NYC Fire Truck. Credit: CityLaw.
Tenant left on a food warmer which ignited a fire in the apartment where firefighter was injured. Firefighter John Walsh suffered a debilitating shoulder injury when putting out a fire in Miriam Michelson’s high rise apartment. Michelson observed the Sabbath and used a warming tray to prepare and heat food. Michelson left the warming tray on while away from her apartment. The warming tray was plugged into a timer which was plugged into a wall. Because of faulty wiring the warming tray overheated which burned the wire’s insulation and ignited nearby combustible material. The fire quickly spread from the kitchen to the rest of the apartment and up to the sixth floor, blowing out windows and causing an air conditioner to fall down into the courtyard, prompting a neighbor to call 911. (more…)
9 East 36th Street. Image credit: CityLaw.
Tenant sued landlord over fire in his rent-stabilized apartment that had allegedly originated from inadequate wiring. James Daly, the tenant of a rent-stabilized studio apartment located at 9 East 36th Street in Manhattan, suffered injuries from a fire that occurred on June 19, 2013. The apartment, built in the 1930s, was 700 square feet consisting of a living area, a gallery kitchen, three closets, a bathroom, and a hall connecting the gallery kitchen to the bathroom. There were a total of seven electrical outlets in the apartment; three in the living area, two in the gallery kitchen, one in the hall, and one in the bathroom. (more…)
Williamsburg warehouse burned to the ground just minutes after FDNY left the scene. A Williamsburg warehouse owned by Recall Corporation and located on the Brooklyn waterfront at 5 North 11th Street burned to the ground in the early hours of the morning on January 31, 2015. The New York City Fire Department had responded to a fire alarm at approximately 4:36 a.m. and found a fire ablaze on storage shelves inside the warehouse. The FDNY, believing that the fire had been controlled by the warehouse’s sprinkler system, turned off the main water valve to stop the deluge and prevent flooding. The FDNY deemed the warehouse safe for reentry and left the scene. Just minutes after the FDNY left, a second fire appeared, triggering another fire alarm at the warehouse at 6:32 a.m. With no water available to supply the sprinkler system, the fire quickly spread, destroying the warehouse and its contents. The warehouse contained government records from entities including the State court system, the City’s Administration for Children’s Services, and the Health and Hospitals Corporation. (more…)
January 15, 2013, Albany – Governor Cuomo signs groundbreaking legislation that will give New Yorkers the toughest protections against gun violence in the nation.
Congress and many states face political obstacles in passing gun controls. But in states where there are no such political obstacles like New York, existing gun control laws remain unimplemented and unenforced. Proponents of gun laws nevertheless argue that the next law will have a big impact. Gun control requires more than passing laws; gun laws must be effectively implemented and enforced. Often they are not. (more…)
Stanley Brezenoff speaking at the CityLaw 2019 Civic Fame Awards Breakfast. Image Credit: Center for CityLaw.
New York Law School presented Stanley Brezenoff with the Civic Fame award at the Fifth Annual Civic Fame Breakfast held at New York Law School on April 26, 2019. The certificate of award acknowledged Brezenoff‘s 40-year career in managing governmental institutions with unequaled persistence, skill and determination from the days of the fiscal crisis to today’s thriving City, and for his relentless efforts to preserve and enhance the social mission of the City of New York. Over the 40 years Brezenoff had served as First Deputy Mayor, Executive Director of the Port Authority, President of the Health & Hospitals Corporation, Administrator of the Human Resources Administration, and Acting Chair of the New York Housing Authority. In accepting the Civic Fame Award Brezenoff reflected on his 40 years in government. The following are his remarks. (more…)
