Brooklyn landlord sentenced for setting home on fire while family was asleep
Rafiqul Islam will serve 10 years behind bars for setting 212 Forbell St. ablaze over a rent dispute in 2023, sending a family of eight, including six children, scrambling for safety.
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Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez says that a Brooklyn landlord was sentenced for arson after he set a Cypress Hills home he owned on fire while a family was asleep inside.
Rafiqul Islam will serve 10 years behind bars for setting 212 Forbell St. ablaze over a rent dispute in 2023, sending a family of eight, including six children, scrambling for safety.
Prosecutors say the home was built in 1920 and only had one entrance and no fire escape.
"This defendant turned a rent dispute into a life-threatening act of violence, setting fire to a home where a family, including six children, slept," said Gonzalez. "These children were forced to flee the blaze and be dropped into neighbors' arms below."
Islam, 68, of Bed-Stuy, had a history of tension with the family. Prosecutors say he threatened to turn off their power and to set their home on fire after they stopped paying rent and refused to move out.
One of those threats became a reality just after 5 a.m. on Sept. 23, 2023.
A tenant on the second floor noticed a burning smell and went to investigate. Prosecutors say he saw flames and smoke shooting up the interior stairwell - the only path out of the building.
He and his family, including children ranging in age from 1 to 8 years old, were forced to exit through a back window, according to court documents. Two of the adults dropped the children into the arms of neighbors about 20 feet below before they jumped from the window.
Fire crews were called to 212 Forbell St. and found the building completely engulfed in flames. Prosecutors say it took 55 firefighters to extinguish the blaze.
Paramedics took the family members to Brookdale Hospital, where they were treated for minor injuries, including smoke inhalation.
According to court documents, surveillance footage helped Fire Marshals tie Islam to the blaze.
He was arrested on Oct. 25, 2023, and pleaded guilty to second-degree arson on April 28, 2026.
"The victims in this case endured an unimaginable ordeal, and today's sentence ensures the defendant is held accountable for the trauma he inflicted on this family and his community," said Gonzalez.
