April 12–18, 2019 Brooklyn Paper • www.BrooklynPaper.com • (718) 260-2500 AWP 7
S’Park fi re
Families searching for
answers following blaze
By Colin Mixson
Brooklyn Paper
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 firefighters 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 fire broke out on the
top floor of the six-story residential
building between Seventh
and Eighth Avenues at
4:46 p.m., and firefighters
stormed the property’s smoldering
pent-house apartments
only to be forced back outside,
as high-winds swept the
fire towards them, eventually
forcing New York’s Bravest to
battle the blaze from ladders
positioned over the structure
beyond the fire’s reach, according
to FDNY Chief of Department
John Sudnik.
And while firefighters continued
pouring water into the
Sunset Park building well
into the next evening, officials
with FDNY and Department
of Buildings, speaking
at a closed-door meeting on
April 4, said they were 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 floors — floors
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,
fire, 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 officials 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, Office of
Emergency Management, 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 officials, in-
Photo by Paul Martinka
Residents of a 54-unit, six-story building will have to
wait days before they can return to assess damages
to their homes.
cluding Councilman Carlos
Menchaca, Assemblyman
Felix Ortiz, and Congresswoman
Nydia Velazquez, Estrada
created an online fund
raiser to benefit 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 fire.
“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
office to help out.”
All told, the conflagration
injured 32 people, including
nearly two dozen
firefighters, who suffered
burns, sprains, and debilitating
smoke inhalation, according
to a spokesman for
the fire department.
Talking to Judge Margarita Lopez Torres
Schneps Media
The weekly podcast features
Power Women such
as Judge Judith Sheinlin of
“Judge Judy,” Pat DiMango of
“Hot Bench,” New York City
Census Director Julie Menin
and many others.
This week’s podcast guest is
Judge Margarita Lopez Torres,
a judge for the Kings County
Surrogate’s Court.
Judge Torres talks to host
Victoria Schneps about growing
up in Brownsville after emigrating
from Puerto Rico
and becoming a lawyer after
spending many years as
a teacher.
She was inspired by the
Civil Rights movement and
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during
her formative years and felt
that interest in the law could
help people who were seeking
equal rights.
“I saw the difference that a
judge could make in a family’s
life,” Torres said. “I wanted to
be one of those judges.”
Tune in to the 15-minute
podcast at SchnepsBroadcasting.
com.
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