A helping hand has finally arrived to clean up two ugly scenes in Queens.
A former Rite Aid in Astoria that was overrun with drunks, immigrants, piles of trash, and human waste has finally been cleaned up, a week after its dystopian landscape was exposed by The Washington Post.
Owners Frank Tehrani and Perry Moradoff said their crews spent a week clearing unwanted couches and junk that was hanging from the building’s roof and erecting an 8-foot-tall wooden fence around the perimeter to secure the site.
“Permits for the fence are being obtained,” said one of the workers, adding that two large garbage trucks have already carted away the debris. “All the neighbors are happy. They’ve been bringing us pizza, donuts and even cold water.”
Rite Aid left the site in 2019. Tehrani and Moradov plan to pay $11.1 million for the site in February 2023 and redevelop the 25,000-square-foot space into a five-story mixed-use building with housing and retail.
Before the cleanup began, state Sen. Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria) called the situation “completely unacceptable.”
Meanwhile, the owner of a general store in Long Island City, where he is attacked by immigrant shoplifters up to six times a week, told The Post that NYPD officers were “in full force” at his store on Tuesday.
Chris Ciacco, owner of Kaya’s Palette at 36-37 31st St., said thefts have been rampant since 17 migrant shelters popped up within 13 blocks of his store in the past two years, and officers have suggested rearranging some shelves and security cameras to thwart them.
Officers also promised to conduct daily patrols of the store and vowed to prosecute two thieves caught on camera who Ciacco recently reported to the 114th Precinct.
“I hope that in the future Albany will change the laws to help police and lock up criminals. [rather] “It’s better than putting them back on the street right away,” Ciacco said, “but I think we have to take it one step at a time.”
