMA PS1 in Long Island City were reported stolen on Oct. 30, according to police.
The museum at 22-25 Jackson Ave. closed at 6:20 p.m. on Sunday. On Monday at 11 a.m., the museum director reported the photos stolen, police said. The photos were worth $105,000, but no description of the photos were provided.
There were no signs of forced entry in the building and the security alarm never went off, authorities said.
According to the NYPD, there were no cameras inside or outside of the location. There have been no arrests and the investigation is ongoing.
A spokesperson for the museum said told QNS could not comment on an ongoing police investigation.
Queens stole the spotlight in a new report ranking the most popular residential buildings throughout the five boroughs over the last few months.
According to PropertyShark, four Queens buildings were among the top-selling in the third quarter of 2017, “emphasizing, once again, the fast-paced rhythm at which [Queens] is developing.”
The Grand at Skyview Parc, located at 131-05 40th Rd. in downtown Flushing, took the top spot on the list. The second condo tower of three within the residential community, The Grand sold 92 units in between July 1 and Sept. 30 at a median sale price of $799,569 — nearly double the number of units the No. 2 building, Manhattan’s 389 East 89, sold during the same time period.
The newly-completed tower offers studios to three-bedroom units located blocks away from a variety of transportation options, including the 7 train and Long Island Rail Road. The complex also features a number of amenities, including a fitness center, rooftop park and shopping center.
Ranking at No. 3 was Flushing Commons, located at 138-35 39th Ave. The high-end building designed by Perkins Eastman sold 46 units in the third quarter at a median sale price of $1,014,585 and features apartments ranging from one- to four-bedrooms. Certain elements of the mega-project remain under construction.
Selling the same number of units at a significantly lower median sale price ($628,362) was East West Tower, which placed No. 4 on the list. Located at 142-32 37 Ave., the 13-story condo tower — which is still under construction — is slated to feature 88 units.
Queens made its final appearance in the top 10 with The Harrison at No. 8. The 27-story condo building in Long Island City sold 30 units at a median sale price of $822,237 in the third quarter, according to PropertyShark.
For the report, PropertyShark counted all sales closed between July 1 and Sept. 30. The complete report can be viewed here.
In their previous meeting, Long Island City made a narrow escape with a 8 – 6 win over Far Rockaway. Long Island City wasn’t quite so lucky with the tight margin this time around. Long Island City was close but no cigar, losing to Far Rockaway last week 28 – 26.
Long Island City’s record fell to 5-2 after the loss. The win got Far Rockaway up to 5-2.
The two teams have their sights set on raising those records in their upcoming games. Far Rockaway will look to defend its home turf against Bryant this Sunday at 11:00 AM. As for Long Island City, it will face off against Lane Sunday at 12:00 PM.
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In their previous meeting, Long Island City made a narrow escape with a 8 – 6 win over Far Rockaway. Long Island City wasn’t quite so lucky with the tight margin this time around. Long Island City was close but no cigar, losing to Far Rockaway last week 28 – 26.
Long Island City’s record fell to 5-2 after the loss. The win got Far Rockaway up to 5-2.
The two teams have their sights set on raising those records in their upcoming games. Far Rockaway will look to defend its home turf against Bryant this Sunday at 11:00 AM. As for Long Island City, it will face off against Lane Sunday at 12:00 PM.
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Halloween in LIC started as a small event with about a dozen Long Island City families approximately a decade ago and now has grown to include hundreds of families.
The event, which was started by local business leaders like Gianna Carbone-Poli of Manducatis Rustica, will take place on Oct. 29 at a number of neighborhood venues. It begins at 11 a.m. at 50th Avenue and 5th Street. A number of elected officials will make speeches as local businesses LIC Kids and LIC Dental Associates host events for children.
There will be face painters, balloon artists, a photo booth and goodie bags filled with candy and a toothbrush for each child participating.
“After they polish off that stuff and go through candy trades they can have proper dental care,” said organizer Sheila Lewandowski, who also owns the Chocolate Factory Theater in Long Island City.
At noon, a march will begin from the 108th Precinct and will continue down Vernon Boulevard where businesses will hand out candy and other goodies. Halstead will hand out apples while Modern Spaces will set up a photo booth with a chance to take photos with Wonder Woman. All businesses on Vernon Boulevard will be participating.
The main attraction includes a haunted house set up by Carbone-Poli at a warehouse on 46th Avenue. The Plaxall Gallery at 05-25 46th Ave. will offer up space for pumpkin decorating, a bean toss, a fortune teller, a DJ Monster Mash party and drinks and food donated by Rockaway Brewing Company and TF Cornerstone.
The indoor events will be ticketed but entrance fees will range from $1 to $3 to ensure that every family can participate, Lewandowski said.
Long Island City didn’t have too many spare points last week in its contest with Grady, but it still walked away with a 12 – 6 win.
Grady dropped down to.500 with a 3-3 record. The win lifted Long Island City to 5-1.
The teams are out to raise these records in their next games.
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Long Island City was once famous largely for the Pepsi-Cola sign that dominates its waterfront. But the area has changed radically in the last six years. Rental construction here has been the most energetic in the country, and those new homes have lured a hefty number of young professionals and families to a locale they might once have shunned. Here, (more than) a few reasons to consider joining them.
LUXURY LIVING
Three new towers at Jackson Park (28-30 Jackson Ave., jacksonparklic.com), which recently began accepting tenants for move-in by end of year, have added more than 1,800 new luxury rentals to the area. With stunning views across three boroughs, the upscale complex is anchored by a 1.6-acre private park, as well as a clubhouse crammed with amenities, including analfrescopool.
BEST EATERIES
M. Wells Steakhouse is a former auto-body shop converted into a funky chophouse.
Pioneering Canadian restaurateurs Hugue Dufour and his wife, Sarah Obraitis, have managed to make the stuy chophouse cool with M. Wells Steakhouse (43-15 Crescent St., 718.786.9060, magasinwells.com), situated inside a converted auto-body shop. The high-end meat-centric menu changes weekly.
Two years ago, Casa Enrique (5-48 49th Ave., 347.448.6040, henrinyc.com), focusing on the food of chef Cosme Aguilar’s native Chiapas, Mexico, became the rst Queens restaurant to snag a Michelin star. Try the cochinito Chiapaneco roasted pork ribs with guajillo chilies. The chef-owner of Mu Ramen (1209 Jackson Ave., 917.868.8903, ramennyc.wixsite.com/popup), Joshua Smookler, has an eclectic backstory: the Per Se alum was born in Korea but raised as an Orthodox Jew in New York. The best place to enjoy his rich, Japanese-style ramen—like the Mu ramen, with an oxtail and bone marrow stock—is at the communal table here.
The brainchild of the late cocktail maestro Sasha Petraske, the almost decadeold speakeasy Dutch Kills (27-24 Jackson Ave., 718.383.2724, dutchkillsbar.com) is named after an old hamlet that once stood here. Duck into the cozy, old-school interior and order a Manhattan in Queens.
FASHION STATEMENT
Queens entrepreneur Mark Garcia opened the witty streetwear boutique Long Island City Kleaners (45-03 Broadway, 718.606.0540, licknyc.com), with its old-school laundromat façade and decorative T-shirts hanging in plastic dry-cleaner bags. Alongside deadstock streetwear and sneakers, the store hosts art shows and offers graphic-design services.
HOTELS
Paper Factory’s guest rooms feature unique art and steampunk décor.
Two new hotels are vying for primacy in the ’hood. The convertedPaper Factory Hotel (37-06 36th St.,718.392.7200, paperfactoryhotel.com) channels its industrial history with wrought iron-heavy, steampunk-inspired décor and touches like British phone booths in the lobby. The newly built rival Boro Hotel (38-28 27th St., 718.433.1375, borohotel.com) boasts killer views from its balconies and rooftop bar/patio.
ARTS OUTDOORS
The Kaufman Arts District in Astoria.
There are so many creative hubs here that one corner of Long Island City has been ocially designated theKaufman Arts District (kaufmanartsdistrict.com). Nearby, there’s the new Museum of the Moving Image (36-01 35th Ave., 718.777.6888, movingimage.us), with its nostalgia-soaked stock of Star Warsartifacts, and, of course, the always-impressive MoMA PS1 (22-25 Jackson Ave., 718.784.2084, momaps1.org).
Will Long Island City become home to Amazon’s second headquarters?
The city Economic Development Corp. thinks it could, and neighborhood leaders are backing the idea.
“I think it’s great news for Queens overall,” Pedro Gomez, president of the Court Square Civic Association, said in a telephone interview last Thursday. “The opportunity for work in the borough is a good one for the people of Long Island City and even beyond our neighborhood.”
The business district in the Queens community was named one of four possible locations to host Amazon’s HQ2 project in the EDC’s bid, submitted to the online giant Oct. 18, one day before the deadline. Midtown West, Brooklyn Tech Triangle and Lower Manhattan were named as three other spots the Seattle-based company could set up shop, according to the agency. Those business districts, and LIC, have the appropriate commercial space and are close to public transit, highways and airports, it said.
Amazon’s second HQ is expected to create 50,000 “good-paying jobs” and $5 billion in investments for the winning city.
New York is competing against Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Buffalo, Atlanta and dozens more in the bidding process — the company is expected to pick a location next year.
“The brightest minds and innovators want to live in New York,” Mayor de Blasio said in a letter to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. “The people who live and come here experience a quality of life unlike anywhere else, from our incomparable public spaces and cultural institutions to our dynamic neighborhoods.”
But on the same day as the city submitted its bid, de Blasio told people at a Brooklyn town hall not to buy items off websites like Amazon if “you love your local neighborhood stores — your bakeries, your cafÈs, your clothing stores, all these things — then you need to spend your money there and not at Starbucks and not at other alternative places.”
The EDC, in its application, called Long Island City, “a creative, mixed-use neighborhood with a rich legacy as the city’s industrial innovation center” that “sits at the nexus of multiple local and regional transportation networks …”
Gomez said public transit — specifically the subway system — is something that will have to be improved if Queens gets picked.
“The system is getting overburdened,” he said. “Transportation as a whole is going to be burdened by this … it’s definitely something that needs to be looked at.”
A specific site is not proposed in the submission, but the city says LIC has “over 13 million square feet of first-class real estate, at price points that compare favorably with commercial centers across the five boroughs.”
In a letter signed by elected officials from all five boroughs, the city boasts of its accessibility, affordability, infrastructure and sustainability.
“No city embodies the American traditions of innovation and creativity quite like New York City,” the letter states. “From Broadway, the Bronx Zoo and the Brooklyn Bridge, to Citi Field and the shores of Staten Island, New York City is a place where history is made every day.”
The missive was signed by LIC elected officials, including state Sen. Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria), Assemblywoman Cathy Nolan (D-Long Island City), Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn) and Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside), along with Queens Borough President Melinda Katz.
“I am excited to see the New York City Economic Development Corporation recognize in their proposal what thousands of New Yorkers have been recognizing for years now: that Long Island City and Western Queens as a whole are among New York City’s most dynamic and innovative neighborhoods,” Van Bramer said in an emailed statement. “I am an enthusiastic supporter of the proposal, and of any plan to bring good paying jobs to my district. I think it is clear that Amazon HQ2 would be an ideal fit for Long Island City and for the entire borough of Queens. I look forward to working with the Economic Development Corporation in the months to come to support Long Island City’s proposal.”
Gomez, though supportive of the project overall, hopes the city “takes the need of residents and also the needs of a company like Amazon into consideration.”
The Governor’s Office is backing four submissions made throughout the state — including New York City’s — and promised Amazon unspecified “tax credits tied to potential job creation.”
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Long Island City’s Paper Factory Hotel has teamed up with House of Yes and ZERO to develop a new level of Halloween experience called City of Gods.
By Tammy Scileppi
TimesLedger Newspapers
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A Halloween experience like no other is coming to Long Island City this weekend. Think of it as a surreal, sometimes scary, sensuous adventure of endless possibility, filled with unexpected surprises and exotic entertainment.
You’ll feel as if you’ve been transported into an alternate reality, ruled by supernatural elements. And after you and other partygoers let loose in the rapture of dance, you can feast on a banquet of decadent delights.
When you enter this City of Gods, you’ll find yourself in a maze of temples and altars, shrines and sanctuaries for your play and pleasure.
Few are aware of Halloween’s ancient Celtic roots in the Samhain (Samain) festival. In Celtic Ireland, about 2,000 years ago, Samhain took place between the lighter half — summer — and the darker half — winter — when the gap between this world and the “Otherworld” was at its gauziest, allowing spirits to pass through.
To ward off toxic spirits, folks wore costumes and masks to disguise themselves as bad spirits to avoid harm. Bonfires and food played a large part in the festivities.
If you were an ancient Celt, you would’ve believed in that “Otherworld,” in which many gods and goddesses dwelled. It was thought to be a place of joy, where feasts were always happening. This Otherworld wasn’t a heaven, nor was it a reward for doing something good on earth. The Celts believed that everyone entered this realm when they died.
You, the living — perhaps dressed as the undead in honor of modern-day Halloween — can experience what the City of Gods’ “Otherworld” looked like, during this spectacular, first-ever event of its kind in New York.
You will discover mysteries around every corner at The Paper Factory Hotel, located at 37-06 26th St. in Long Island City, where the 24-hour extravaganza — beginning at 9 p.m. Saturday and running through 9 p.m. Sunday — will be held.
Designed as a home away from home for artists and musicians alike, the modern-industrial boutique hotel has teamed up with House of Yes and ZERO to develop the concept.
“This collaboration came about through my passion and dedication to the artist and music communities. This is not a new concept but the biggest one yet and the next big event will be the New Year’s Eve celebration,” said Gal Sela, the hotel’s owner.
Described as “a grand convergence of pantheistic power, a gathering of grotesque opulence and eternal extravagance,” City of Gods will feature multiple indoor and outdoor stages spread throughout the hotel’s many floors, and organizers welcome you to celebrate all deities, demigods and demons, gods and goddesses, creatures of creation and those devoted to hedonism beyond the human realm.
Brooklyn promoters ZERO organize large-scale themed events with high production values and spacious venues.
Dedicated to entertainment and experience design, House of Yes specializes in interactive theatrics, aerial circus spectacles, innovative nightlife and exemplary service. Their in-house creative team has years of experience bringing concepts to completion multiple times a week, producing unique evenings with a fusion of themes, food, design, music, performance and audience interaction.
Though organizers are not revealing performers’ names, they’re promising a musical and artistic line-up of acts by over 40 international artists, all weekend long.
As you explore the city’s spaces, you and other partygoers will be entertained by aerialists, a “chamber of blood,” seductive shrines, altars, as well as staged sacrifices, offerings and ritual performances.
And when you first enter, you’ll hear a haunting mystery intro by a mystery artist.
With immersive experiences, local artists on display, a menu prepared by the hotel’s famed Lilly Valley restaurant, offering sumptuous spooky-licious morsels, this will surely be a Halloween to remember.
But you can’t be part of that strange dimension unless you morph into something weird, fabulous, and/or funky. Costumes are required for entry.
City of Gods will be open on Sunday, all day, for sunrise chasers and daytime revelers.
On Sunday, organizers are offering you playa vibes and music from their favorite camps, all day long. Enjoy yoga, sound healing, fresh fruit, and more. Brunch will be available for purchase.
To the ancient Celt, the world was a magical, unpredictable place, presided over by supernatural elements and unseen forces. And the gods and goddesses of pre-Christian Celtic peoples were a big part of nature, holiday rituals, and everyday life.
While the ancient Celts never knew when they might be in the presence of a deity or nature spirit, they approached tasks with a reverence and ritual born of the need to pacify local gods, and to avoid being captured by faeries. Halloween revelers entering the City of Gods, may find that resident deities are usually quite friendly, and getting captured by mystical beings could be lots of fun.
While Saturday tickets are already sold out, you can still get tickets for Sunday for $50. If you have a Saturday ticket, it is valid through Sunday as well, as that’s a 24-hour ticket.
Service packages and room reservations at The Paper Factory Hotel are available upon request. Please inquire at cityofgods@houseofyes.org.
“I’ve been baking since I was a little kid because dad and grandmother and dad were big on baking,” she said. “We never had Oreos. They made homemade cookies. I don’t remember not baking or not having that smell in that house.”
Though her background is in art administration and art therapy, a few years ago she took a sabbatical and worked with her sister who has 15 years of experience in baking and cake decorating. The experience was enough to make her switch careers.
Pink Canary Desserts, located at 13-11 Jackson Ave., started as a cupcake shop before Stack officially took over and turned it into a custom cake shop. She, along with two other employees, make about 20 cakes a week.
Photos by Amy Stack
Stack makes everything in house and from scratch, which is not common for cake shops. Customers bring her photos for inspiration and Stack works on making their visions a reality.
“It becomes more personal for people to come in and smell stuff baking,” she said. “They get to come in and sample stuff or be a part of the start to finish process.”
Stack works on a range of products from birthday cakes to sweets for MoMA PS1’s fundraising events. Since her background is in fine arts, she enjoys creating sculptures and working on other intricate projects.
“I like a good challenge,” she said.
One of the more interesting cake’s she has worked on include replicating a model of an eye for an optometrist.
In addition to custom cakes, Pink Canary also serves cookies, pies, bars and can make custom dessert tables for all events. The shop also has a cafe where customers can pick up coffee or tea. Customers can also rent out the space for special events.
Stack said she enjoys being located along Jackson Avenue and that the area has grown to include more dessert and ice cream shops.
“Jackson Avenue is changing in the last three years and it’s going to change even more with all these residential [buildings] going in so it’s nice to be a part of a community,” she said.
Far Rockaway and Long Island City (5-1) meet up on Saturday this week after opposite experiences in their previous matchups. Far Rockaway finished a few points shy of KIPP NYC College Prep two weeks ago, taking a 29 – 25 hit to the loss column. The defeat dropped Far Rockaway’s record to 4-2. Meanwhile, Long Island City had all the answers against Automotive two weeks ago, winning 48 – 22.
The win last game was familiar territory for Long Island City, who now has four in a row. Far Rockaway will be hoping to put an end Long Island City’s repeated success when the two teams battle it out this Saturday at 12:00 PM.
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New York City Restaurants Celebrated for Great Food, Good Value in 2018 MICHELIN Guide (PRNewsfoto/Michelin)
Oct. 24, by Nathaly Pesantez
Michelin has released its picks for the 2018 Bib Gourmand award, a recognition designated to 127 restaurants this year where diners can eat quality food for a good value.
The restaurants, revealed on Oct. 23, include 15 in Queens, spanning neighborhoods like Long Island City, Astoria, Woodside, Elmhurst, Forest Hills, and Flushing.
Arharn Thai and the Greek Gregory’s 26 Corner Taverna, straddling the Long Island City/Astoria border, returned to the list this year, along with HinoMaru Ramen. Long Island City’s John Brown Smokehouse and Mu Ramen were also newly awarded the Bib Gourmand.
Three Elmhurst restaurants also returned to the list—the Thai Paet Rio, Sweet Yummy House serving Chinese food, and Uncle Zhou, known for its Henanese cuisine.
Flushing saw four restaurants return to the list, with one new restaurant added. the Korean Tong Sam Gyup Goo Yi, Hunan Kitchen, Hunan House, and Hahm Ji Back, the Korean barbecue restaurant, were all awarded once more. Dumpling Galaxy, which opened in 2014, was a new inductee to the list.
Casa Del Chef, the New American bistro in Woodside, received the Bib Gourmand designation once more, the only restaurant in the neighborhood. In Forest Hills, the Italian Il Poeta received the honor once more.
The Bib Gourmand awards are given out each year, and are handed to restaurants where diners can enjoy two courses and a glass of wine or dessert for $40 or less.
“Michelin inspectors have been eating their way around New York’s five boroughs for more than 13 years and every year they are inspired by the inventiveness and imagination of the city’s chefs,” said Michael Ellis, international director of the Michelin Guide, in a statement. “From Flushing to the Bronx, the Bib Gourmand restaurants represent 127 establishments where diners can enjoy quality ingredients, quality cooking and fair prices.”
The 2018 list of Michelin-starred restaurants for New York City will be released on Oct. 30.
The building at 10-38 47th Road as it looks now, nearly nine months after the fire. View Full Caption
DNAinfo/Jeanmarie Evelly
HUNTERS POINT — It’s been nine months since a fire forced Claire Munday from the apartment she’s called home for the past 20 years.
The artist and longtime Long Island City resident has been crashing with various friends since the Jan. 25 blaze in her building at 10-38 47th Road, where the door remains padlocked, the stoop blocked by scaffolding and two of the windows boarded up with plywood.
“I’m using the graciousness of longtime friends in our neighborhood to reside and store my things and all of that,” she explained. “It has been so stressful being moved from place to place.”
Munday is one of three tenants displaced by the fire who are currently battling with the property manager, Bethel Management Inc., and landlord Pui Yan Ho to get the building fixed so they can move back in.
They say the landlord is deliberately delaying repairs on their fire- and water-damaged units in an attempt to get them to vacate the rent-stabilized apartments.
“They want us out, for sure,” said Christian Neri, who lived in the building with his father before they were forced out by the blaze, which was caused by an electrical issue and ruled accidental, according to the FDNY.
“They’re making promises, but in reality they’re stalling for us to get desperate and move out.”
The tenants are working with lawyers from Legal Services NYC, which filed a housing court proceeding on their behalf in July against the landlord and management company in an effort to force the owner to address the property’s housing violations.
On July 24, a judge ordered the owners to make fixes at the property, giving them deadlines of either 24 hours, 30 days or 90 days to make the repairs, depending on the level of the violation, according to Jennifer Fernandez, one of the lawyers with Queens Legal Services who’s handling the case.
But she said little progress appears to have been made.
“The tenants don’t see any work being done,” Fernandez said, adding that residents have given different reasons for the delays, including problems with the insurance company and “asbestos issues.”
In a statement emailed to DNAinfo, Bethel Management denied creating any unnecessary delays.
“All the allegations are false which have no basis in fact, the landlord is undertaking work that is legally required as expeditiously as possible,” the statement said.
The company claims that 19 of the 20 open HPD violations “are false allegations made by the tenants” that “will all be removed upon the completion of the work.”
There are currently three alteration permits active at the property — two issued in May and another in August — for renovations in the cellar, on each floor of the building and for plumbing work, Department of Building records show.
But Neri, who works a few blocks from his old apartment, said he passes the property often and has not personally seen construction workers there since July.
“I’m there every single day, and I haven’t seen any progress at all,” he said.
Both Neri and Munday say management has offered a deal for them to move out. An email sent by Bethel to tenants on March 16 that was shared with DNAinfo stated that the building owner was working “diligently” to fix the building, but also gave residents the option to leave.
“If you have any interest at all in relinquishing any rights you may have in returning to the subject building once rebuilt in exchange for appropriate and reasonable consideration, we would be happy to engage in such a discussion with you. Please let us know,” the email said.
In the months since the fire, Neri has been staying with his mother in Connecticut — commuting to his job in New York each day — while his father has been staying with a family member.
“Its been very hard, financially and emotionally,” he said.
Munday said she’s gotten little to no information from the landlord in recent months, and feels “like they completely just want us to go away.”
“I have a lease, I’ve paid my rent on time every month for 20 years, and expect that they hold up their end of the bargain,” she said, saying the case is about more than just this one building.
“A disaster can happen to anyone,” she said. “We just need to make sure that the right laws are in place to help the people who experience them.”
New York City Restaurants Celebrated for Great Food, Good Value in 2018 MICHELIN Guide (PRNewsfoto/Michelin)
Oct. 24, by Nathaly Pesantez
Michelin has released its picks for the 2018 Bib Gourmand award, a recognition designated to 127 restaurants this year where diners can eat quality food for a good value.
The restaurants, revealed on Oct. 23, include 15 in Queens, spanning neighborhoods like Long Island City, Astoria, Woodside, Elmhurst, Forest Hills, and Flushing.
Arharn Thai and the Greek Gregory’s 26 Corner Taverna, straddling the Long Island City/Astoria border, returned to the list this year, along with HinoMaru Ramen. Long Island City’s John Brown Smokehouse and Mu Ramen were also newly awarded the Bib Gourmand.
Three Elmhurst restaurants also returned to the list—the Thai Paet Rio, Sweet Yummy House serving Chinese food, and Uncle Zhou, known for its Henanese cuisine.
Flushing saw four restaurants return to the list, with one new restaurant added. the Korean Tong Sam Gyup Goo Yi, Hunan Kitchen, Hunan House, and Hahm Ji Back, the Korean barbecue restaurant, were all awarded once more. Dumpling Galaxy, which opened in 2014, was a new inductee to the list.
Casa Del Chef, the New American bistro in Woodside, received the Bib Gourmand designation once more, the only restaurant in the neighborhood. In Forest Hills, the Italian Il Poeta received the honor once more.
The Bib Gourmand awards are given out each year, and are handed to restaurants where diners can enjoy two courses and a glass of wine or dessert for $40 or less.
“Michelin inspectors have been eating their way around New York’s five boroughs for more than 13 years and every year they are inspired by the inventiveness and imagination of the city’s chefs,” said Michael Ellis, international director of the Michelin Guide, in a statement. “From Flushing to the Bronx, the Bib Gourmand restaurants represent 127 establishments where diners can enjoy quality ingredients, quality cooking and fair prices.”
The 2018 list of Michelin-starred restaurants for New York City will be released on Oct. 30.
Hunters Point South in Long Island City, the largest affordable housing unit to be built in New York City since the 1970s, will get a major redesign.
The second phase of construction, which will include almost 1,200 units, was originally spread out into two towers and another building perched in between. But a rail tunnel owned by Amtrak underneath the site, in addition to a power line owned by the New York Power Authority, caused designers to go back to the drawing board, according to Crain’s.
TF Cornerstone and architects ODA Architecture decided to construct several apartments on a concrete slab above the rail tunnel so that Amtrak could still gain access to the structure. But the New York Power Authority did not give developers permission to move forward with that plan.
Previous design
Now, the two residential towers will stand 55 and 44 stories instead of 41 and 35 stories. Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that 60 percent of the 5,000 units constructed as part of the Hunters Point South project would be considered affordable to low- and middle-income families. Out of the 1,200 units constructed as part of this phase, 800 units will be affordable.
The second phase will also include a $60 million elementary school at 57th Avenue and Center Boulevard, which is set to be completed by 2020.
According to a spokesperson for ODA Architecture, the space between the two buildings will host a residential courtyard, the school yard and entrance, a retail pavilion with outdoor seating and a public plaza.
TF Cornerstone will begin constructing the housing units in 2018.
