The building at 78-19 Jamaica Ave. has sat in ruin since it partially collapsed April 12, 2013. Photo by Phil Corso
Residents in Woodhaven said they were worried about the fate of the partially collapsed building on Jamaica Avenue after hearing it would not be demolished, but renovated instead.
A legal bought between the owner of the 78-19 Jamaica Ave. property and the city ended with an agreement that renovations would be made to restore the collapsed roof atop the structure. It was a stark contrast to what the Buildings Department ruled earlier this year when it declared the building hazardous and in need of demolition.
Time lines have been skewed, blurred and at times outright ignored. Work was supposed to begin on the building by July 17 as of the most recent publicized timeline before the building’s owner George Kochabe reached a settlement with the city last week to now have the roof repaired by Oct. 15.
Kochabe could not be reached for comment. But residents in Woodhaven were a lot more public with their side of the story.
“We’re very disappointed with the DOT for allowing this to happen and letting this drag on longer than it has to,” said Martin Colberg, head of the Woodhaven Residents Block Association. “We want more than just a roof come October.”
The building partially collapsed back on April 12, 2013 when the second-story façade caved in and spilled rubble all over 79th street, destroying a parked car nearby. No one was injured, but properties around the building, including some neighboring buildings, were severely damaged.
The Woodhaven-Richmond Hill Volunteer Ambulance Corps lies vacant next to the site of the partially collapsed building on Jamaica Avenue. Photo by Phil Corso
Next door, the Woodhaven-Richmond Hill Volunteer Ambulance Corps suffered severe damages as a consequence of the collapse. That group, along with the Catholic Charities Woodhaven-Richmond Hill Senior Center, was forced to relocate to the nearby American Legion Post 118 building in the midst of intense financial battles with insurance companies.
“Yes, the senior center had to vacate and move to the veterans post,” said Kathy Sexton-Dalbey of the volunteer ambulance corps. “It took away most of our guaranteed income and moved the seniors to an uncomfortable, overcrowded location. Now the ambulance corps is completely out of business having mold growing from back to front of our building – no one can even enter the premises – and of course, we have lost our income and become unable to function.”
The volunteer ambulance corps has since suffered at least $20,000 in debt with no opportunities for income as it waits to return home, she said.
“Delay after delay, we need action and now,” Sexton-Dalbey said. “It is disgraceful that the remains of the collapse have been allowed to exist and take other property down with it because nothing has been done since April 12.”
Last month, Buildings Department community liaison Kenneth Lazar told residents to expect construction on the building sometime after Independence Day – which obviously never came to fruition. He spoke at the Woodhaven Residents Block Association meeting in June and said Kochabe had been ordered by a city judge to do something with the building.
Kochabe was also given thousands of dollars in fines since the collapse and Lazar said he has kept the building’s fate in limbo for too long, spurring the judge to provide more concrete deadlines. But those deadlines were revised several times before the most recent Oct. 15 date for a new roof.
By Phil Corso
