By Michael V. Cusenza
Good news for Woodhaven residents: A long-standing Jamaica Avenue eyesore is set to be demolished, Councilman Bob Holden (D-Middle Village) announced Friday.
Holden noted that he has been informed by the City Department of Housing Preservation & Development “that a contract to demolish the derelict building at 78-19 Jamaica Ave. in Woodhaven has been registered by the comptroller. This eyesore has plagued my neighbors in Woodhaven too long. I’m proud my office played a role in getting rid of it.”
Indeed, The Forum has chronicled for years the negative impact the zombie edifice has had on the surrounding community. 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 some properties around the building were severely damaged, including the Woodhaven-Richmond Hill Volunteer Ambulance Corps office next door. That group, along with the Catholic Charities Woodhaven-Richmond Hill Senior Center, were forced to relocate to the nearby American Legion Post 118 as a result of the collapse.
Back in 2014, the City Buildings Department declared the building hazardous and in need of demolition.
That same year, The Forum called on the City to raze the derelict property.
“Please, DOB, do not let the owner win. Do not let laziness or the apathy of City employees sitting in their Manhattan office win.
Let the people of Woodhaven win.
Tear down this building,” the paper’s editorial board wrote.
Photos Courtesy of Councilman Holden’s Office
and Forum Files
