A mother and her two daughters died in a fire in Brooklyn. The fire was in a third-floor apartment at about 5 am Friday at 587 Gates Ave. in Bedford-Stuyvesant. The mother and two children were pronounced dead at Woodhull University Hospital. The mother was 40 years old and the daughters were 8 and 10. … Read more
At 9 months old, Cooper Burkett was poisoned by lead, present in the paint in his Manhattan apartment. Now at 15, the health effects of him linger. “I have suffered since I was little, I lost the ability to speak and the worst part was that I developed a disorder, I ate the wooden crib, … Read more
A new fire caused by the explosion of a lithium-ion battery not only engulfed this business, but spread upward, leaving several families homeless, in a mixed-use building. Mary, a neighbor of said property, tells how she lived it: “Scared and all that, but thank God it didn’t happen seriously.” According to the city’s Fire Department, … Read more
“It was funny to me, because I never understood gravity until the day it happened to me.” The explosion of an electric bicycle battery, in August, devoured the apartment where Ala Paredes lived in Queens with her family. “It was around 4:45 when I was going to bed when I felt the house shake. I … Read more
Building inspectors were still trying to determine the cause of the deadly collapse of the parking building on Wednesday, using cranes to pull cars one by one from the rubble of the century-old building. Work also continued to recover the body of a garage worker, presumed dead under tons of concrete and crumpled vehicles (late … Read more
Councilman Erik Bottcher’s proposal would hurt business owners by fining them for not keeping the front of their businesses clean all day. So far, one law requires property owners to clean up to 18 inches into the street and is penalized by the custodial department, within a two-hour daily window. Councilor Erik Bottcher is the … Read more
Nearly a week after we shared the story of a Harlem family living through an ordeal in their apartment since they moved in as rodents have become permanent tenants, Councilman Shaun Abreu paid a home visit. “Thank you for letting me into your apartment,” the councilor told the family. The family told him that they … Read more
“The situation is unbearable, unbearable is the situation here.” Lucier Robles lives on the third floor of an apartment in Harlem with her husband and two-year-old son and dozens of mice that have settled in their home. “When I got home from work, when I opened my bed, my room, when I found the mouse … Read more
“Tenants, united, you will never be defeated.” The home of Ana Gálvez, where she lives with her eleven-year-old daughter in the Bronx, is just one of an estimated 200,000 who is at risk of eviction for not being able to pay rent in New York. This Mexican mother tells of losing her job as a … Read more
With banners and loud voices, a small group of tenants and activists accompanied Beverly Rivers to her eviction date in housing court in Brooklyn. Lesley Ann Jules, also faces an eviction order. “Many of the tenants have been living in the building for 20, 30, 40 years, many of them don’t know how to fight … Read more