The History of Parkway Hospital

The property where Parkway Hospital was first constructed has seen a lifetime's worth of trauma. Now, this is not the same trauma seen in the patients that would come to receive emergency medical care supplied inside its walls, but a very different type of trauma that this specific plot of land would unexplainably endure over the next half century.

Beginning in 1963, when it originally opened to service the citizens of the area, a brand new Parkway Hospital was erected, between Grand Central Parkway and one of the finest educational facilities in Forest Hills, Queens called P.S.196.

No,the trauma that is referred to began just before its official closing in November of 2012. Trauma that plagued this Queens hospital until Jasper Venture Group and Auberge Grand Central swooped in and saved the Forest Hills eye sore, charting a new path for the once successful community healthcare hotspot.

The End Of Parkway Hospital

The six-story Parkway Hospital stood at 70-35 113th Street in Forest Hills, Queens. It opened on May 31 in 1963 and would spend the following 45 years as a haven to those sick and a lighthouse to those injured and hurt in Forest Hills.

Following a 2012 plea deal in which then owner Robert Aquino admitted to bribing former State Sen. Carl Kruger to keep the Parkway Hospital open, a state mandate forced the facility to close. An arrest and conviction were also made against the former New York senator.

Jasper Venture Group Enters

Though the end of the hospital, it was only the beginning of the property’s misfortune. The property ended up with a defaulters loan, unpaid property tax, and utility liens. The lender (Medical Provider Fin) sold the note to Auberge Grand Central, owned by Ilio Mavlyanov. He paid $6.5 million to buy the defaulted hospital mortgage in that same year.

So, Parkway Hospital sat vacant and crumbling. Covered in graffiti, its windows boarded, the building has become an eyesore that's of special concern to parents with children at nearby P.S.196, one of the most coveted schools in the area.

Parents did have plenty to worry about when a suspicious fire broke out inside the 113th Street structure. At a time, there were numerous fire incidents in Forest Hills. (https://bit.ly/384TrJg)

Jasper Venture Group’s Ilio Mavlyanov Takes Full Ownership

In August of 2014, finally Auberge, an affiliate of real estate investment firm Jasper Venture Group, both owned by Ilio Mavlyanov, were able to gather the actual property with a $1 million bid during a foreclosure auction to become the new owners of the property.

The area was zoned either for single-family homes or an institution like, perhaps, a hospital, but the property was in disrepair and could not be utilized.

Jasper Venture Group was introduced to the idea of rezoning and hired Eric Palatnik, one of NYC’s most prominent zoning and land use attorneys who was also named in the city’s top 50 lobbyists. (https://bit.ly/3jZCgf0)

Although there were very few properties ever rezoned on that scale, especially when zoning was done from R1 to R7 which was a big jump and required strong local support to achieve that. R1 Zoning on that site allowed approximately 25,000 buildable square footage and the project ended up being rezoned into 318,000 square feet.

Jasper Venture Group Receives Local Support

Former local councilwoman Karen Koslowitz, a strong advocate for senior affordable housing, lent her support to the efforts since development was to include senior affordable housing components. As per Mandatory Inclusionary Housing (MIH) law, rezoning (also known as ULURP procedure) must include affordable housing.

First with plans for a 351-unit residential complex — and ended up getting city approval in 2019. Stipulations called for the hospital building redevelopment to include affordable housing geared toward seniors.

That ULURP procedure received majority votes from local community board 6 and a positive recommendation from Queens former borough president and current Queens district attorney Melinda Katz. City planning commission and NY Council voted for rezoning as well. (https://bit.ly/3MmtW4O)

Ilio Mavlyanov and Jasper Venture Group had already hired Eric Palatnik. Mavlyanov then added Randy Lee, and Alvin Schein from Seiden & Schein, a top real estate law attorney, to assist them in their quest to land a rezoning commitment for the property where the old Parkway Hospital once stood.

A Hospital Rezoned and Sold

Jasper Venture Group, owner Ilio Mavlyanov, and affiliates took to understanding the rezoning needs of the city and this area in particular. They worked within those lines to convert blight sites into opportunities which would benefit the community. Now, the citizens of Forest Hills, Queens can rest assured that the old Parkway Hospital ground will become a welcoming home for new residents including senior citizens in the area just as the hospital was for all people so many years ago.

In 2021, represented by Seiden & Schein and Rheem Bell & Freeman, Mavlyanov and Jasper Venture Group, sold the old Parkway Hospital redevelopment to RJ Capital, SYU properties and Top Rock Holdings to take care of the development stage. The buyers were represented by Cole Schotz.

RJ Capital is an experienced developer in the Forest Hills area of Queens who developed BLVD Condos among other notable properties in the area .

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or management of EconoTimes