By Courtney Dentch
The home of the defunct Long Island Press newspaper in downtown Jamaica is among the many properties in southeast Queens owned by Hollis real estate mogul Rita Stark, the woman who allegedly gave illegal campaign donations to former City Councilman Sheldon Leffler.
Stark surreptitiously recorded conversations in which she and Leffler discussed a scheme to defraud the Campaign Finance Board during his failed bid for the borough presidency in 2001, the Manhattan district attorney charged in a 13-count indictment against Leffler earlier this month.
Stark, who was not charged, manages the properties she inherited from her father Fred after his death in 1988 from the Fred Stark Realty office at 198-10 Jamaica Ave. in Hollis.
The 25,000-square-foot Long Island Press building, at 92-24 168th St. in Jamaica, is listed under the name of Rita Stark’s father, according to city records. Rita Stark was named executrix of her father’s estate after his death.
The Long Island Press newspaper operated out of that building until it closed in the mid-1970s. The building has been vacant since.
Stark owes more than $41,000 in back taxes on the property, adding to the $120,000 she owes on other holdings, according to the Department of Finance Web site. The city sold liens against the property to collect the taxes in 1999 and 2001, according to the Web site.
A 2002 assessment valued the three-story building at $880,000.
The building has 29 open violations, including complaints that it was left open and vacant and that the stability of the roof was affected, according to the city Department of Buildings.
On many of the properties under her name and/or under her father’s estate, including the Long Island Press building, tax payments stopped in October 2001, according to the Department of Finance Web site. That was the same time that the Manhattan district attorney was investigating Leffler’s campaign finances.
Reach reporter Courtney Dentch by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com, or by phone at 1-718-229-0300, Ext. 138.
