(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) A group of crazed and violent individuals in New York City have allegedly overrun a former Rite-Aid building, where drugs, alcohol and apparent “zonked-out junkies” now reign, the New York Post reported on Saturday.
Located in Queens, the premises are now filled with junk, discarded sofas, tables, a foam mattress, shopping carts filled with trash, and other items, including Mexican and Puerto Rican flags.
Some of the individuals at the premises do not speak English, prompting neighbors to suspect they are illegal aliens.
Former NYC Rite Aid is now overrun by booze-swilling vagrants, zonked-out junkies: ‘F–king preposterous’ https://t.co/7bBoj0KdWj pic.twitter.com/2fkBTAqpWc
— New York Post (@nypost) July 20, 2024
“They’ve since turned the site into a blight, dangling bizarre items from the roof’s edges. Everything from bras and bicycles, to pool noodles and a Power Wheels Jeep adorn the top of the building,” the outlet reported.
A neighbor described the chaotic scene as having a “real Mad Max vibe.” The individual added, “It should be fenced off or something, but the owner doesn’t take any responsibility for it.”
Another neighbor called the building “f–king preposterous,” while another described the situation as “absurd and dangerous.”
The latter source said she had witnessed children playing around the building. “On the weekends, I’ve seen kids playing on that wood pile over there, like it’s a jungle gym. Some of that wood’s got exposed nails, too,” she said.
BREAKING: A former Rite Aid in Astoria, Queens, has been transformed into a nightmare out of “Mad Max,” overrun by booze-swilling hobos, zonked-out junkies and migrants who have transformed the forlorn spot into their own dystopian social club.
The mostly middle-aged derelicts… pic.twitter.com/0elTM2vr7t
— Zaki Solja (@zakisolja) July 20, 2024
The newspaper reported witnessing at least eight “boozehounds” loitering around the building, drinking and laughing. At least two passed-out individuals were observed in the group.
When approached for comment, a man brandished a knife, and another attempted to grab a loose table leg. Neither of them spoke English, the outlet reported.
The building housed a Rite Aid until 2019 and another business until September. The premises’ owners sold it for a whopping $11.1 million to investors Frank Tehrani and Perry Maradof.
Thus far, residents have filed 163 complaints to the city’s 311 non-emergency line since Jan. 1—when the building was first besieged.
