The aftermath of the arson at 55 Harrison Place, December 28, 2009, in which one person died.
In a neighborhood with a long history of arson, a recent fire that left one girl dead and five others injured recalls the worst days of the decline of Bushwick.
At 4:30 AM on Monday, December 28, 100 firefighters arrived at 55 Harrison Place, responding to an emergency call. It took them two hours to control the blaze. Residents jumped out of windows and slid down fire escapes to flee the flames, but 17-year-old Sofia Olivo, a senior at Grover Cleveland High School in Queens, died in the blaze, afraid to jump from the second floor. She was staying overnight with a friend, Martha Quiñones, 19, who lived in the building.
Police and fire officials identified a can of gasoline arsonists likely used to start the blaze, and determined that the gas had been poured on the floor of the building’s vestibule. Police are looking for witnesses, and the Daily News says that security video shows two men entering the building and leaving as the flames erupted, but have not been able to identify them as of December 30. Police do not know the motive of those who set the blaze, but it is known that there were many reports of drug-sale activity over the years.
In need of extensive repairs, the building was acquired by the federal government’s Dept. of Housing and Urban Development in 2004 after falling into foreclosure. According to public record, the previous owner had been in the process of foreclosure within a year of purchase, and had numerous liens including for property tax delinquency. Scheduled renovations have been impossible to make because tenants in the building have refused to move — or even grant temporary access to repairmen — despite guarantees of relocation assistance. Brooklyn housing court has repeatedly rebuffed the Feds’ eviction efforts.
Brooklyn Legal Services tenant advocacy Attorney David Bryan told the Daily News that the case is on appeal and the building was "a death trap waiting to happen." In March, the city recorded 75 violations, including fire egress and flammability issues. The building, damaged too severely by the fire to rehabilitate, must now be torn down.
The verdict is still out as police investigate, but it seems a perfect storm of poor policy has led to arson and death on Harrison Place. Loose lending standards led to foreclosure of a federally backed loan to a landlord who apparently practiced poor maintenance. The federal government isn’t generally known as an attentive landlord. Judges with pro-tenant leanings that verge on fanaticism kept the property inhabited long after it should have been vacated. Drug policy attracts criminal types to the trade, culminating in what was possibly a drug-gang-related attack or a sloppy and brutal attempt to cover up evidence. A preventable situation has ended in tragedy for one family, and homelessness for several others.
If you have any information on the fire, please call the 90th Precinct at 718-963-5311.
gimme January 6th, 2010 at 3:10 pm
pretty screwed up, I hope they find those arsonists
why didn’t Sofia jump? risking a 2 story jump vs. being burned alive? seems like a no brainer
rip, she was gorgeous
Chris January 6th, 2010 at 4:50 pm
This is terribly sad. My prayers go out to the families. I had my car set on fire in early Dec. in Bushwick near the Gates j/z – but thankfully nobody was hurt. Seeing this puts my struggle into perspective. Hopefully who ever did this is caught.
Steve January 6th, 2010 at 8:21 pm
BushwickBK,
Why should the property have been vacated? Was there a vacate order? No. I understand your concern, but this isn’t about a Judge that didn’t evict tenants, this is about some asshole(s) that set fire to a building and killed a young girl.
Jeremy Sapienza January 6th, 2010 at 10:13 pm
Uh, so it could be fixed, as was planned. The tenants clearly didn’t care what condition they lived in as long as they could continue to live for free. We don’t yet know if the deplorable conditions contributed to the inability of Ms. Olivo to escape.
Steve January 7th, 2010 at 8:02 am
Jeremy,
Evicted is quite different from being relocated while repairs are done. If a building is in such a condition that tenants need to be relocated, why would they have to be evicted? Evicted means you lose your tenancy. You say “uh” as if I don’t understand what I’m talking about, but you’re the one that seems to be confused. David Bryan, who you indirectly quote, was certainly trying to get the Court to get those repairs completed. If anything, it was in not ordering repairs that the Court probably failed.
Jeremy Sapienza January 7th, 2010 at 11:06 am
The Feds do indeed seem to have been trying to permanently move the tenants, which is why they were offered moving and relocation assistance. It wasn’t clear, though, and it’s possible it was “temporary” relocation — I use quotes because it would have been years. They were indeed served with eviction notices, and it seems they certainly would have been eligible for eviction after all the efforts the authorities exhausted to get them to move out. And the fact that no rent had been paid for at last five years (not that HUD needs the money). And the fact that there were many reports (not a slam dunk, I know) of drug dealing, which in other buildings has resulted in fast-track eviction.
chillinoncentral January 7th, 2010 at 5:15 pm
I had read that Ms Olivo was scared of heights and that explained why she didn’t jump. I cannot imagine what goes through the mind of two degenerates going into an inhabited building with a gasoline container at 4 in the morning and starting a blaze while people inside sleep. It is absolutely despicable and, if they are caught, must be punished without sympathy or remorse. Unbelievable scum.
pierogieconpollo January 8th, 2010 at 11:35 pm
hella shadiness has been happening in and around 55 harrison for years. it’s no secret that it’s a hub for dealing– i remember walking by in the middle of a blizzard last year, and dudes were still standing around on the stoop, glaring ominously at passersby. yet they seemed to operate with impunity– probably aided by the fact that almost everything else on that block is industrial and vacant at night.
and did anyone else ever notice the makeshift memorials that would appear across the street from the building?
i always thought how awful it was that presumably innocent people had to live with scary dealers on their stoop. but upon learning that all the tenants stonewalled HUD and other authorities while living for free makes it feel a bit more lord-of-the-flies style.
so tragic that the situation led to this young woman’s death. cannot believe that the arsonists clearly knew that there were ‘civilians’ inside and started the fire anyways.
Brian January 11th, 2010 at 2:58 pm
Tenants were holding out for a better deal from HUD. HUD was exceedingly generous to other Bushwick buildings caught in the 203k scandal, and had promised 55 Harrison the same treatment. The Department never delivered; now we’ll see what they do for the homeless tenants.
realbushwick January 12th, 2010 at 10:51 pm
its sad that Sofia had to go in such a tragic way. this is another example of bureaucracy at its best. its time that the our institutions begin to get better at their jobs and realize that people’s lives are on the line. Should I also remind everyone that the Secretary of HUD is Shaun Donovan former Commissioner of HPD? He should know the situation of low-income neighborhoods like Bushwick and should do a better job of improving such communities. We furthermore need to hold our local elected officials accountable and ensure that they put pressure on the bureaucracy in order to ensure that Bushwick isn’t left behind.
RIP Sofia. We will miss you.. =’(
Savage Severe January 13th, 2010 at 4:22 am
Very sad. What cruel people. What sort of world do we live in?
marie February 1st, 2010 at 9:17 pm
Stfu! No brainer?? LIKE ARE YOU SERIOUS!
Our angel is in paradse heaven! We misss you so much!
At leat you looking down on us and holding us tight
Keep Brezzy strong!
your such in a better world not in this shitty ass
Rest in peace Sofia <22