Shots were fired at the car of a group of teenagers as they drove along 38th Avenue and 209th Street in Bayside early last Saturday morning, the New York Police Department reported. A 19-year-old passenger was shot in the right side of his back. He was rushed to NewYork-Presbyterian Queens and was in stable condition as of Monday.
According to Captain John Portalatin, commander of the 111th Precinct, the group of teenagers, at least one of whom is from Nassau County, were looking to park near an AirBnB party around 2:50 a.m. when a group of four to six of the individuals started shooting at their car.
No arrests were made in the incident, and the shooters’ motive is not known; the investigation is ongoing. Portalatin added that the NYPD is still looking for video footage of the shooters fleeing the scene.
Footage from a home camera shared to the Chronicle by a resident of the block in question shows that at least three people shot the car multiple times before fleeing on foot. These images can be viewed at qchron.com.
The NYPD’s 111th Precinct, which includes Bayside, has long been considered one of the safest — if not the safest, alongside the 112th — precinct in Queens or even the city. Saturday morning’s event is the 111th’s first shooting incident this year; the injured passenger is his first gunshot victim.
“The police are on top, we take this very seriously and we are doing everything we can to avoid these incidents in the future,” Portalatin said.
According to the office of Congressman Ed Braunstein (D-Bayside), the house where the party was held, located at 208-16 38 Ave., has been occupied by squatters for about two years, and they rent it out. on AirBnB. His office told the Chronicle it is working to get in touch with the bank that owns the house, which is foreclosed.
Stephen Markowski lives opposite this house and heard the gunshots on Saturday morning – in fact, he first thought it was fireworks before a neighbor corrected him. He has been monitoring the squat situation since his debut.
“Not only do they not own it, but they make money from it,” he said.
According to Markowski, things should never have gone this far. In a subsequent conversation with the Chronicle, he said he was considering taking legal action against the city for what he called inaction.
“When someone gets killed, why didn’t you act?” he said. “That’s where it happens.”
State Sen. John Liu (D-Bayside) also addressed the issue.
“This location has been the source of much concern in our community, and with this shooting incident, we are calling on the Department of Buildings to immediately issue an evacuation order to ensure that no further lives are put at risk. danger due to inaction,” he said in a Prepared Affirmation. “We spoke to neighbors as well as the Department of Buildings, Community Board 11 and 111th Pct. about the shooting as well as the history of squatters and illegal AirBnB rentals there, and our community takes this very seriously.
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