An eyesore home that Middle Village neighbors have been staring at for years has caught the attention of the Department of Buildings after a push by the Juniper Parks Civic Association.
The owner might be locked out after thousands of dollars of fines have garnered no response.
At 58-22 84th St., a white two-story home is known as “the horror house on the hill” because of the junk, trucks and rusted gates surrounding it.
Iron bars orange from rust cover the windows and doors. The owner, Ganesh Arora, has been cited for a myriad of illegal alterations. And neighbors have complained and complained to the DOB about a driveway and yard converted to house commercial trucks and vans.
“The JPCA has been complaining about this house for almost 10 years,” Robert Holden, president of the JPCA said.
Nine unresolved violations on the property date back as far as 2000 but pick up steam in recent years with eight violations between 2008 and 2011.
Those eight violations are charged to the current owner who has ignored them and defaulted on more than $25,000 in fines.
After a decade of ignored summonses, the DOB’s padlock unit is getting involved and could levy some heavier penalties to get Arora’s attention.
Through multiple visits, the unit will decide if the house is a public nuisance and needs to be shuttered, the Daily News reported. The property has also racked up 19 formal complaints since 1990. They range from illegally parked trucks and junk storage in the yard to illegally cut curbs.
The latest complaint was on Dec. 13 and alleged the house was being used commercially in a residential zone. That allegation was the complaint finally picked up by the padlock unit.
Arora could not be reached even though he has three phone numbers listed at the property. One was disconnected, and two rang repeatedly without answer.
Arora’s property is just one building the JPCA has been harping on as a nuisance.
Holden and others say fines and summonses are not enough when they can simply pile up and leave an eyesore looking as bad as ever.
At 60-37 Wetherole St. in Rego Park, the JPCA has pushed for the DOB to consider padlocking another problem house.
The DOB lists nine open violations and $14,500 worth of fines that the owner, Ted Muschunas, has not responded to or paid.
Muschanus has been cited for letting the house fall dangerously into disrepair and parking unlicensed vehicles in the yard and driveway.
“These houses and businesses have no consideration for the community or their neighbors. They have a huge negative impact on the quality of life of the neighborhood. We must do everything in our power to get them cleaned up,” Holden said.
By Jeremiah Dobruck
