May 6, 2015 By Christian Murray
The developer of the Queens Blvd. property where the movie theater was located has told the owner of PJ Horgan’s that he will not be renewing his lease when it ends June 2018.
PJ Horgan’s is the remaining tenant on the large Queens Blvd/43rd Street lot that is being developed. Center Cinemas, Dime Bank and a local dentist are all gone.
John Ciafone, who plans to develop the site, is building on top of PJ Horgan’s in order to construct a 5-7 story building with about 60-70 apartments and ground floor retails.
Ciafone said that he reached out to the owner of PJ Horgan’s, John Murphy, after a small kitchen fire last Tuesday and “told him not to invest too much money in the place.”
He said that he told the owner, John Murphy, that he would not renew the lease and that he would compensate him if he leaves the property.
PJ Horgan’s has yet to reopen since the fire. Murphy could not be reached for comment.
Ciafone said he is about two-to-three months away from getting the demolition permits he needs in order to start bulldozing the corner building.
“I thought this would be moving along faster,” he said.
Ciafone said he expects that the corner will be demolished in less than a month.
