Six stores, including the UPS store, were destroyed after a five-alarm fire on Dec. 13. (Photo: Nathaly Pesantez)
May 15, 2019 By Christian Murray
The owner of the Sunnyside UPS store that was destroyed in December’s fire will finally be opening a temporary location by the end of May.
Tony Tang, 65, the long-time owner, said his pop-up store—to be located at 45-18 Queens Blvd.– was originally scheduled to open at the beginning of April but was delayed by UPS’ corporate office.
“We had it ready, but UPS is a big corporation and everything had to meet company policy before we could open,” Tang said. “I was disappointed for the community and myself that we were delayed but finally everything has come through.”
Tang plans to stay at the pop-up until the beginning of 2020. He will then open a permanent space at 45-12 46th St., where La Nacional, a money transfer store, is still operating.
“I have a 10-year lease,” Tang said, adding that he will start renovating the space once La Nacional leaves this summer.
The new pop-up location for the UPS Store at 45-18 Queens Blvd.
The pop-up store will be located in a space that was previously occupied by “The Case World,” and is on the same block where the fire broke out. The owner of Case World, who also runs the Verizon shop at 45-06 46th St., subleased the space to Tang.
Tang, a Thai immigrant, has operated a store on Queens Boulevard—between 45th and 46th Streets—for more than three decades. He ran Flagship Entertainment, a photo and video store at 45-04 Queens Blvd., for more than two decades before closing it in 2011.
He then divided the space to create two store fronts, one of which was the UPS. The other storefront went through several restaurant concepts before becoming Zen Yai restaurant. It too was destroyed in the fire.
Tang’s wife Lena, also a well-known figure, works alongside of him.
The UPS store is the second business to come back following the fire that also destroyed Sidetracks, Zen Yai, Romantic Depot, New York Style Eats and Better Line Hardware.
Better Line Hardware reopened about two blocks away at 43-24 Greenpoint Ave. in January.
Lena and Tony Tang, owners of the UPS Store, at the Sunnyside Shines fire relief fundraiser in December. (Photo: Queens Post)
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21 Comments
About a month ago they submitted demolition permits for for the burned down site.
Yeah, I miss you guys! Sawadee-ka! I come in there to print documents out a lot and it was so convenient. I was hoping your pop-up would open, but so far, it hasn’t. Been schlepping to Staples…Please come back and offer printing!! Anne
I wonder what will happen to that burned down area once it’s demolished. I truly hope they don’t erect a massive high rise there.
We all know what the start of the fire was. It’s the same cause that took out a string of stores in sunnyside before. It’s the mafia that works and hides in sunnyside .
Investigation finally ended. Cause of fire is unknown..
Great to hear Tony and Lena are back in business. Missed you guys in Sunnyside
Good luck Tony and Lina, so happy you’re coming back! Joe & Debbie
What was the cause of the fire. I’d imagine it should have been determined by now. And very odd is that there’s no attempt at cleaning up the site. Charred remains remain. Could the Post look into this?
Sunnyside Post: Could you report on what caused the fire? Haven’t seen anything reported on that. Also, why is there such a delay in cleaning up the rubble?
Glad to hear that things are working out for Mr. Tang. His presence as a businessman on that stretch of Queens Blvd has always been good for Sunnyside.
Meanwhile, the charred remains of the fire remain. By now it should have all been cleaned up. What’s taking so long?
Fire was under investigation for several months. Waiting for demolition plans to be approved by the City of New York.
Are you insane? Have you ever dealt with insurance companies? I said the day after the fire that it will take years for the neighborhood to recover from that fire. Once it gets cleaned up it will take more years to build something. Wake up.
What was the cause of the fire?
Investigation finally ended. Fire cause is unknown..
“fire cause unknown” is unacceptable. Demand more out of our elected officials that more qualified investigators be brought in.
Glad to see he’ll still be in business. Remember renting N64 games as a kid from Flagship in the late 90s. Great memories.
This gentalman and beloved wife are true sunnysider’s. Thank you for staying in Sunnyside. I personally remember being a young “buck” and renting movies at his flagship store, now that was the original “netflix” Thank you again for choosing Sunnyside to operate your business.
So very happy to hear that the Tang family operation will once again be up and running.
I heard that it will be a dog friendly store. No dog food though. Ruff, ruff.
Dogs, dogs, dogs!
Hey RD:
You need to get a life or a cat!