Contact:
Robert Holden, President, JPCA, (718) 651-5865
Councilman Tony Avella, (718) 747-2137
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Conference Scheduled for Saturday, December 2nd
(11/27/2006) Councilman Tony Avella (D-Bayside) is joining the Juniper Park Civic Association in demanding that the NYC Department of Buildings issues no further building permits to the owner of the property at 57-39 Mazeau Street in Maspeth, Queens, and that an investigation is opened into his activities. A press conference featuring the councilman and JPCA leaders will be held on Saturday, December 2nd, 2006 at 11am in front of the illegally constructed building.
The owner, Tommy Huang, is a notorious convicted felon who destroyed the interior of the landmark RKO Keith’s Theater in Flushing over a period of years beginning in 1987. The NYS Attorney General indicted Huang on a series of felony charges in 1997. The State found that among other infractions, Huang had “knowingly permitted hundreds of gallons of heating oil to spill into the basement of the theater in July 1996,” and also allowed the improper removal of asbestos from the theater. After copping a plea, he was fined $5,000, ordered to clean up the mess he caused, and placed on 5 years probation instead of serving jail time. Huang never cleaned up the theater and was released from probation after only serving 14 months.
Now this unscrupulous developer has invaded the Maspeth community.
On Mazeau Street, he demolished a garage without a permit. Completely disregarding the zoning code, he attempted to build a 4-story structure in an area zoned R-4. The property has had a stop-work order on it since November 1st, 2006 for this violation.
On November 15th, 2006, a special Department of Buildings audit was conducted on the property. The inspectors found 23 objections. On Monday, November 20th, The Juniper Park Civic Association met with representatives from the Department of Buildings to discuss the situation. They informed President Robert Holden that this developer has a history of simply leaving structures half-built rather than conform to the zoning and building codes.
The Juniper Park Civic Association and Councilman Avella are calling on the Mayor’s Office, the Queens District Attorney’s Office, the Department of Buildings and the Department of City Planning to work together to make sure that Thomas Huang, his sons and assignees do not do any more harm to neighborhoods in the City of New York, and that this illegal building is torn down.
