New York, NY —
The deaths of five people in 2 different fires on consecutive Sundays has again focused attention on the growing problem of illegal apartment conversions. WNYC’s Cindy Rodriguez the dangerous problem is difficult to detect:
EVERYBODY HAD TO RUN. EVEN THOUGH THE FIRE WAS NOT ON OUR SIDE. BUT THE SMOKE WAS REAL BAD. EVERYBODY HAD TO GET OUT BEFORE THE SMOKE HIT HARD
Ms. Ramos, as she has asked to be called, sits inside a Bronx non-profit agency where fire victims have received clothing and help with finding shelter. She lived in the Bronx building where a deadly blaze caused two firefighters to jump to their death.
THESE GUYS THESE FIREMEN. THEY GOT THERE. BANGING ON ALL THOSE DOORS TO GET US OUT. THEY DID A GOOD JOB.
The blaze was started by an overheated extension cord that ignited a mattress. Rooms inside the apartment had been divided up to accommodate multiple tenants making an already dangerous situation worse. These illegal walls block exits and that’s not all says Patrick McNally, the Fire Department’s chief of fire prevention:
YOU’RE MAKING ROOMS SMALLER THEN THEY WERE ORIGINALLY DESIGNED TO BE. YOU’RE PROBABLY INCREASING THE OCCUPANT LOAD WHICH AGAIN THE BUILDING WASN’T DESIGNED FOR. YOU’RE PUTTING A STRAIN ON THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, PROBABLY ON THE HEATING SYSTEM…
The Fire Department says its aware of the prevalence of illegal housing and McNally says firefighters are trained to deal with it:
NOW WE SEND PEOPLE RIGHT AWAY INTO BASEMENTS AND ATTICS AND WE KNOW WE HAVE TO MAKE AN AGGRESSIVE ATTEMPT TO GET INTO AN ATTIC THAT MAYBE 20 YEARS AGO MAY HAVE BEEN JUST AN ATTIC WITH STORAGE EQUIPMENT OR STORAGE MATERIAL IN THERE.
Since the fire, Ramos is scared to return to her old living space. She and her 35 year old son shared one room inside an apartment where two other families also lived. The 52 year old, who works full time as a home attendant says once the building was evacuated the tenants began talking:
ONCE YOU GET IN THE GROUP WHERE I WAS, I SAID OH NO WE WERE ALL LIVING IN THE SAME CONDITION…WHY BECAUSE THEY CAN’T AFFORD RENTS AND THEY WORK ALSO. ALL THAT BUILDING THEY WERE WORKING PEOPLE.
The Department of Buildings says the Bronx building had multiple violations but there were no complaints about illegal housing. Even if someone had complained about the divided rooms, chances are good an inspector would not have gained access. Jennifer Givner, a spokeswoman for the Department of Buildings says inspectors must obtain permission to enter a private residence from either a tenant or landlord and 50 percent of the time they can’t.
WHAT THEY’LL DO IS MARK DOWN IF IT’S A TWO FAMILY HOME AND THEY SEE THREE DOORBELLS THEY’LL MAKE A NOTE OF THAT IF IT’S A TWO FAMILY HOME AND IT HAS THREE ELECTRIC METERS, THEY’LL MAKE A NOTE OF THAT…
The “evidence” is then compiled and in the most serious cases, the Department of Buildings will work with the law department to try to obtain an access warrant from the courts. But warrants are rare. According to the city, last year 14 were requested and 6 were signed. So far this year there have been 10 requests and 2 have been signed. That’s out of more than 15-thousand, 6-hundred complaints citywide. More than half of those were in Queens alone.
It is difficult to tell how many illegal housing units exist. The city has no official numbers. But a report issued by The Citizens Housing and Planning Council used 2000 census and estimated citywide there are 100-thousand illegal units. The groups executive director Frank Braconi calls the number conservative and says reformers in the early 1900’s were vocal about the way people, especially new immigrants were living in a way that doesn’t happen now:
PEOPLE ARE AFRAID TO RAISE THESE REGULATORY ISSUES NOW AND WE’RE BACKSLIDING. WE’RE ALLOWING CONDITIONS TO BE CREATED IN OUR HOUSING STOCK THAT WOULDN’T HAVE BEEN TOLERATED A CENTURY AGO.
But this wave of immigration is different because many people are undocumented and are therefore are more underground. Braconi believes that housing groups like his own, academia and elected officials are reluctant to expose how widespread illegal housing is because it’s a problem associated with the immigrant community and they don’t want to appear unsympathetic:
THE OTHER REASON THAT MAKES IT POLITICALLY DIFFICULT IS THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE BENEFIT FROM THE PROLIFERATION OF THE INFORMAL HOUSING SECTOR.SOMEBODY IS CREATING INFORMAL UNITS AND RENTING THEM AND MAKING MONEY OFF THEM. UNFORTUNATELY, ITS PROBABLY A PRETTY LARGE SEGMENT OF THE CITY’S HOME OWNERS
Braconi agrees with the Department of Buildings that enforcement is a problem. And adds there is little incentive for tenants to turn in their landlords because they fear they will be out of a place to live. But he says not all “informal” housing needs to be vacated:
SOME OF THEM, MANY OF THEM IN FACT MAY JUST NEED UPGRADE TO BE BROUGHT UP TO SAFETY CODES OR OTHER KINDS OF STANDARDS THAT WE MIGHT SET.
He says the city should offer homeowners assistance to make the improvements. But along with improving what’s already there, Braconi believes the creation of more affordable housing is the long term answer. And Ms. Ramos from the Bronx agrees. She has just begun searching for a new place to live and doesn’t like her options so far. She says she’s seen nothing but rooms with dividers that made her feel unsafe:
I SAID OH MY GOD, WE’RE GOING BACK TO THE SAME TRACK. I KNEW IT. …... AND ALL THESE PEOPLE ARE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF US OF OUR PAYROLL AND WE GOTTA GO FOR IT.
The Department of Buildings and the Fire Department are currently investigating the building where the fire occurred. Both agencies say without help from tenants it will be difficult to crackdown on illegal conversions and therefore possibly prevent more fatalities.
For WNYC: I’m Cindy Rodriguez