Shutter neighborhood ‘Horror Houses’

Two South Jamaica homes that were allegedly havens for prostitutes and drug dealers have been boarded up, thanks to the efforts of the 103rd Precinct, Department of Buildings (DOB) and FDNY.
“It was obviously a problem, and in light of the two homicides that occurred just three blocks away we expedited it,” said Deputy Inspector Charles McEvoy, Commanding Officer of the 103rd Precinct.
Local residents and State Senator Shirley Huntley said that the problem has been going on for a while.
“There are drug dealers and prostitutes all over these blocks but most of them come out at night,” said Robert Perkins, a resident and president of the local block association. “You can find them on 154th to 157th Streets.”
“A lot of these are very young women,” Huntley told The Courier.
Of particular concern is the fact that P.S. 48 is just a few blocks away.
According to McEvoy, the homes at 154-11 and 154-13 107th Avenue have been boarded up.
Both houses, he said, were in foreclosure and after an inspection with the DOB and FDNY, the squatters were evicted, two people were arrested and “all the doors and windows were sealed up” so there is no way of getting in.
“The inside was decrepit and a hazard,” he said. “There are other homes in foreclosure, but these two were particularly bad. It was priority number one and we got it done.”
“We are just trying to make sure these houses stay boarded up,” said Huntley, who noted that she is working on legislation regarding the issue.
– With additional reporting by Natasha Velez