Queens community board rejects rezone for $60M hotel

Rendering of 135th Avenue between 140th and 142nd streets in Queens
Rendering of 135th Avenue between 140th and 142nd streets in Queens

Lynbrook, N.Y.-based developer Tserpes Holdings will have to put its hotel plans on hold, after Community Board 12 rejected a zoning variance that would allow it to build a 13-story, $60 million hotel project near South Ozone Park.

Residents are concerned that the site, at 135th Avenue between 140th and 142nd streets, will become a “homeless shelter,” despite the fact that the site was slated to feature two restaurants, a health club, and a pool on the roof. However, most homeless shelters in Queens are in the southeast region and many of them operate out of former hotels.

George Tserpes told the New York Daily News that his hotel will “never” be repurposed as a homeless shelter. The developer was negotiating with the Westin and Hyatt hotel brands for the space.

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But residents held firm.

“Clearly, Mr. Tserpes had no support from neighboring residents who were present, accounted for and extremely vocal in their disapproval,” Community Board 12 chairwoman Adrienne Adams told the Daily News. [NYDN]Mark Maurer