Editor’s Note: The following is an updated version of the story that appears in our latest print edition. 

 

On a chilly Tuesday morning, on March 24, Bronx City Councilman Oswald Feliz (C.D. 15) held a press conference at City Hall Park in Manhattan, alongside members of the Twin Parks citywide taskforce to, once again, highlight the importance of fire safety and prevention, amid the introduction by Feliz of a new draft bill, Intro 0105-2022. The taskforce was created by the speaker of the council, Adrienne Adams, and Feliz and others had previously held a number of press conferences in The Bronx to outline draft plans for the new legislation which aims to enhance fire safety in the aftermath of the Twin Parks fire tragedy that occurred in Fordham Heights in early January.

 

Joining Feliz was Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson, Bronx City Councilwoman Pierina Sanchez (C.D. 14), Queens City Councilwoman Joann Ariola (C.D. 32), Brooklyn City Councilwoman Alexa Aviles (C.D. 38), and Courtney Curd, communications director for Bronx Councilwoman Amanda Farías (C.D. 18).

 

Feliz used the occasion to highlight key aspects of the new local law “to amend the administrative code of the City of New York in relation to housing and fire safety,” and prevent further fire tragedies like Twin Parks from occurring. As reported, on Sunday, Jan. 9, a massive fire ripped through the Twin Parks Northwest housing complex, located at 333 E. 181st Street, in the Fordham Heights section of The Bronx, killing 17 people, mostly immigrants, including 9 children. U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and others spoke of the tragic loss of life at the time, noting that it was the deadliest fire in New York City in 30 years.

Former Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro and other fire fighters were seen looking dejected and despondent at the press conference held on the evening of the tragedy. Thousands of Bronxites and New Yorkers would later show up for the funeral service of the 17 victims, amid an outpouring of donations and offers to help the victims’ families.

 

An additional fire that occurred shortly after Twin Parks, in the University Heights section of the Bronx, pushed legislators to introduce additional fire safety laws at every level of government, including action by the mayor.

 

Feliz, in whose district the Twin Parks fire occurred, opened the press conference, remembering the tragic day. “That Sunday morning, we saw a fire start due to a malfunctioning space heater,” he said. “Had those self-closing doors been properly functioning, that fire would have been enclosed to the section it started. Smoke would not have inundated the entire 19-story highrise,” he added.

 

To prevent such deadly circumstances from arising in the future, Feliz said the new legislation creates a stronger system of enforcement when it comes to fire safety and highlighted four core components of the law. The first is that landlords will be given no more than 10 days to address self-closing door violations. Under the current system, landlords have 21 days to fix such issues.

 

The second component requires New York City Department of Housing, Preservation and Development (HPD) to legally re-inspect self-closing door violations to ensure they are, in fact, corrected. Another component increases fines for landlords who willfully violate laws related to fire safety and self-closing doors. “If landlords willfully, falsely certify that they have cured a self-closing door violation, they face a fine of up to $1,000,” Feliz said. The final component strengthens the definition of self-closing doors to mean a door that fully shuts, and fully latches.

 

For her part, Ariola said she believes the new legislation will save the lives of City residents and first responders, and said she was grateful to be a part of the legislative effort at City Hall. “I am so proud to stand here with these legislators who believe we need to put not party first, but people first,” she said, explaining that the new law was a bipartisan effort. “We will work together so that we can really keep this City safe,” she added.

 

Meanwhile, Gibson called the legislation a step in the right direction and later spoke about the importance of the recent signing of Mayor Eric Adams’ Executive Order 12. On March 20, Adams signed the order which, among other things, will increase collaboration between FDNY and HPD inspectors.

 

“It is often the case that agencies work in silos,” Gibson said. “We need to make sure that the information [regarding safety hazards] is being shared on one [City] database. We are also making sure that agencies and landlords provide information on evacuation procedures and fire escape information in multiple languages because we have to make sure tenants know what to do in the event of a fire.” Indeed, since the Twin Towers fire tragedy, fire safety and prevention has become the focus of a number of recent community board meetings.

 

Gibson concluded by thanking New Yorkers for meeting the moment. “New Yorkers are resilient and tough,” the borough president said. “During times of challenge, we step up. New Yorkers stood up in a major way [in recent months and years]. As the Bronx Borough President, I am grateful,” she said.

 

For her part, Sanchez thanked Gibson for her tireless efforts in helping all those affected by the Twins Park fire. Norwood News had received reports of some victims who were still not receiving the help they needed. When we asked Gibson about this on March 14, she alluded that bureaucracy sometimes got in the way of progress, and that housing vouchers for residents had to be handled through the federal housing system which took time. However, she said her office staff were working their way through any backlogs and were addressing all queries accordingly.

 

Sanchez took the opportunity to address the culpability of landlords in such situations. “The fire at Twin Parks Northwest shows that there is negligence, and that landlords have impacted the lives of New Yorkers,” Sanchez said. “The City already requires self-closing doors, but landlords have not taken seriously the obligation to protect our residents,” she added.

Aviles went one step further, delivering a direct message to landlords in the City. “We are here to tell you that we will hold you accountable for doing the job, for having the privilege of having property, and having renters, to make sure that you provide the safety that is expected of you,” she said. “That is part of that responsibility of owning property.”

 

As reported, a $3 billion class action lawsuit has been filed by Twin Parks residents against the building’s landlord, Bronx Park Phase III Preservation LLC. Former Mayor Bill de Blasio, and the City of New York are also mentioned in the court filings since the building was part of the City’s public housing network, and home to 875 public housing residents.

 

Aviles later stressed the significance of having conversations with family members about what to do in the case of emergency. “These are conversations, while they feel funny and weird, we need to have with our children,” she said. “We need to remind them: Where do they go when this happens? What do they do? It is a fundamental conversation that absolutely saves lives.”

 

 

Speaking on behalf of Farías, Curd argued for more government action on safety prevention in residential buildings. Having gone door-to-door in many of the buildings in her district, Curd said Farías had seen firsthand their shortcomings in terms of safety. “It is clear that serious investments need to be made to keep residents safe,” Curd said. “This is the case for too many communities in this City and that is why legislation is absolutely necessary.”

 

Feliz echoed those sentiments in his final remarks. “We have to build a system that protects our families,” he said. “That is exactly what we are doing today. Designing a system that makes sure that our landlords are taking self-closing doors and fire safety violations seriously and those that fail to do so are quickly held accountable.”

 

 

A hearing on fire safety and prevention was held on Wednesday, April 6, at City Hall where various City Agencies were called to provide testimony. The city council speaker later issued a letter to the mayor expressing her dissatisfaction with the apparent lack of preparedness shown by some agency staff during the hearing. The letter is attached, above.

 

On April 7, Jacob Wexler, president and CEO of Legacy Manufacturing and a certified inspector of fire doors, issued a statement regarding the April 6 city council hearing on fire safety legislation, wherein he commented on the draft legislation under discussion.

 

Legacy Manufacturing is a manufacturer of acoustical and fire rated sealing systems for the commercial market, including automatic door bottoms, thresholds, and other acoustical and fire rated products. The company’s headquarters are located in The Bronx, not far from where the tragic fire at Twin Parks occurred.

 

“The package of legislation heard today does not go far enough to prevent further Twin Parks tragedies, as these bills, unfortunately, miss the mark on the root of the problem- a lack of compliance with existing requirements for fire door inspections,” Wexler said.

 

He referred to NFPA 80, a safety standard that regulates the installation and maintenance of assemblies and devices used to protect openings in walls, floors, and ceilings against the spread of fire and smoke within, into, or out of buildings. Wexler said that NFPA 80 required inspections and testing of all fire doors “not less than annually.” He continued, “While this legislation, specifically Intro 0105-2022, would increase fees and reduce the amount of time a landlord has to correct a violation of self-closing fire doors, these well-intended steps would be moot if there are no mandated inspections, since these violations would be self-reported.”

 

Wexler concluded, “This is why the City Council should introduce legislation to, instead, create an Office of Fire Door Assemblies that would be responsible for enforcing code, and mandate inspections of all fire doors. That is the way to achieve true reform.”