Dozens of tenants displaced by a massive fire in a Queens building nearly a year ago say their apartments were burglarized, but police refuse to allow them to report their belongings stolen, according to the building’s tenant association.
At least 50 apartments have been burglarized since an electrical fire erupted in the six-floor building on 34th Avenue and 89th Street in Jackson Heights last spring, according to Andrew Sokolof Diaz, the tenant association president.
“The police will not allow us to file stolen property reports,” Sokolof Diaz told THE CITY.
The April 6, 2021 fire torched upper-level apartments, injured 21 people and displaced more than 140 households — about 500 New Yorkers. While top floor apartments were destroyed by fire, others below were ruined by the water used to fight the blaze.
In September, THE CITY reported that dozens of tenants of the 133-unit building sued the owner and various agencies in Housing Court, demanding that repairs be done in a timely manner so that families could retrieve their belongings and return home.
A judge has since issued the owner, Kedex Properties LLC, a series of deadlines to finish repairs, ultimately ruling on Nov. 23: “All work must be completed and ready for occupancy” by January 2023.
By November, many tenants from one wing of the building had yet to gain access to their apartments and were only able to glimpse inside for the first time since the fire through photos that appeared in mold and damage reports in court records. Several dozen residents from the other wing had received permission to enter their units and retrieve personal items months earlier.
Since January, tenants from the still-restricted wing have been able to view their apartments via directed video calls with building contractors inside.
In those calls, tenants noticed certain valuables were not in their spots. That fueled fears of residents who said they had for months alerted police to suspicious behavior in and around the building — specifically by security guards and contractors with access.
“Things have clearly been rummaged and ransacked,” said Sokolof Diaz, noting photos and videos show their apartments left in disarray, with mattresses flipped, closets and drawers opened, momentos strewn about and safes forcibly broken into.
When asked why tenants were unable to file police reports, an NYPD spokesperson did not offer an explanation but noted “complaint reports are recorded based on a preliminary investigation and information provided by the complainant.”
“A complaint report can be made by calling 911, approaching an officer or requesting a police report at a police facility,” said the spokesperson, Lt. Jessica McRorie.
She also said police reports for crimes and incidents can be made online.
THE CITY spoke with 10 tenants who said they believed their belongings were stolen when they finally saw inside their apartments through photos and videos.
“What little we were supposed to recover is gone,” said Neyilia Rodríguez, 56, who lived in a second-floor unit with her husband, daughter, son-in-law and two grandchildren.
A photo in court records showed her son-in-law’s electric bike in their apartment. But when Rodríguez had a video call with a contractor, the bike was gone, she said, along with money, a phone, jewelry and her daughter’s permanent makeup equipment.
4 comments:
Maybe it will give them incentive to go back to their own countries instead of staying here illegally then.
They can roam the Jackson Heights neighborhood and find all of their stuff being sold on nearly every street corner by "illegal street vendors" the same woke politicians defend and protect.
Maybe it was the electric bicycle being charged inside their apartment that caused the fire? And maybe the insurance company or FDNY took it as evidence?
What I find interesting is that not one of these tenants had renters insurance.
"Interesting is that not one of these tenants had renters insurance" Good Point !
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