The theater, located on Northern Boulevard at
the end of Main Street, remained open to the public through the early
1980s. The ticket lobby and grand foyer of the Keith’s were listed in
the National Register of Historic Places in 1982, and granted landmark
status by the City in 1984. Then along came Tommy Huang, who purchased the
Keith’s in 1986, closing the theater for a few months beginning Labor
Day, 1986. Shortly thereafter, Huang released his plan to create a
“mega mall” on the site of the Keith’s – and the community
exploded with outrage. Protestors picketed the site, calling on the City
to stop the destruction of the Keith’s. Huang has been at odds with the Flushing
community, the City and the law enforcement community ever since – in
battles stemming from those development plans and countless incidents at
the site. A series of suspicious arson-related fires burned out
merchants on both sides of the theater in the mid 1980s, paving the way
for Huang to snatch-up the adjoining properties.
In short order, Huang had construction crews
working at the site, ignoring the building’s landmark status by
stripping the lobby in preparation for the renovations. The legal
battles continued, as the Keith’s, once dubbed the “Jewel of the
Flushing Community” fell into a state of complete disrepair. The
theater that once hosted the Marx Brothers, Mae West and Judy Garland
had become a thorn in the side of downtown Flushing. Huang filed for bankruptcy in November, 1996.
In march, 1997, he was dubbed “Flushing’s Public Enemy No. 1” by
Assemblyman Brian McLaughlin, who said, “Over the years, this
magnificent theater has fallen victim to greed,” after the New York
State Attorney General indicted Huang on a series of felony charges. The
charges resulted from a five-month probe by State investigators who
found that Huang had “knowingly permitted hundreds of gallons of
heating oil to spill into the basement of the theater in July 1996.” Probers determined that Huang had lied to Fire
Department officials when he signed a document that certified that oil
tanks in the theater’s basement had been properly emptied prior to the
leak. The 1997 incident charged that much to the contrary, the tanks
still held more than 10,000 gallons of oil at the time of the spill –
and most of that oil ended upon the basement floor. State investigators also said that Huang
allowed the improper removal of asbestos from the theater –
specifically “within the boiler room area.”
McLaughlin also stated at the time that he
believed there existed a “cozy relationship” between Huang and a
City Fire Marshal who probed several past arson incidents at the
theater. “We have discovered that the Fire Marshal
responsible for investigating arson at the Keith’s has had a highly
cozy and questionable relationship with Mr. Huang,” McLaughlin said. “To paraphrase Shakespeare, it seems that
there is something rotten in Flushing.” Huang tried to duck the indictment by hiding-out for four
days, but he reluctantly surrendered to police in Flushing to answer the
charges of environmental crimes and lying to City officials. When he
surrendered, Huang was considered by law enforcement officials to be a
fugitive from justice. Huang’s mother, Alice Huang, and her firm,
Yeh Realty, were also named in the indictment. Huang tried unsuccessfully in 1998, to obtain a
change of venue for the court case, citing “adverse publicity” would
damage his right to a fair trial. The motion was subsequently denied.
Huang then opted for a plea deal, agreeing to plead guilty to two felony
charges. He was sentenced to five years probation and a $5,000 fine and
ordered by the court to “clean up the mess” he made at the theater
– instead of serving jail time. Huang turned a deaf ear to the order. On May 8,2000, Huang stunned observers by
filing a $39 million lawsuit against the City and the Landmarks
Preservation Commission, charging that the “mess” at the Keith’s
was the City’s fault. Huang alleged in the lawsuit that the
theater’s “dilapidated condition “ was the result of the City’s
failure to issue work permits for renovations since 1986 – and that
the City made unreasonable demands regarding reconstruction at the site. In September 2001, Huang agreed to restore the
lobby of the Keith’s to its original landmark status – after which
the City would issue the necessary work permits for the restoration of
the rest of the theater. The agreement
held in abeyance Huang’s $39 million on lawsuit against the City,
“until the theater lobby is restored and the work permits are
issued,” said a spokesperson for the Landmark’s Preservation
Commission. In the months prior to the agreement, a New York State
environmental panel dismissed Huang’s five-year probation sentence –
after he served only 14 months. The dismissal was based, in part, on
Huang’s payment of $5,000 in back property taxes – and completion of
soil abatement in the theaters oil-soaked basement.
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