Owner of New York City Apartment Building in Deadly Fire Previously Sued for 107 Code Violations
The owners of an apartment building in Manhattan where three people were killed in a fast-moving fire early Monday are being sued by the city for neglecting fire hazards at a neighboring property, court documents show.
The fire broke out around 12:30 a.m. in a second-floor apartment at 207 Dyckman St. near Broadway in Inwood, NY, FDNY officials said.
About a week earlier, the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development filed a legal petition accusing Jan Jan Realty Corp., which buildings records list as also the owner of the fire-ravaged building, of neglecting hundreds of unsafe code violations at another property located next door.
The April 27 legal filing cites obstructions to egress, broken flame-retardant in a common area of 209 Dyckman St., along with missing smoke and carbon monoxide detectors among numerous fire hazards found at the property.
Also noted in the suit were incidents of peeling lead paint, collapsing ceilings, lack of gas service, vermin and “rampant” water leaks causing “cracks, holes, and broken paint and plaster,” in addition to hazardous mold, broken faucets and missing window guards.
All told, there are 219 open code violations at the property, which the city is accusing Jan Jan Realty Corp. and its president, Jack Bick, of neglecting “as part of an intentional and aggressive campaign to harass and displace rent stabilized tenants,” according to the suit.
Messages left for an attorney for Jan Jan Realty Corp. were not immediately returned.
Monday’s fire resulted in 14 injuries, including a firefighter with minor injuries. Three residents died at the scene, while five more were hospitalized with critical injuries, FDNY officials said. Four more residents were taken to local hospitals with moderate or minor injuries.
The building where the fire broke out has 107 housing code violations, including 39 that are considered immediately hazardous, building records show.
Fire officials said that open doors near a central staircase allowed the flames to intensify and shoot upstairs to other apartments.
“We are still working with the fire department and with the Department of Buildings to determine what the cause of the fire was and also whether there was any negligence on the part of the landlord that contributed to the fire,” said Housing Preservation and Development Commissioner Diana Levy.
Alexis Rodriguez, 44, said his wife and three children, ages 4, 8 and 18, are intubated at the hospital in critical condition. His family lives on the sixth floor.
“My older daughter is the one that is more burned,” he said. “My wife also, her hands are burned.”
About 100 residents were displaced by the fire.
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