The building that once housed Parkway Hospital in Forest Hills is set to soon hit the auction block.
File Photo
The footprint of the former Parkway Hospital in Forest Hills will hit the auction block once again next month.
Documents showed the mortgage on the 70-35 113st St. spot would be auctioned once again at Queens Supreme Civil Court on July 11 at 10 a.m. after several failed attempts over the past year. The site was most recently auctioned off for $22.2 million in January, but the buyer, 70-35 113th St. Holdings LLC, could not finalize the deal, leading to a lapse in the purchase.
A spokesman for City Councilwoman Karen Koslowitz (D-Forest Hills) said 70-35 113th St. Holdings LLC ultimately could not address an outstanding lien of $14,860,000 on the site. The company never went public with its officers and did not return requests seeking comment.
The court appointed Joseph Risi to serve as referee for the auctioned off deal, and a spokesman for Koslowitz said he had given the original buyer extra time to come up with the funds, but eventually agreed to reopening the auction. Risi could not be reached for comment.
Earlier this year, Manhattan-based real estate investor Jasper Venture Group expressed interest in potentially converting the space into luxury condominiums after the initial plans to have the property sold went under. Jasper, which holds the mortgage on the building, said in a press release it was considering building a residential tower there in the future, which may include demolition plans.
“Though the hospital is over 100,000 square feet, Jasper wants to increase its size,” the company said. “Rebuilding condominiums from the ground up will breathe new life into the idle site.”
The next closing date for the property was originally set for May 29th, a Koslowitz spokesman said, but Jasper insisted it had new plans for the former hospital in case the buyer defaults that could bring “a relief to those seeking a more spacious option to the compact living New York City provides,” the group said. Those plans, however, would require a zoning variance to remove it from single-family housing status, under which hospitals are exempt, a Koslowitz spokesman said
“Typical of Jasper Venture Group the former Parkway Hospital will be luxurious, offering its residents a view of the lakes and their own slice of serenity amid the bustling metropolis that is Manhattan,” the Jasper press release said.
The building at 70-35 113th St. used to be a 251-bed hospital in the middle of Queens but has since deteriorated into an eyesore after it shuttered in 2008 following a mandate by the state Commission on Healthcare Facilities. Members of the mid-Queens community have since complained about the site turning into a nuisance, riddled with boarded up windows, graffiti and vegetation.
The city Department of Buildings website showed that Parkway Hospital had $10,700 in different violations, including failing to maintain the outside of the building to not keeping current with building inspections. The violations went as far back as 2009, when former owner Dr. Robert Aquino tried to reopen the hospital but failed after a fight with the state.
At that time, Aquino said Queens needed hospital beds after the recent closings at St. John’s in Elmhurst, Mary Immaculate in Jamaica and Peninsula in the Rockaways. But the state commission ruled the borough was being well served by existing hospitals.
That same year, Aquino accused then-state Assemblyman Tony Seminerio of purposely setting up the hospital to fail along with former Jamaica Hospital CEO David Rosen and filed a lawsuit against him. Both Seminerio and Rosen were convicted on bribery charges, though the assemblyman died in prison while Rosen received a three-year sentence.
By Phil Corso
