City of Yes, Drop Dead

 

Queens Chronicle

A family feud over a notable property in Hollis has escalated into a community issue over protecting historical homes in Southeast Queens.

Marie Ashley, who was once the resident at the old Ketcham Farmhouse, a historical home that is at least 180 years old, was evicted from the residence, located at 190-21 Hollis Ave. on Wednesday.

Ashley told the Chronicle that when her parents retired in the 1990s she took responsibility for a home that her mother bought with her eldest sibling and has paid for everything from the mortgage to property taxes to landscaping, maintenance and repairs.

Since living in the home Ashley said she has helped out relatives and friends and friends of friends who faced homelessness and offered them a room at the historical house that her older sister Grace would later also assume responsibility for.

For the past few years she has been trying to landmark the property with its Italianate exterior, which is believed to be one of the two first homes to be built in Hollis. She held a rally to draw awareness about the property on Monday.

The NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission said that the David and Mary Oakley Ketcham House may merit consideration as an individual city landmark in a letter dated Oct. 2, 2023 to Ashley.

Despite her and her sister’s efforts, her family wants to demolish the home to build six two-family houses.

“You can’t replace this history,” said Ashley at the rally.

The Ketcham family was a prominent family in Queens that helped to develop much of the borough from the 17th to the 20th centuries, according to Ashley, who is also the head of the Hollis Preservation Association.

May Callahan Flores, the original “Gibson Girl” in artist Dana Gibson’s illustrations of the feminine ideal, and her husband, Frederic Flores, are believed to have also lived in the home as early as 1924, added Ashley, who believes the home may also have been a passage on the Underground Railroad.

Paul Graziano, a land preservation expert, said the house is the progenitor for the entire community.

“Architecturally, it is very important, historically it is very important,” said Graziano at the protest. “That it could be demolished tomorrow is extremely concerning.”

Community Board 12 also supports preserving the house, which Ashley says has brought business to the neighborhood via her efforts in working with location scouts who helped get the home featured in commercials, TV shows and movies.

“Community Board 12 ... absolutely supports the designation of the Ketcham Farmhouse,” Graziano said in a letter sent to LPC. “In the 60-year history of the commission, we have 18 individual landmarks and one historic district — Addisleigh Park.”

Members of the Queens County Farm Museum and the Bayside Historical Society were also at the rally.

Ashley told the Chronicle that a review of her and her sister’s financials shows they invested about $1.8 million in the home.

Ashley said she has been pushed out of the home because a different older brother and her father, who obtained a majority share in the house in the 2010s, took her to landlord tenant court over the property due to their desire to make money off it.

She said a developer, which created an LLC with her family members, would create the six two-family homes in exchange for one of the homes later being given to the developer.

Graziano said that under the City of Yes housing directive, the property could end up being a building for about 20 housing units because of the huge lot size and its falling within a transit-oriented development zone.

Ashley said she was not a tenant in the home, that her mother gave her power of attorney for any transactions regarding the home before passing in 2021 and she didn’t learn about the LLC until some time after the funeral when the family was still grieving.

Graziano said he looked into the property records of the home and it appears that Ashley’s father also refinanced the home about three times. He could not be reached.

Ashley said she and her sister were unaware of the refinancing and received no money from it.

 

Preservation protest for the Ketcham House

 

WHO:            Civic and preservation groups, members of Community Board 12, concerned individuals A press conference to explain efforts to preserve the Ketcham House of Hollis, Queens 

WHERE:      190-21 Hollis Avenue, Hollis, Queens 

WHEN:         Monday, August 4, 11am 190-21 Hollis Avenue AKA the Ketcham Farmhouse is one of the most significant remaining mid-19th century farmhouses still standing in New York City. 

The building, which is at least 180 years old, is in excellent condition, with much of its original vernacular Italianate exterior details intact.

The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission has already determined that “the David & Mary Oakley Ketcham House may merit consideration as an individual New York City Landmark” as per correspondence dated October 2, 2023

This is due to both the extant architectural expression of the exterior of the building and its siting in the landscape; and the direct connection to David Ketcham (also spelled Ketchum) and the Ketcham family, one of the most important in the development and governance of Queens County from the 17th to 20th centuries, who purchased the building and farm in 1849. 

As early as 1924, the original “Gibson Girl” May Callahan Flores and her husband, Frederic Flores, a well-known local builder who constructed several houses with his brother Charles in what is now the Douglaston Historic District, may have lived in the Ketcham Farmhouse; by 1933, they had definitively purchased it and lived their until her death in 1953. The property did not change hands again until 1967.

 Since Marie and Grace Ann Ashley’s tenure at the Ketcham Farmhouse began in 1991, their efforts to save and restore the building and its grounds have been impressive, resulting in the interest shown by the Landmarks Preservation Commission as previously stated. The designation of the Ketcham Farmhouse as a local individual landmark is crucial to the interpretation of Hollis, New York from its inception to the present day. 

It is – literally – one of the most important historic buildings if not the most important historic building still standing and, if demolished, would result in a permanent loss to the citizens of Hollis, Jamaica, Queens County and New York City. More history here:theketchamhouse.

This house just happens to be in right at the end of the zone of the Jamaica Neighborhood Plan rezoning that's currently in the early phase for approval for developing higher residential buildings. Or as I like to call it "The Jamaica Of Yes"-JQ LLC

Rogue parking company reimagines and colonizes the curbs

 

South ozone Park 152nd Ave from 129th street to 124th street all streets affected by this long-term parking lot company parking customers vehicles out side of their lots onto the street. 

 ARB parking lot located 128–20 152nd Avenue. park AC, which has since changed its name to Apex JFK parking. ARB parking lot was exposed by CBS News in June 2023 and February 2024 they are operating these lots without licenses however, even with the news exposing them. it still continues every time there is a holiday and during the summer months.

 And when these lots run out of room inside they flood the streets with customers vehicles they will even park them blocks away. They don’t care. if you look at there reviews on Google, you will see nothing but negativity on these two parking lots who are both affiliated with one another 

 Another problem with these parking lot companies they speed through the streets here recklessly with their company van not even paying attention looking at their phones they blow stop signs and speed through a school zone.

 It seems to be falling on deaf ears, no matter who you complain to. Nothing is being done.

What happened to the DOT's curb enthusiasm and passion against parked vehicles? Or is that only in areas where the urbanism lobbyists and their owners and donors live?

Socialist beats sociopath to win NYC mayoral democrat primary

NY Post 

Dark-horse socialist candidate Zohran Mamdani staged a stunning upset Tuesday night by knocking off former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic mayoral primary.

“Tonight we made history,” Mamdani told supporters at his victory party after midnight. “In the words of Nelson Mandela, ‘It always seems impossible until it is done.’ My friends, we have done it. I will be your Democratic nominee for the mayor of New York City.”

The 33-year-old Queens assemblyman defied polls and expectations as he notched a likely insurmountable 7-point lead over Cuomo, the three-term governor who hoped to make a political comeback after resigning in disgrace in 2021.

“Tonight is his night. He deserved it, he won,” a seemingly shell-shocked Cuomo, 67, said as he conceded to Mamdani.

The first round of the ranked-choice voting contest had Mamdani ahead with 43.51% of votes, followed by Cuomo’s 36.42% and city Comptroller Brad Lander’s 11.31%, Board of Elections unofficial results show. Mamdani carried roughly 432,000 votes to Cuomo’s 362,000, the results show.

 

The state lawmaker didn’t crack 50% of votes, so the contest will still be decided July 1 once the other rounds of ranked-choice votes are calculated.

But the first-round totals still put the avowed democratic socialist within sight of becoming New York City’s next mayor.

Cuomo conceded he lost the primary as he addressed his campaign’s watch party — and signaled he may not run in the November general election on an independent line, as widely assumed.

“Tonight was not our night,” Cuomo said, as he praised Mamdani’s grassroots campaign, which mobilized young, far-left voters with catchy campaign promises and slogans focusing on affordability.

“It’s affordability, stupid,” quipped longtime New York City political operative Kevin McCabe, in a reference to Bill Clinton, about the issue that decided the race.

A win by Mamdani is bound to have sweeping impacts beyond the Big Apple and signal the rising power of the Democrats’ progressive wing, especially over aging party stalwarts such as Cuomo.

His near-insurmountable lead hints he could be replicating what his backer and fellow progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez did in 2018, as she ran as a charismatic outsider to topple entrenched Democrat Joe Crowley — only he did it across the whole city, a political veteran told The Post.

Cuomo could barely be seen actually on the campaign trail as he relied on his name recognition, backing of powerful unions and attacks against Mamdani’s thin legislative record and ample history of criticizing Israel.

The scandal-scarred ex-governor entered the race in March as the clear frontrunner, but saw his polling lead steadily chipped away by Mamdani, who waged a social media-friendly campaign heavy on proposed freebies — which he plans to pay for by hiking taxes on billionaires and businesses.

“He should’ve learned a lesson from the terrible, Rose Garden race that Joe Crowley ran against AOC. Like Crowley, Cuomo was arrogant and grossly underestimated his opponent,” said Democratic operative Ken Frydman.

A year after the slumlord fire, tenants and the building they once called home are still suffering

 

QNS

Eighteen months after a five-alarm fire gutted a Queens apartment building, dozens of displaced tenants remain locked out of their homes — and now, state lawmakers are proposing legislation to hold landlords accountable for prolonged repair delays across New York City.

The fire ignited just before noon on Dec. 20, 2023, at 43-09 47th Ave. in Sunnyside, as residents prepared for the holiday season. Investigators determined the blaze was caused by a contractor hired by building owner A&E Real Estate. The contractor was illegally using a blowtorch during construction work.

What unfolded in Sunnyside has become a symbol of a broader crisis. Across the five boroughs, tenants displaced by fires often wait months — or even years — to return home, as landlords delay essential repairs and face few consequences. The Sunnyside case has galvanized lawmakers to push for stricter enforcement and firm deadlines to accelerate recovery and protect tenants left in housing limbo.

The December 2023 inferno displaced approximately 250 residents, many of whom had lived in rent-stabilized units for years. More than half of the apartments in the six-story, 107-unit building were rent-stabilized or rent-controlled, including the home of Lauren Koenig, who had lived there for 13 years and paid $2,650 in monthly rent for her stabilized unit.

For Koenig, reentering the housing market after more than a decade in a regulated apartment has been financially and emotionally overwhelming.

“It was a perfect storm,” she said. “You’ve got the holidays, housing crisis, inflation.”

In the aftermath of the fire, A&E Real Estate offered displaced tenants six-month temporary relocation license agreements, allowing them to rent units in other A&E-owned buildings at the same rate they had paid in Sunnyside. Under mounting pressure from elected officials and community members, the company later extended the agreements twice — each time for an additional six months.

But tenant Lauren Koenig said most residents turned down the offers, noting that the available apartments were located far from their Sunnyside neighborhood — in the Bronx or deep into Queens — effectively uprooting them from the community they had long called home.

“Only about 25 people took the deal, because it’s a raw deal,” Koenig said. “I didn’t take it.”

Koenig said tenants had repeatedly asked A&E to offer alternate housing in its other Sunnyside properties, but the company was not responsive. As a result, she spent nearly a year without stable housing, relying on the generosity of friends and moving between apartments as she searched for something suitable in the area.

“I don’t have kids — I only have to take care of myself,” she said. “I can’t imagine the pain of trying to do this while caring for an elderly parent, or with a newborn, young children, or pets. I cannot imagine what others went through.”

Koenig eventually secured an apartment nearby, but it came at a steep cost: $3,100 per month — $500 more than her previous rent-stabilized unit — amounting to a $6,000 annual increase.

In response, an A&E spokesperson said the company had only a limited number of vacant units in Sunnyside and insisted it “did its best” to keep displaced residents in the neighborhood. While acknowledging the hardship tenants faced, the spokesperson called the situation “imperfect” and maintained that the company’s options were limited.

Melissa Orlando, a market-rate tenant who was displaced by the fire, said she immediately found another apartment in the area because she had a young son and didn’t want to “bounce around” from place to place. Furthermore, she was going from one market rate unit to another, so the price difference wasn’t vast. However, many tenants with rent stabilized and rent controlled units could not afford comparable apartments at the new price.

“Fortunately, I had the means to go and find a new place to live, but the rent-stabilized and rent-controlled tenants in that building are here, there and everywhere, scattered, all over the city,” Orlando said. “A lot of them have been in that building for very long time… and if you’re in something that was stabilized or rent-controlled and now to have to go out into the market, that’s a serious shock.”

On the day of the fire, Orlando heard sirens but smelled no smoke. She left her apartment only after checking the Citizen app, grabbing whatever essentials she could. At the time, she assumed she would be able to return home later that evening.

In the shock of watching the fire rip through the building, Orlando admitted thinking that she might be able to re-enter her apartment that evening.

In the days immediately following the fire, Orlando said A&E appeared responsive, setting up a temporary office across the street, distributing holiday gifts and meals to impacted families. But that initial cooperation quickly faded. After Christmas, Orlando said, A&E’s tone shifted — and interactions with tenants became increasingly tense.

“Every step of the way it’s been a fight with them,” she said.

Orlando also said the alternative accommodation offered by A&E was in “far-flung places” where she didn’t feel safe walking at night.

Nearly 18 months later, no repair work has begun on the building, despite repeated calls from tenants, elected officials, and city agencies. The city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development is now suing A&E to compel them to begin restoration.

 

 Sunnyside Post

NYC Council Member Julie Won has penned an open letter criticizing the owners of a Sunnyside apartment complex damaged by a five-alarm fire last December for allowing the area surrounding the site to become a “dumping ground” over the past several months.

Won addressed the letter to A&E Real Estate, the landlord of an apartment building at 43-09 47th Ave., severely damaged by fire on Dec. 20 last year.

She accused A&E of allowing litter, trash and human waste to build up around the perimeter of the building over the last few months, writing that she has personally seen Sunnyside residents wading through bottles filled with urine, bags filled with waste and other forms of trash.

Won described the situation as “an egregious health hazard and profoundly unsanitary” and added that the problem partly stems from security workers at the building having no access to port-a-potties or trash cans.

She cited NYC Admin. Code 16-118, which states that property owners and landlords are required to keep public areas near a building in a clean and sanitary condition, including sidewalks and the first 18 inches of road by the sidewalk.

“A&E has not adhered to this law, instead allowing the sidewalk under the scaffolding to go into disrepair and allow litter to accumulate even on the road outside the building,” Won said in the letter. “This presents unsanitary conditions and a possible fire hazard.”

A spokesperson for Won said the issue dates back to at least the start of the summer, stating that the Council Member has regularly sent Department of Sanitation and ACE cleaning teams to clean up the area.

However, the spokesperson said the current state of the building is encouraging people to dump trash and garbage underneath the scaffolding, meaning that the area quickly becomes litter-strewn after each cleaning.

Won has urged A&E to dedicate time and resources to keeping the public-facing areas of the building clean and free of litter, while she has also asked the real estate company to provide overnight port-a-potty access to security workers on a daily basis.

Won has requested a response from A&E by Oct. 15.

Candidate busted ripping down and discarding opponent's legally posted campaign material

Bro, if your campaign is going to do shit like this, you send a volunteer out to do it. This way if they get caught, you issue a statement apologizing and saying they have been spoken to and it won't happen again.
This dude also has been sucking up to a TransAlt group that wants to take the B13 away from Glendale, so watch out, District 30!

Not a surprise then that Bob Holden endorsed Phil Wong.