NEW YORK - A controversial hotel in Kew Gardens that’s been a magnet for violence during the pandemic has shut down. Some community activists, however, want reassurance that the hotel is closed not just for now, but for good.

Chants of “hey-hey, ho-ho, Umbrella Hotel has got to go,” could be heard as nearly two-dozen neighborhood activists attended a rally Saturday outside the Hotel on Queens Blvd.

What You Need To Know

  • The city confirmed the mayor wanted Umbrella Hotel on Queens Boulevard in Kew Gardens to be shut down immediately

  • The first homicide of 2021 took place outside of the hotel just after 1 a.m. on the first of January

  • Neighborhood activists want reassurance that the hotel will never reopen

Despite large signs on its windows that read “Hotel Open,” the notorious hotel is now closed, with several police officers blocking anyone from getting in.

“It made people upset,” said Lisa Pollioni, a Kew Gardens resident, who attended the rally. Pollioni and other concerned residents showed up not just to celebrate the hotel’s closure - they wanted assurance from the city that the hotel, which has been a magnet for violence during the pandemic, will never re-open.

“Every time, there’s a cop car here and an ambulance,” said Pollioni. “I spoke to someone who lives in this area, and they said no, they’re not there every day. They’re only there when they’re called!”

Back on January 1, just after one in the morning, authorities say three men were shot outside the hotel. One died, marking the city’s first homicide of the New Year.

But even prior to that, authorities said the hotel was the site of two shootings over the summer, including a drive-by shooting on August 9 that left the hotel’s front door with several bullet holes.

Andrea Reichenbach of Kew Gardens has lived in an area close to the hotel for the past five years. She says the hotel, which is close to Queens Borough Hall and a nearby court building, never fit the culture of a neighborhood that she described as family oriented and hard-working.

“They probably should have thought of converting it into apartments or affordable housing or another business model quickly,” said Reichenbach, “and then the pandemic hit and things quickly got tremendously worse.”

A city spokesperson told NY1, the Mayor was clear that the hotel had to close immediately, issuing a statement saying “we’ll continue to work with the surrounding community to keep our Queens neighbors safe.”