A fire at 82 Rockaway Parkway left three people wounded over the weekend and tenants say dangerous building conditions are to blame.
BROWNSVILLE, BROOKLYN — Three people were hurt when a fire erupted in a crumbling Brownsville apartment complex last weekend and now tenants are demanding the landlord fix building problems they say put their lives at stake.
“I have to turn on my space heater, stovetop, and oven to stay warm,” said 82 Rockaway Parkway resident K.B, 28. “Not only is that extremely expensive, it’s dangerous.”
K.B is one of several residents who gathered in the Rockaway Avenue lobby Friday morning, one week after an all-hands fire broke out and left two tenants and one firefighter injured, according to residents and the FDNY.
Tenants pleaded with building owner, whom city records show to be Joseph Popack, and even handed him a 150-signature petition on Jan. 27 asking him to address their concerns, residents said.
The four-story building has accumulated 65 hazardous violations for unsafe wiring, faulty fire escape, inadequate heating and missing smoke detectors in the past decade, Housing Preservation and Development department records show.
And the Department of Building issued a $500 fine for a problem with the fire escape in February 2017 that has yet to be resolved, city records show.
Popack, who RealDeal reports owned about 5,000 New York City apartments in 2010, did not respond to residents’ request for a meeting and Patch was unable to reach him for comment.
Housing advocates from the Upstate Downstate Housing Alliance and Housing Justice For All joined the rallying renters Friday to call on Popack to make vital repairs and on state legislatures to strengthen rent protection laws.
“There is a direct relationship between the weaknesses in the rent laws and the many code violations in buildings like 82 Rockaway Parkway,” said Cea Weaver of Upstate Downstate.
“If we succeed in closing loopholes like the vacancy bonus and vacancy decontrol, we will remove the incentive landlords have to harass out long-term tenants by neglecting needed repairs.”
You must be logged in to post a comment.