Former Belle Harbor nursing home is hazardous to health

From CBS 2:

“The owners of the Chai Nursing Home didn’t do a thing to fix it, clean it up, board it up,” Palmiero said.

The owner of the property refused to be interviewed on camera, but told CBS2 that he bought the property 2 years ago and that it is safely secured.

A CBS2 news team found a door wide open for someone to walk right in.

The Palmieros shared pictures they took of people climbing on the roof and fences to get inside, and racoons and opossums who have made the building their home.

According to the Department of Buildings website, the property has dozens fo active violations including one for failing to secure the building walls, making it a hazard to the public.

The DOB said twelve of the violations are safety violations. Mrs. Palmiero who suffers from blood cancer said she feels her health is at risk.

There's a house under there somewhere

From the Queens Chronicle:

An Auburndale house that has practically been engulfed by overgrown foliage has became a thorn in the side of neighbors on Utopia Parkway.

Built in 1925, the two-level residence at 32-51 Utopia Pkwy. was converted to two apartments about 20 years ago. Since then, the owner, Michael C. Lee, has received citations for the overgrown conditions and trash in the front yard as well as rats on the property.

Neighbors say they don’t think anyone lives there, but that the property is cleaned up once or twice a year, the owner is believed to pay the fines and nothing changes. Despite calls to area elected officials and 311, raccoons, opossums and rats are spotted regularly on the grounds, which quickly returns to the neglected condition.

According to Community Board 11 District Manager Susan Seinfeld, there have been numerous complaints about the Utopia house. In the past, the Health and Sanitation departments have been called in to eliminate the rats and clean the grounds.

Skunked in Midville

From the Queens Courier:

Residents who live along the train tracks in Middle Village have long complained of noise and odors emanating from the rails, though now locals say they’ve been infested with a new disturbance.

Over the past year, those who reside near the railroad tracks say they have experienced an increase in wildlife roaming city streets.

“Come 3 o’clock, 4 o’clock in the morning, you see what’s running around the neighborhood,” said Maspeth resident Tony Nunziato of the mostly nocturnal animals. “You’ll have every kind of animal down there. A lot of possum, skunks, rodents; it’s just a breeding ground.”

The influx of vermin have congregated near the tracks because of a lack of oversight by CSX, the company that runs the rails, residents said, leading to overgrown brush and litter from rail cars carrying construction debris, which they say is not securely sealed.

As of press time, CSX did not respond for comment.

Walk on the wide side in Woodhaven

From Lost in the Ozone:

I kept my camera at the ready while I smoked another cigarette, and much to my surprise up through the grating came a timid, docile looking opossum. He stood there long enough to let me take a couple of photos and then down the hole he went again.

Critters invade abandoned home

From the Times Ledger:

Neighbors living near a vacant Oakland Gardens home said they believe the site has been attracting unwanted critters into their community, including a skunk that has sprayed several neighborhood pets.

The home, at 218-51 Hartland Ave. in Oakland Gardens, has been sitting empty for a number of years following the death of the owner, neighbors said. A car with four flat tires in the driveway has a 2001 inspection sticker in the window, a porch in the back of the property is filled with musty furniture that is stacked in piles and a side door has a broken-out window.

Residents living along the street and behind the vacant property said they were fed up with animals scampering to and from the home during the past few years, including raccoons, rats, possums and a skunk.