City agencies address fire aftermath

Dozens left homeless in the wake of a five-alarm fire in Elmhurst the day after the blizzard attended a meeting with city agencies to find out about their rights.
Councilmember Julissa Ferreras called the meeting on the morning of December 30 between city agencies and the displaced residents of the fire at 41-72 Judge Street on the night of Monday, December 27.
“In this time of need for dozens of people who are now homeless, I want to be sure that city agencies and charities are available to aid the afflicted, and that the displaced tenants understand their options,” said Ferreras.
For nearly three hours, representatives from the Office of Emergency Management, the Department of Buildings, Housing Preservation and Development, the Human Resources Administration, the Department of Sanitation, the Fire Department of New York
(FDNY) and other interested city entities as well as the American Red Cross together with the building’s management and tenants sorted out issues regarding tenancy and rental payments.
“It was a very informative meeting,” said tenant Rosario Javier. “All of the agencies were in one area all at the same time. In the previous days we would get conflicting information so to have all of them in one place we can finally get one answer to our questions.”
Twenty-seven units from the left side of the building are still uninhabitable, and about 100 displaced tenants are currently sheltered by the Red Cross.
The fire broke out due to an unattended space heater on the top floor of the six-story apartment building around 6:30 p.m., but the FDNY didn’t have the blaze under control until 9:24 p.m. Fire officials said the aftereffects of the blizzard and the high winds made it difficult for crews to get to the building.
About 200 firefighters were needed to battle the blaze in the 66-unit apartment building. The fire caused minor injuries to four tenants and four firefighters.
“Fire doesn’t distinguish, and it doesn’t discriminate,” said Roger Montesano, Director of the FDNY’s bureau of community affairs.
At the oversight hearing on Monday, January 10, Ferreras is expected to question the city’s handling of the blizzard and the role it played to the FDNY’s response time of the fire.
Staff members from Ferreras’ office will be collecting clothes and cleaning supplies for families displaced by the fire during the Second Annual Intergenerational Three Kings Day Celebration on Saturday, January 8 from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Florence E. Smith Senior Center at 102-18 34th Avenue in Corona.