Burned body found in vacant lot in Jamaica, Queens, police sources say

An unidentified person was found dead in Queens on Thursday, and police sources said the body was burned.

Officers were called just after 4 p.m. to a vacant lot near 139th Street and Hillside Avenue in Jamaica for a report of an unconscious person. 

They found the person unresponsive, and EMS pronounced the victim dead at the scene. 

An employee at Narrow Security, which is next to the lot, said a coworker noticed something unusual there but didn't realize it was a body.

The man named Ruben said they have had concerns about the private property before.

"The police came several times, and we called the sanitation department, and there was no action taken because it's private property and nobody can do nothing," he said.   

For resident Mohammed Hossain, a discovery like this is especially jarring because he generally considers this a safe neighborhood.

"I'm astonished. I haven't heard anything like that. I'm really shocked," he said. "There are obviously some small stuff that happens just like any other neighborhood in Queens, but I haven't heard of anything so disastrous like this before." 

The medical examiner is now working to determine how the person died as detectives try to piece together how the body ended up there.   

Police are not releasing the victim's identity until family can be notified. 

No arrests have been made.