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| Sadef Ali Kully |
A fire destroyed parts of the long-closed Merrick Flea Market at Merrick Boulevard in Laurelton last week and the property manager from BP Real Estate Investors boarded up the windows for safety.
But residents and community leaders gathered Monday with Councilman Donovan Richards (D-Laurelton), the FDNY and the city Department of Health to voice their concerns about a homeless man who has been squatting on and off for the last two years on the private property, the illegally parked cars for sale, dumped furniture and construction trash.
“It has become a dumping site, but more than that it has become a safety hazard, a nuisance and a health issue,” Dwight Johnson, president of the Federated Blocks of Laurelton, said. “It needs to be completely sealed off.”
The fire occurred Aug. 25, according to the FDNY, and there were no victims.
The squatter did not mind the city FDNY, the Council member or the DOH visiting the property where he has set up his home. He threw his sunglasses on and sat on a chair while blasting a R&B music from his radio. He had created a makeshift living room with an old red leather couch and bedroom with a dresser out of other people’s trash.
6 comments:
Just waiting for the next homeless shelter to be completed.
Channeling Fred Sanford?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WqazleR3FE
Again I will use the same example as always. Could you imagine this taking place in white Forest Hills, home of Queens Borough President Melinda Katz. Of course not. Yet in Laurelton, mostly a community of color and a pretty much middle class community, a squatter has set up residence at a closed down flea market and was only revealed after a fire recently took place. Plus the fact that is has been a dumping ground for about two years.
BUT how did this even happen and get to this point and why has pretty much nothing been done. And I am not only taking about the squatter but the fact that the property was used as the typical Jamaica dumping ground and cars were illegally placed there.
I love how this city loves to talk about diversity and how everyone should be treated fairly, but the actions by this city and especially Queens shows a totally opposite approach when it comes to quality of life issues in communities of color. Again, they tend to be ignored as yet another in a long line of cases prove.
This makes me proud to live in Queens County.
Most of the squatters are males and you can see there is a lot of them come recycle day. They are all pushing shopping carts filled with bottles and recycle materials. Laurelton is not what it is cracked up to be.
This flea market gives a bad name to the REAL Merrick that's in Nassau County.
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