Housing Lack Leads To Fire Deaths
BY RICHARD GENTILVISO

"Sixteen people were living in what was basically a one-family home," Brown said. "Whether that will result in criminal liability remains to be seen."

Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said the investigation of an illegally subdivided singlefamily home in Elmhurst where three young children and an 87-year old man died in a fire last December is under way. "Sixteen people were living in what was basically a one-family home," Brown said. "Whether that will result in criminal liability remains to be seen."

Brown's response concerning the fatal fire at 40-77 Denman St. was spurred by a question at the April meeting of Community Board 4 about recent indictments brought by Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson in the deaths of two city firefighters.

In that case, two tenants, the landlord and the corporation owning the building were each charged with manslaughter. It is alleged that an illegally, subdivided apartment caused six firefighters to leap from a window. Two of them died. Fire officials say an illegal partition, creating five bedrooms instead of three, trapped the six firefighters on January 23, 2005 from getting to a fire escape. Of the four surviving firefighters, three were seriously injured.

"It was a terrible, terrible tragedy," Brown said of the December 6, 2005 blaze that more than 100 firefighters battled for three hours to bring under control. "I was there that night with the fire marshal," he said. Illegal conversions are frequently cited as fire hazards, although the Elmhurst fire resulted from a child playing with a lighter. However, the cause in The Bronx, an overloaded electrical outlet, was also unrelated to illegal conversion.

"The problem is [lack of] affordable housing," said Brown. According to Citizens Housing and Planning Council, a research and advocacy group, 73 percent of all housing growth between 1990 and 2000 in Queens was illegal. Brown also said an insufficient number of Building Department inspectors was to blame. Out of an estimated 10,000 complaints of illegal conversions in the borough, only 35 percent are investigated and less than 50 percent are written as violations.

"They [illegal conversions] are treated as summons violations at best," said Brown, noting criminal prosecution is after the fact.

City Councilmember Hiram Monserrate, said he would not give his support to a new stadium for the New York Mets until they promise a community benefits package similar to one agreed to by the New York Yankees in The Bronx and present a "real parking plan".

The Yankees have agreed to give $50 million over a period of 20 years in community benefits, including $800,000 a year in grants to local nonprofit groups, 15,000 free tickets per year to community groups for Yankee home games and a $1 million apprentice training program for construction and other skilled jobs with at least 25 percent of the participants from The Bronx.

"The community suffers from thousands and thousands of fans coming in. We're asking for support of local programs, sports leagues and help with parks upkeep," said Monserrate.

"Amajor sticking point is that there will be no parking available for three years," he added, noting the site of the new stadium will be on the existing parking lot. "Where will those cars park?" Speculating that fans will park on local streets, Monserrate warned, "it's going to be a major inconvenience for three years".