Fire engulfs New York warehouse district (Reuters)

[Up2Late]

(I would love to know why so few news agencies are covering this, nothing makes any sense anymore.)

Fire engulfs New York warehouse district

Tue May 2, 2006 02:28 PM ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A fire engulfed a warehouse district in plain view of much of New York City on Tuesday, requiring one of the fire department's largest deployments of firefighters in 10 years, officials said.

The blaze in the Greenpoint district of Brooklyn, just across the East River from Manhattan, required 350 firefighters and 70 fire trucks, said fire department spokesman Jim Long.

Smoke could be seen for miles (kilometers). "It has been deemed suspicious," said Long.

It was the largest deployment of fire department resources since the September 11 attacks, Long said.

(more at link)

<http://go.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=domesticNews&storyID=12041921&src=rss/domesticNews>

[hatrack]

1. CLENIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! nt

:evilgrin:

[OKthatsIT]

11. You think it's a tactic to take the property, rezone it.?

The problem is...you have to have warehouses next to the water. In the long run, it'll create a port storage monopoly. And monopolies are becoming as american as Bank of America

[Scriptor Ignotus]

2. this happened just a few blocks from my apartment

hopefully it will still be there when i get back from work tonight!

[DoYouEverWonder]

3. Good luck

The smoke and soot from that fire are going to be really bad.

Actually, I'm surprised this doesn't happen more often. Some of those buildings down there are really old and nasty.

[Up2Late]

4. Are they mostly empty?

You know, waiting for a "redevelopment opportunity?"

[closeupready]

7. Hopefully, the prevailing wind will blow such residue AWAY

from scriptor's apt.!

[Scriptor Ignotus]

10. amen to that sister - nt

[Tyrone Slothrop]

12. Me too!

I was wondering what that enormous billowing cloud of black smoke was this morning.

And now I know. I hope my building's still there...

[mirandapriestly]

5. I remember when I lived in NYC it was rumored that fires were started

by building owners who considered it more profitable to get the insurance money than what they could get from the tenants in these buildings especially if they had rent control. Renters who had been there for a long time would be paying $200 a month when the landlords could be getting $1000 or more. I don't know if they still have that same rent control system, I lived there in the 80's, but I lived in the East Village near all those tenements and a couple times a week there were fire trucks & locals would say it was landlords burning down their own buildings.

Weird that this isn't in the news more considering it is deemed "suspicious".

[henslee]

6. Nothing shocks me about NY landlords.

[DoYouEverWonder]

The name of our old landlord

is still spoken has an insult in my family.

Whenever someone is being a cheapskate we say, 'You're a real 'name of former landlord'.

He had a very ethnic name, so I'll get in trouble if I post it here.

[KamaAina]

8. "They're going to save a lot of money on demolition"

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/N/NY_WAREHOUSE_FIRE_BAOL-?SITE=NYNYD&SECTION=MIDEAST&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

The site is on the waterfront in Brooklyn's Greenpoint neighborhood, a mixture of 19th century and small shipping and manufacturing firms. The famed Civil War ironclad, USS Monitor, was built in a shipyard that adjoined the warehouse property. The nearest homes are at least a block away....

Area residents, watching from behind yellow tape, said the warehouses were destined to be torn down, for a park or other development. Some parts of Brooklyn's long-neglected waterfront have been targeted for new housing or other purposes.

"They're going to save a lot of money on demolition," said Yuda Geller, a real estate agent who lives in Greenpoint....

Fire officials said the warehouse complex on West Street between Quay and Noble streets - measuring 200 feet by 800 feet - was officially unoccupied, though it was unclear whether squatters were living there. Bales of cloth burned in one of the warehouses, Scoppetta said.

Assuming it was set, after they're caught and frog-marched into court, they can use the money they "saved" on demolition to pay their lawyers. :grr:

"It was unclear whether squatters were living there". And how much effort do you suppose will be expended in order to find out? :banghead:

[KittyWampus]

15. Could have been started by squatters for sure. Long , old tradition in NYC

Squatting. Running electric lines that are fires waiting to happen.

[foo_bar]

9. I was wondering what the burning smell was

It smelled spicy and woody, like mesquite, so I figured the house was burning down. Close enough.

[cliss]

13. In the event of fire,

always check the owner's Profit & Loss statement. Sometimes these fires are started "accidentally on purpose".

[Karenina]

14. Gee, I wonder

whose records were housed there...

[dave29]

16. holy crap - thats a big fire

n/t