Police recovered two bodies in a Howard Beach brush fire near the Belt Parkway this morning.
Authorities responded to a 9-1-1 call for a fire in the grassy, undeveloped area around 4:30 a.m. near the intersection of 159th Avenue and 78th Street. When the fire was out, police said, they found the bodies of two black men.
The medical examiner, on scene along with NYPD and U.S. Parks Police, will determine the men’s identities and cause of death.
Tom Folchetti, who lives just up the block, said his daughter was alarmed when she saw fire trucks outside, so he headed toward the scene.
Folchetti said he was surprised to hear that bodies were in the fire.
“It’s not an everyday occurrence,” he said, adding that the neighborhood should be “definitely concerned about what goes on here.”
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Howard Beach