By Peter A. Sutters Jr.
“I don't know where else to go,” said Angela Augugliaro, who lives a few blocks away. Augugliaro is the secretary of Community Board 13, which covers the areas of Bellaire, Bellerose, Cambria Heights, Floral Park, Glen Oaks, Laurelton, Queens Village, Rosedale, and Springfield Gardens. Augugliaro said she and her husband, Mike, have spent hours calling various city departments and have gotten no response. The two have amassed a file on the house with citations given out by the city Department of Buildings, but still nothing has been done to rectify the situation. The property remains in deplorable condition.The house at 89-01 249th St. in Bellerose now stands with the interior exposed and a construction fence knocked over with a pile of debris in the front yard. The building permits posted in front of the house state it was approved for an “extension to the rear and partial side of the existing two-story building into a two-family building.” The second floor of the front of the house has been torn off and the frame has been extended to enlarge the front of the house.A second building permit for the construction fence posted at the site expired at the end of last year.According to the Department of Finance, the mortgage of the house was bought by Better American Homes of Elmhurst. A secretary at the office of Better American Homes, a real estate firm, said the property was being managed by Felix Armas, who did not return numerous calls. Calls placed to the Department of Buildings were also not returned. Prior to Better American Homes, the property was listed under the ownership of Albert Schumacher, who lived in the house before his death three years ago, according to the Augugliaros. They said the Schumacher family was receiving bills for water and electricity for the property after they had sold it, which prompted them to write a letter to the Augugliaros to express their apologizes for the condition of the house, even though they no longer owned property.The Augugliaros said that in the time since construction stopped three years ago on the property, there have been people living in the house off and on. People have been seen by neighbors throwing bags of trash out the window of the house. The Augugliaros said they want construction on the house to be completed within the bounds of the permit. But they say if the second floor is extended to conform with the new frame, it will not match the look of the rest of the neighborhood. Reach reporter Peter A. Sutters Jr. by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300 Ext. 173.
