Demolition work at 42-17 48th Avenue
Sept. 4, 2019 By Shane O’Brien
The owner of a 90-year-old house that is currently undergoing demolition on 48th Avenue has been issued with a Stop Work Order, with the Department of Buildings citing unsafe construction conditions.
The DOB conducted a routine inspection of the site at 42-17 48th Ave. last week and ordered that work be stopped immediately due to multiple violations. The DOB had issued a demolition permit in January allowing the owner to bulldoze the home.
The two-story brick home on the border of Sunnyside and Woodside was built in 1929 and is connected to an entirely separate house immediately adjacent to it. The adjacent home, located at 42-15 48th Ave., has a different owner and is not being developed.
Farzan Adhami, an Astoria-based developer, plans to build a four-story, 10-unit building on the 42-17 48th Ave. site that he bought in August 2018 for $1.17 million. He told the Sunnyside Post today that he has no plans to acquire and develop the adjacent house.
Demolition work ceased on Adhami’s property on Thursday, Aug. 29.
The DOB inspection revealed that the construction site had no overhead protection, guardrails or a sidewalk shed to protect pedestrians from falling debris.
Furthermore, the inspection found that debris was excessive at the site and blocked emergency exits for workers.
The contractors are prohibited from working at the site while the Stop Work Order is in effect. Workers are permitted to install the required overhead protection and sidewalk sheds at this time.
Adhami said that he is currently working with the DOB to have the order lifted, but couldn’t say when that might happen.
The two separate but adjacent properties, roughly outlined. (Google Maps/QueensPost)
Adhami said today that he aims to have the new building completed within two years.
He filed plans for a 6,700 square foot apartment building on the site back in February. The four-story building would consist of two or three units on each floor and a recreational space on the building’s rooftop.
The apartments would be a mix of studios and two-bedroom apartments.
The new building would be about 30 feet lower in height than the six-story apartment complex on the same block toward 42nd Street.
