Kew Gardens' Umbrella Hotel Closes, One Week After Fatal Shooting

KEW GARDENS, QUEENS — The Umbrella Hotel in Kew Gardens has closed, just over a week after a man was shot dead and two others were wounded outside its doors, according to local civic leaders and news reports.

Mayor Bill de Blasio had ordered his administration to close the hotel following the triple shooting on New Year's Day, but it was the hotel's owner who made the decision to cease operations Friday night, the Queens Ledger reported.

Tenants who live on the building's upper floors will stay where they are, according to the Queens Ledger.

In a statement on Facebook, the Kew Gardens Civic Association said its members would continue monitoring the fate of the hotel building at 124-18 Queens Blvd.

"It’s not enough for it to be shut - we are interested in knowing it’s [sic] future - as it has historically been a point of anguish for the community," the civic association wrote. "We will not allow a new problem to surface."

The triple shooting, believed to be New York City's first homicide in 2021, marked a crescendo in what neighbors and elected officials had characterized as a months-long pattern of violence and illegal conduct at the Umbrella Hotel.

Assembly Member Daniel Rosenthal and City Council Member Karen Koslowitz were among those who joined Kew Gardens residents in lobbying the mayor's office to shut down the hotel, citing a history of criminal activity that included the sex trafficking of minors.

Despite the hotel's closure, officers with the NYPD's 102nd Precinct were stationed outside the building Monday to provide security, according to district leader Ethan Felder.