Starting to sound like Jamaica Ave back in 1974....during / after the oil crisis there were a series of store Fires along the Avenue as well as some apt fires above in some of the 3 stories with 2 floors of apts above....along Jamaica Ave in Richmond Hill back then some bldg owners let their 2nd & third fl apartments remain empty or just used them for storage to prevent Fires upstairs that could cause a loss of not just the business but their bldg ....it was several years before the strip really started to come back.