Nearly 13 years after Superstorm Sandy crashed into the Rockaways, damaging or destroying nearly 1,000 homes and businesses along the 11-mile peninsula, a Neponsit house will be demolished by the city.
Council Member Joann Ariola has been working with the city’s Department of Buildings (DOB) and the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) to deal with the blighted property at 148-16 Rockaway Beach Blvd. and received an important update on the project late last month.
The house had been heavily damaged during Sandy, and a new property owner bought the property on the cheap and started to rebuild it after the first permit to renovate the one-family home was filed in October 2014 to repair the hurricane damage before running out of funds and basically abandoning the property for more than a decade. The last permit was issued in September 2018 for construction equipment, but nothing changed at the property.
DOB issued several orders to the property owner to make repairs to the building but the owner failed to comply and allowed the building to fall into “deep disrepair,” and on May 21, DOB issued an emergency declaration for the full demolition of the building after it was determined that it was no longer structurally stable. DOB is working closely with their agency partners at HPD on securing a city contractor to perform the demolition.
“This is a huge step forward for the people of Neponsit,” Ariola said. “This derelict home has been an issue for years, but my office has been relentless in having it rectified, and I am proud to say we are making progress on that front. Visitors coming into Rockaway along Rockaway Beach Boulevard will no longer have to be welcomed into the neighborhood by this eyesore.”
If the property owner wishes to stop the city from demolishing the building in order to have the required stabilization work performed, they can reach out to DOB and formally request a hold on the demolitions. There has been no such request made since May.
HPD is moving forward with the process and says the building is still in the early stages of demolition, and the process can take about a year and a half, including procurement of services to final demolition.
“The Neponsit Property Owners Association would like to thank all those who continue to work diligently to rid our community of dangerous eyesores,” said Amanda Agoglia, President of the Neponsit Property Owners Association. “We are pleased with the news that this hazardous property is being addressed by HPD and will be demolished in the near future. A special thanks to Joann Ariola, Phyliss Inserillo, and staff for continuing to work hard for our community.”
