12 die in Bronx building with history of bad smoke detectors

From the Daily News:

A raging fire quickly swept through the five story building on Prospect Ave. at E. 187th St. — taking with it 12 lives — including a one-year-old child.

More than 160 firefighters responded to the five-alarm blaze near the Bronx Zoo. The inferno broke out at 6:51 p.m. on the first floor and quickly spread upward. Firefighters responded in three minutes, after receiving more than a dozen 911 calls.

The cause of the fire was not immediately clear. Sources said the blaze may have been sparked by a space heater, but de Blasio said was too early in the investigation to tell.

A database in the New York City Housing Preservation and Development revealed one of the apartments on the first floor — where the fire started — had open violations for bad carbon monoxide and smoke detectors.

Attempts to reach the building owners were unsuccessful.

Asians now are in favor of illegal conversion bill

From Brooklyn Daily:

An Asian advocacy group that criticized a bill to prevent so-called “illegal home conversions” as racist has reversed its position and is the first Asian group to publicly support the measure. In July, Members of the Asian Community United Society said the proposal to boost fines for dicing one- and two-family homes into multifamily apartments unfairly targeted the Chinese who live in such buildings. But now the group’s director says the bill will actually protect Asian immigrants from predatory landlords.

“Initially I was under the impression that Chinese homeowners were being targeted, and we were worried about their safety,” said Warren Chan, the executive director of the society. “We need to come together because these developers are taking advantage of our community.”

The bill, introduced in June, would impose greater fines on landlords who incorrectly subdivide homes and would also let the city put liens on properties when landlords fail to pay the penalties. In its early stages, the bill created a fund for residents displaced when the city vacates illegal buildings, but lawmakers scrapped the provision, because Council does not have the power to designate such a fund.

Chan and others previously argued that the legislation would put immigrant families on the street as the city empties dangerous homes. The city raided two such illegal conversions in Dyker Heights this month, leaving nearly 40 people without a home.

But Chan now says that property owners are the real bad guys, because unsanctioned construction work exposes residents to carbon monoxide poisoning, electrical fires, and building collapse. The city must adopt a two-pronged approach — pass the bill and increase the stock of affordable housing so new immigrants have options — he said.

Why carbon monoxide detectors are necessary

From CBS Local:

A couple in their 80s and another man and woman were killed in a carbon monoxide incident in Floral Park, Queens Friday afternoon.

The incident began at around 3:15 p.m. in a single family home at 260th Street near 86th Avenue, according to EMS, 1010 WINS’ Derricke Dennis reported.

Jerry Hugel, 83, was found dead in a garage, and Marie Hugel, 80, was found dead in the lower floor adjacent to a garage, sources said. They were found dead by their son, an NYPD sergeant, who called 911, sources said.

Walter Vonthadden, 76, was found dead in the upstairs living room, and Gloria Greco, 70, was found dead upstairs near a staircase, sources said.

One of the two victims in their 70s lived in the house as a tenant, while the other was a visitor, police said.

Police said a Buick was found running in the garage, CBS2’s Matt Kozar reported.

Another dead body found in a car

From the NY Times:

Freezing rain fell on the navy blue BMW that sat on a narrow side street in Astoria, Queens, last week, and the ice-encrusted snow soon concealed its roof and windows.

People who live in the neighborhood said they walked past the car, which was parked on 28th Street, for two days without noticing anything odd. At the same time, some friends were concerned over the disappearance on Wednesday of a young Albanian immigrant, Argent Dyryzi, who lived nearby. On Friday, they had fliers printed and went up and down 28th Street, passing the snowbound car at the corner of Newtown Avenue several times.

It was not until Friday night, after the weather had turned slightly warmer and some snow and ice had melted from the car’s windows, that a passer-by could make out a figure slumped over the wheel. It was the body of Mr. Dyryzi.

The BMW belonged to one of the two roommates that Mr. Dyryzi, 31, shared an apartment with a half block away.

The body was frozen with no signs of trauma, according to a law enforcement official with knowledge of the investigation who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation was continuing.

But Romina Perkaj, a friend of Mr. Dyryzi’s, said she had learned from the medical examiner’s office that his organs showed discoloration that could be associated with carbon monoxide poisoning. The law enforcement official confirmed her account.