Tenants at Flatbush building call on landlord to make structural fixes to prevent next fire
Residents say they frequently deal with water damage, cracking walls, collapsing ceilings and electrical issues prior to the fires, and they feel the lack of attention to those issues is creating the conditions for fires to cause more damage.
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Tenants at 222 Lenox Road are hoping a fire that ripped through the building this week can be a wakeup call for deferred maintenance and multiple open violations at the property that has had two fires in the past four years.
A 2021 fire resulted in a partial vacate order for a wing of the building that has since remained shuttered.
Residents say they frequently deal with water damage, cracking walls, collapsing ceilings and electrical issues prior to the fires, and they feel the lack of attention to those issues is creating the conditions for fires to cause more damage.
They're calling on the landlord to make structural fixes to the building to prevent the next fire.
"They are covering up the issue not fixing the issue," said tenant Janice Fortune-Boyd.
"It's indicative of a larger problem of this landlord being unwilling to do basic repairs in this building that keep people safe," said tenant Ginger Albertson, who says she had a bathroom wall collapse she had to fix herself.
But she says fixing building wide issues cannot be up to the tenants.
Those digging through their destroyed apartments say they fear what could happen if nothing changes.
"The second fire in five years we are worried it could be worse it wont be just one line of apartments it could be whole building," said Rudolph Chilberry.
News 12 reached out to Pinnacle Management which runs the property but has not heard back.
