Junkies and Migrant Squatters Turn NYC Block into Crime-Ridden Nightmare, Burn Two Homes with Stolen E-Bikes
ZUMAPRESS.com
On a Brooklyn block, New York City’s most chaotic worlds have collided. Drug-addicted squatters rented an abandoned house to migrants, collecting dozens of seemingly stolen bikes and scooters. The stash eventually sparked a fire that scorched two nearby homes, The Post reports.
Even after the August 17 blaze, the squatters refused to leave the East 36th Street house in Marine Park. They continue to occupy the property despite the fire.
“For the next two days, people were coming back again and again,” a 45-year-old neighbor told The Post, even after the city boarded up the second-floor windows and poured cement across the first-floor doors and windows.
Neighbors estimated around 10 junkies and an unknown number of migrant squatters frequented the dilapidated two-story, three-bedroom duplex, which was built in 1925.
“They were getting into fights with the neighbors and yelling, ‘This is our house! This is our house!’” one resident of the block recalled, adding that she called the police each time she saw them in the days following the blaze.
The two-alarm fire, which took 106 firefighters to douse and injured three smoke-eaters, was sparked by an exploding e-battery at about 1:30 p.m. Flames quickly spread to homes on either side, displacing at least six people.
The abandoned house has been a source of trouble for the otherwise quiet block since 2011, when its 81-year-old owner, Mortimer Falk, passed away with no surviving relatives. The Brooklyn Public Administrator is currently managing the estate and the property.
A 45-year-old neighbor expressed frustration, saying they have spent years trying to get officials to address the issue, but no one has taken action.
The home is valued at $729,300, according to Zillow.com. Attempts to contact the public administrator for comment were not returned.
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