Families searching for answers
Sunset Park blaze wreaks havoc on 44th Street, leaving dozens displaced
COURIER L 40 IFE, APRIL 12–18, 2019 M BR B G
agement, and the Department
of Housing
Preservation and Development
setup an ad-hoc
relief center in response
to the crisis, according
to David Estrada, director
of the Sunset Park
Fifth Avenue Business
Improvement District.
Acting on the direction
of local elected offi -
cials, including Councilman
Carlos Menchaca,
Assemblyman Felix Ortiz,
and Congresswoman
Nydia Velazquez, Estrada
created an online
fund-raiser to benefi t
the displaced 44th Street
residents that’s already
raised more than $15,000
by 5:30 p.m. on April 4.
Condo owners living
in the building were required
to purchase homeowner’s
insurance, but
renters were not, according
to Zuniga, who said
some neighbors may
have been wiped out by
the fi re.
“Some people have
been coming up to me
very concerned about
the fact they don’t have
renter’s insurance, and
they’re wondering how
to become whole,” he
said. “This is where I’m
hoping the community
steps in and works with
Councilman Menchaca’s
offi ce to help out.”
All told, the confl agration
injured 32 people,
including nearly two
dozen fi refi ghters, who
suffered burns, sprains,
and debilitating smoke
inhalation, according to
a spokesman for the fi re
department.
$1,500
SAVINGS
BY COLIN MIXSON
Dozens of families displaced
by a Sunset Park
inferno on April 3 will
have to spend days waiting
to regain access to
their 44th Street home,
unsure of the damage to
their apartments, property,
and even their beloved
pets as they wait
for fi refi ghters and building
inspectors to sound
the all clear, according to
a resident and local civic
guru.
“I have two cats in
there,” said Cesar Zuniga,
a resident of 702
44th St. and the chairman
of Community
Board 7. “We’re just hoping
against hope that
they’re OK.”
The fi re broke out on
the top fl oor of the sixstory
residential building
between Seventh
and Eighth Avenues at
4:46 p.m., and fi refi ghters
stormed the property’s
smoldering penthouse
apartments only
to be forced back outside,
as high-winds
swept the fi re towards
them, eventually forcing
New York’s Bravest
to battle the blaze from
ladders positioned over
the structure beyond the
fi re’s reach, according to
FDNY Chief of Department
John Sudnik.
And while fi refi ghters
continued pouring
water into the Sunset
Park building well into
Thursday evening, offi -
cials with FDNY and Department
of Buildings,
speaking at a closeddoor
meeting on April
4, said they’re expecting
another three to four
days of engineering assessments
before they allow
residents back into
the building, according
to Zuniga, who as CB7
chair was privy to the
private council.
As a result, residents
living on the lower fl oors
— fl oors four through
six suffered either full,
or partial collapse —
have no idea which of
their possessions are
salvageable and which
have been destroyed in
the deluge of smoke, fi re,
and water, according to
the civic leader.
“There’s no possibility
we’re going to get in
there to retrieve personal
effects,” said Zuniga.
“It’s hard, people
are very upset.”
In addition to the
burning building, Department
of Buildings
offi cials evacuated
three neighboring
structures, and some 90
people had registered
by Thursday for emergency
shelter at the
Sunset Park Recreation
Center on Seventh Avenue,
where various city
and relief organizations
including Red Cross,
Catholic Charities, Offi
ce of Emergency Man-
BLAZE: Firefi ghters at the scene. Photo by Paul Martinka