Results tagged “theredcross”

At least 27 families were evacuated 305 West 150th Street in Harlem after the Fire and Buildings Departments found the apartment building to be unstable. WNBC describes the building as an "active construction site" - so active that a resident complained to the Buildings Department that the owners were trying to do demolition work, with the residents still there.

After reports of an unstable wall and possible demolition, it looks like the Bedford Street building that houses the bar Chumley's is staying up. But the Department of Buildings must determine whether the building is secure. The owners' construction contractors were doing illegal work: Though they applied for permits, the DOB hadn't approved them yet.

Last night, an apartment building in Far Rockaway caught fire, forcing hundreds of people to evacuate their homes in the cold weather. By the time firefighters arrived to Neilson Street, flames were already shooting through the windows. The fire spread to the house next door, and the Long Island Power Authority and Con Ed shut off the power to area customers in order to protect firefighters.

A three-alarm fire occured in a historic townhouse on East 70th Street over night. The townhouse at 115 East 70th was empty, but residents in other buildings had to be evacuated. One hundred forty firefighters responded and one witness told 1010WINS, "I saw flames going all the way to the moon." The Red Cross set up emergency shelter - even using an MTA bus to keep people warm. Fire officials are investigating the fire's cause, because it does seem suspicious.

How many ways can we write that power has still not been restored in Queens? Cause it still hasn't. What else can we say? The papers are having a good time with this one, what journalist wouldn't love to write a story about a hair salon in Astoria that can't do a blowout? But good news stories doesn't bring the power back on, and neither, it seems, do all the mayor's horses and all the mayor's men.

Three young children and an elderly man were killed in their Queens home yesterday evening. Newsday says the fire was started by a child playing with matches. Two of the children, 5 and 6 year old brothers, were found hiding with each other in the closet of their basement apartment, while their 1 year old baby daughter was found in her crib; the 88 year old man was found outside their door and fire officials suspect that he was trying to save them. The Red Cross says that twenty-one people lived in the house, with eight in the basement. The fire took almost three hours to put out, because a locked gate blocked firefighters from the cellar door. FDNY Response time was six minutes; the NY Times notes that is within the national average, but NYC response time is more like 4.5 minutes. The city is also investigating whether or not the building's basement dwelling was legal; basement living is only legal when at least half of it is above ground.

Mayor Bloomberg criticized federal efforts to help Hurricane Katrina victims as he also reassured New Yorkers that our Office of Emergency Management had an evacuationg plan for the city if needed. At the West Indian Day Parade yesterday, the Mayor told a crowd:

The sad fact is that the vast majority of those who were left behind in New Orleans were either black or poor, or both. How could we have turned our backs on those who've needed our help for so long, for so many years that they were left to fend for themselves when disaster struck? As a nation, we all are to blame and we all must do better the next time.

The NY Times noted that some of the Mayor's would-be challengers have been trying to connect his billions as being a reason why he might be out of touch with NYC's poorest, as they ramp up to use Katrina as why voting for a Democrat is better for New York. The Mayor emphasized that the city would insist on evacuating residents, even by court order, and would have the mass transportation to get them out; plus, NYPD, FDNY and other emergency workers from the city are on their way to help out in the Louisiana-Mississippi region.

Call 311 if there are problems, and here's more information about what to do with your building's heat from the Department of Housing Preservation and Development. The Red Cross suggests that if your home loses heat, seal the doors and windows and keep everyone in the same room; plus, they recommend to dress in layers and wear boots, gloves and a hat. Gothamist heartily agrees and says your fears of looking like a shapeless blob with later hat-head are small next to the possibility of frostbite.