The exterior of 49-09 47th Ave. was damaged in a five-alarm fire last December. Photo provided by the office of Council Member Julie Won
Oct. 8, 2024 By Shane O’Brien
Council Member Julie Won has penned an open letter criticizing the owners of a Sunnyside apartment complex damaged by a five-alarm fire last December for allowing the area surrounding the site to become a “dumping ground” over the past several months.
Won addressed the letter to A&E Real Estate, the landlord of an apartment building at 43-09 47th Ave., severely damaged by fire on Dec. 20 last year.
She accused A&E of allowing litter, trash and human waste to build up around the perimeter of the building over the last few months, writing that she has personally seen Sunnyside residents wading through bottles filled with urine, bags filled with waste and other forms of trash.
Won described the situation as “an egregious health hazard and profoundly unsanitary” and added that the problem partly stems from security workers at the building having no access to port-a-potties or trash cans.
Photo provided by the office of Council Member Julie Won
She cited NYC Admin. Code 16-118, which states that property owners and landlords are required to keep public areas near a building in a clean and sanitary condition, including sidewalks and the first 18 inches of road by the sidewalk.
“A&E has not adhered to this law, instead allowing the sidewalk under the scaffolding to go into disrepair and allow litter to accumulate even on the road outside the building,” Won said in the letter. “This presents unsanitary conditions and a possible fire hazard.”
A spokesperson for Won said the issue dates back to at least the start of the summer, stating that the Council Member has regularly sent Department of Sanitation and ACE cleaning teams to clean up the area.
However, the spokesperson said the current state of the building is encouraging people to dump trash and garbage underneath the scaffolding, meaning that the area quickly becomes litter-strewn after each cleaning.
Won has urged A&E to dedicate time and resources to keeping the public-facing areas of the building clean and free of litter, while she has also asked the real estate company to provide overnight port-a-potty access to security workers on a daily basis.
Won has requested a response from A&E by Oct. 15.
After the Sunnyside fire at 43-09 47th Ave, A&E Realty let the surrounding sidewalk become dumping ground. Employees are reportedly even being prevented from using the onsite port-a-potty, resulting in…a disgusting and unacceptable situation. A&E must do right by Sunnyside. pic.twitter.com/PjmJIL0ABk
— Council Member Julie Won (@CMJulieWon) October 7, 2024
Won further accused A&E of slow-rolling tenants by delaying construction at the building and said they had allowed the property to become an eyesore. She added that the situation at the building was “disgusting and unacceptable”.
An A&E spokesperson said the company has been providing regular cleaning since the fire last December.
“We’ve had maintenance crews cleaning the sidewalk in front of the building weekly, and 24/7 security personnel on site since the fire. If additional cleaning is required, we will provide it,” A&E said in a statement.
Photo provided by the office of Council Member Julie Won
Tenants at 43-09 47th Ave. filed a lawsuit against A&E Real Estate in June seeking stemming from their displacement last December due to the five-alarm fire.
Approximately 200 tenants were displaced due to the fire, determined to have been caused by a contractor using an unregulated blow torch. Residents criticized A&E for their lack of response to the fire and their lack of remediation efforts for displaced tenants.
Immediately after the fire, A&E offered tenants the option of signing a temporary relocation license agreement for “up to six months if needed,” allowing them to rent apartments at other A&E properties at the same monthly rate they had paid at their Sunnyside building. Those temporary lease agreements expired at the beginning of July.
At the end of June, A&E and Queens Borough President Donovan Richards announced a plan to provide 22 tenants who were forced out of the building due to fire damage with an additional round of six-month temporary housing agreements.
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