In early January, a five-alarm fire tore through three buildings in Ridgewood, causing extensive damage that has required one of them, 18-24 Madison St., to be completely demolished despite residing in one of the neighborhood’s historic district. The fire, which started on the ground floor and spread to all three buildings within minutes, displaced almost 30 families who resided the the 3-story apartment buildings.
The Ridgewood community rallied to aid their neighbors and were able to donate truckloads of clothes, toiletries food and much more. Even raising upwards of $70,000 to be donated to the residents as they searched for a new place to live.
“I was a bit shocked to see this over the weekend – I don’t think I’ve ever seen one of these brick buildings being completely torn down, and this is a landmarked block, too,” wrote one user on Ridgewood’s subreddit. “I’ve also lived in NYC my whole life and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a burned-out building get fully demolished only six weeks after the incident.
The some of the iconic brickwork buildings found on the streets of Ridgewood have had landmark status for over 50 years now, after the Great Ridgewood Restoration Corp. (GRRC) began the work back in the 1980s. After years of advocacy Ridgewood now has a total of 1,332 of its buildings designated as New York City landmarks.
All exterior changes to buildings with landmark status must be approved by the Landmark Preservation Commission (LPC), a panel of 11 commissioners who are appointed by the Mayor and a team of 80 preservationists, researchers, architects, historians, attorneys, archaeologists, and administrative employees.
Despite its landmark designation, demolition of the building began about six weeks after the incident. All Department of Buildings (DOB) demolition permits are open to the public and accessible through NYC Open Data, but a permit was not filed for the Madison St. building. For all buildings weakened by fire, DOB inspectors assess the structural integrity and decide if a full or partial demolition is required.
According to the the DOB, a building given an Immediate Emergency Demolition (IED) does not require permits or construction plans “because such demolition work must be performed in an expeditious manner to ensure safety.” Due to the risk to nearby buildings and residents, the LPC did not need to approve the demolition. Though the DOB had not yet responded for comment on how much of the building will need to be demolished, progress has already been made to remove the second story.
According to a representative of FDNY, fire marshals are still investigating the source of the fire.
