A collapse and slow rebuilding process caused the Woodhaven-Richmond Hill Volunteer Ambulance Corps to close its doors earlier this year.
State Sen. Joe Addabbo, Jr. (D-Howard Beach) this week told The Forum that the fight for the Woodhaven-Richmond Hill Volunteer Ambulance Corps building continues.
Earlier this year, the WRHVAC indicated that, after a Queens Supreme Court judge granted another construction extension to the owner of the partially collapsed building next door to the corps’ Jamaica Avenue headquarters, they would have to cease operating.
The latest extension was a troubling development, particularly for the corps, because structural damage and safety concerns from the collapse, which occurred two years ago, had forced them to temporarily shut down. And Catholic Charities Woodhaven-Richmond Hill Senior Center, which rented building space from the first responders, subsequently relocated, effectively cutting off a critical source of revenue for the WRHVAC.
The extension kept the corps in limbo and the center out of its building, making it nearly impossible for them to once again serve the community.
But Addabbo said he has appealed to the owner of the partially collapsed structure to have his contractor patch up the part of the building that is affecting the WRHVAC headquarters.
“They just need to seal off the leakage, seal that back end,” Addabbo noted. “I need [the owner] to get that done, so the Ambulance Corps can get started on its property.”
The leaks have caused extensive mold damage in the WRHVAC building.
Addabbo said he has also spoken to a lot of area seniors who have expressed their desire to return to the building.
“It’s a domino effect,” he reasoned of the events that followed the collapse which have impacted different stakeholders in the community.
However, Addabbo said that the importance of the WRHVAC and its building cannot be understated.
“Every day that the Ambulance Corps doesn’t operate, it’s a life-and-death situation in Woodhaven,” he related. “The place is critical to the lives of Woodhaven residents. These people have to understand that every time they get another [construction] extension, it’s another nail in the coffin for the Ambulance Corps.”
By Michael V. Cusenza
