Harold Burchette is frustrated. While he’d like to sit on his porch with his sister Marie and take in the fresh air, instead they have to listen to trucks idling and breathe in diesel fumes. They say it starts as early as 6 a.m. some days.

“Every morning. The banging, the clanging, the cutting, the digging,” said Marie Bruchette.

“It’s terrible. You invest a lot of money into your home to sit in your yard and to make your yard look good. And we can’t even enjoy it because you know your yard looks nice. As soon as you look up, you see all of this trash, garbage, everything else,” said Harold Bruchette.

What You Need To Know

  • Jamaica residents say a strip of commercial businesses is disrupting their quality of life

  • The Department of Buildings padlocked several locations on 159th Street and Meyer Ave last February because the businesses operating there are illegal due to zoning regulations

  • The property owners said there have been commercial businesses operating at the location since 1951 and he plans to fight the padlock order

The noise and the trash is all coming from the properties across the street. While one side of 159th Street is all residential, the other side of the street looks like a commercial zone. 

There are metal shops and lots filled with trash, spilling out into the street. 

“People don’t take this block as being a residential neighborhood. They look at it like it’s a dumping ground,” said Marie.

A Department of Buildings spokesman said the agency padlocked several of the locations on 159th Street and Meyer Avenue in February 2020 because the businesses operating there are illegal. They violate zoning laws. The DOB says the businesses should still be padlocked.

The Burchettes say things were quiet during the pandemic, but recently business picked up again. There are even "for rent" signs posted.

“Padlocked. But these got 'for rent' signs,” said Harold.

Reached by phone, property owner Vincent Brancato said commercial businesses have operated at this location since 1951. He said he has to pay the city nearly $250,000 a year in taxes, even though he’s not allowed to use the property. He called the businesses operating there entrepreneurs and said they pay him about $1,000 a month. He said the noise is not persistent and he plans to fight the padlock order.

The Burchettes plan to keep fighting, too. They've lived in the home since 1963. They inherited it from their mother Marie, who was a long time advocate for quality of life issues on the block, until she died in 2018.