HOLLIS, QUEENS (PIX11) — A Queens family is fighting to save their home that was condemned due to structural damage from repeat flooding. It is slated for immediate and emergency demolition.
Anita Hack has lived in the house on 183rd Street in Hollis for 34 years. Hack told PIX 11 News “It’s so heartbreaking. All our belongings and everything we work for is in the house, we can’t get nothing out, my family heirloom, that we came from Guyana. Mom and Dad live in this house, my grandchildren live here, I raise my 2 kids in this house. I never say it’s my house; it’s my family’s home.”
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Hack and her neighbors on 183rd Street do not have flood insurance because the block floods so often; no insurance company will take them on. Hack’s house is across the street from where 2 people drowned in a basement apartment during Hurricane Ida.
A full vacate order was put on Hack’s home, and the house next door after the most recent severe flooding on August 20th, 2026. A week later, Hack was told her house would have to be demolished, and they would have to pay for it. The family has started an online fundraiser as they try to figure out the next steps.
In a statement, the NYC Department of Buildings said “Public safety is our top priority, and DOB has taken emergency actions in the interest of protecting New Yorkers, including issuing an Immediate Emergency Order for demolition of the structure.”
As PIX11 News previously reported, New York City is looking into the feasibility of offering buyouts to homeowners in severe flood zones, like Hollis. However, right now there is no funding for the program.
Matt Rauschenbach, with the NYC Mayor’s Office said in a statement: “First, our thoughts are with all of our fellow New Yorkers affected by last month’s flooding — and the repeated flooding this year — as they navigate this incredibly difficult time. Agencies across city government have been in close contact with this family, and we are working to help them navigate next steps. We remain committed to exploring every option to support them.”
Hack said “they want to do a buyout, we can do that, give us the right price for it, do the right thing, this is my home here, we worked so hard for this.”