He was found lying face down on the first floor on 217th Street and 104th Avenue in Queens Village just after 3 a.m. Monday.
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A 911 call came in for a report of a fire, and authorities say that once the fire was out, the FDNY found the body of a man with his hands tied together behind his back.
"This is totally shocking, totally shocking for us," neighbor Autumn Joyce said.
A search revealed the property used to be a deli, but it's been vacant for at least five years. It's now under renovation -- a sign posted says it's for residential development.
"Guys with the construction truck, they'll come once in a while," Joyce said. "They'll park the truck in the yard."
A stop work order was issued for the project in October, but Glen Brown, who says he's the property's caretaker, says it was lifted and work resumed.
"When you get a work order, it doesn't clear the same day," Brown said. "It takes a while. I think it was cleared not even a full 2 weeks."
The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.
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The Medical Examiner will determine the victim's cause of death.
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