Saturday, July 6, 2024
Tenants displaced by apartment building fire gets temporary housing from the landlord they are suing
A breakthrough was reached just days after tenants of a Sunnyside apartment complex filed a lawsuit against their building’s landlord stemming from their displacement following a 5-alarm fire in December.
Queens Borough President Donovan Richards and A&E Real Estate, the landlord, announced a plan Monday to provide 22 tenants of 43-09 47th Ave. who were forced out of their apartments on Dec. 20 due to fire damage with an additional round of six-month temporary housing agreements.
After the fire, which was determined to have been caused by a contractor using an unregulated blowtorch, A&E offered the tenants the option of signing a temporary relocation license agreement for “up to six months if needed,” allowing them to rent apartments at other A&E properties at the same monthly rate they had paid at their Sunnyside building. Those original agreements were set to expire on Tuesday, July 2.
“Through no fault of their own, our neighbors tragically lost their homes and their possessions in the heart of the holiday season,” Richards said. “I’m thankful to A&E Real Estate for its partnership and for its support of these families by offering additional temporary lease agreements. Going forward my office will work tirelessly with our partners in city government to ensure those displaced by the fire have continuous access to stable and affordable housing.”
A spokesperson for A&E Real Estate said the agreement was with 22 households that are still in A&E temporary housing as of Monday.
“Borough President Richards picked up the phone and asked how we could work together to do more for residents. Working through the weekend, we found a path forward that will enable us to offer temporary housing for residents affected by the fire for up to six months more,” the spokesperson said. “While we know this has been challenging, we have worked hard at every step to go above and beyond to give residents some security and breathing room to plan for the future.”
The additional temporary lease agreements will run through Jan. 15, 2025, giving impacted families another six months to secure more permanent housing.
“Ultimately, it’s the insurance settlement that will compensate all parties for their losses in the fire,” the A&E spokesperson said. “We appreciate Borough President Richards’ partnership in finding an approach that we can sustain for several months more.”
The lawsuit filed on behalf of 200 tenants seeks $10 million in damages for gross negligence in failing to properly supervise their contractors and/or employees. Brett Gallaway, the tenants’ attorney from the law firm of McLaughlin and Stern, emphasized the severity of the situation.
“The reckless actions of A&E have caused irreparable harm to these families,” Gallaway said. “This lawsuit seeks to hold them accountable for the devastation they have caused and their continued failure to provide adequate support and compensation to the displaced tenants.”
Considering the stupidity of the developer's contractor, A & E should just let those tenants have those apartments they are only temporarily staying in. Wonder what they look like and I wonder if they are building new "affordable housing" in this town.
Friday, July 5, 2024
Man murders younger half-brother and stabs parents, then gets gunned down by NYPD at "affordable" housing tower
The 4th of July holiday became a nightmare in Queens on Thursday afternoon after a man stabbed a child to death and police fatally shot the knife-wielding suspect in a domestic dispute, police brass said.
According to NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell, cops from the 103rd Precinct rushed to a luxury apartment building at around 5:20 p.m. in the Jamaica section of the borough, located at 147-25 94th Ave after several residents called police for help.
“A female came out of this building pleading for help. She ran down to the corner to MTA police to get help and simultaneously the security desk called 911 for assistance,” Chief Chell said. “Members of the 103 Precinct responded in three minutes.”
Upon arrival at the 5th floor apartment, authorities said, cops were confronted with a man, in his 20’s, holding a knife to his 43-year-old father’s neck. Inside that same apartment a 29-year-old woman had been wounded and an 8-year-old boy had been stabbed to death, all in the same apartment as an 8-month-old-baby. Chief Chell told reporters that cops demanded the man drop the weapon, but he refused, resulting in the officers shooting the suspect. The baby was unharmed.
Police say the perpetrator was rushed to a hospital; sources close to the investigation report that he later died.
Chief Chell said the 8-year-old and his killer were stepbrothers, however, the ultimate reason for the holiday rampage remains under investigation.
This is not a luxury tower per se, it's one of those "affordable housing" towers from the 421a program to set aside 20%-25% of units under market rate (it's the one with the now leasing sign)
Besides the tragic domestic slaughter, this is bad all around for the "city of yes" and what may be another indictment of the city's continuing lack of mental health services.
Thursday, July 4, 2024
Home of the free
New York City officials are dramatically expanding a controversial program that gives debit cards pre-loaded with cash to migrant families staying in taxpayer-funded hotels across the city.
The Adams administration says another round of debit cards is expected to be distributed to more than 7,300 migrants over the next six months, costing the city about $2.6 million. The move represents a major expansion of a pilot program that began earlier this year that doled out cards to about 3,000 migrants.
New York City Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Anne Williams-Isom says the program allows newly arriving families the ability to “make choices for themselves and their children” by using debit cards.
“They can buy from local shops, support small businesses, and manage their own resources,” she said in a statement. “When we empower people, we help them achieve self-sufficiency and access the American Dream.”
Mayor Eric Adams has defended the program as a “cost savings measure” that “temporarily” replaces New York City’s existing system of providing non-perishable food boxes to migrant families staying in hotels and other city-funded shelters.
The program is a partnership between the Adams administration and the company Mobility Capital Finance, which says the plan will help migrants with food, baby supplies and other necessities as they await authorization to work from the federal government.
Under the program, a four-person family with children under five can receive up to $350 per week, or about $18,200 a year, according to published news reports.
Critics, including New York Council member Joseph Borelli, have argued that the debit cards are “fundamentally unfair” to the city’s working poor, who don’t receive similar benefits from the city.
Borelli and other Republicans argue that the city’s right to shelter law, which requires it to provide housing, food and other necessities — coupled with the city’s ‘sanctuary’ policy cooperation with immigration crackdowns — are drawing a record number of migrants to the city.
Great, now these families can continue selling candy and deliver food for multiple apps. Ain't that America?
Happy 248 USA
The Sutter Ave. Of Americas. Have a great holiday and be careful with those fireworks.
