By Carla Zanoni
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
WASHINGTON HEIGHTS — Sixteen people are homeless days after a blaze tore through their five-story building Saturday, causing smoke and water damage in five apartments.
The Department of Buildings (DOB) issued a partial vacate order to the tenants of five of the 21 apartments at the 607 West 180th St. building. Residents of the apartments were all told they would have to find other immediate accommodations. For now, the tenants have accepted temporary emergency housing assistance through the Red Cross until their homes are deemed livable again by the DOB, officials said.
The vacate order was due to "structural stability" issues in the building, according to the DOB.
Aida I. Comacho, 69, and her daughter who is also named Aida, worked side-by-side sorting through personal items, trying to salvage documents, clothing and electronics Tuesday afternoon.
"We are not rich people," said the Comacho, who was raised in the building. "We don't have insurance to replace our things."
The family and several other tenants of the building blasted landlords Katy and Julian Rodriguez for negligence, accusing shoddy maintenance conditions and faulty electrical wiring in the apartment where the fire started for sparking the blaze. Comancho added that a neighbor had already complained to the city about the problems with the wiring before the fire broke out.
A spokesman for the city's Department of Housing, Preservation and Development (HPD) confirmed the agency received a complaint on Feb. 21 about problematic electrical outlets in the apartment where the fire started. But a Feb. 24 inspection yielded no violations, according to HPD spokesman Eric Bederman.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, according to the FDNY.
As of Tuesday, the building shows 192 active complaints registered through HPD.
The Rodriguezes, who operate Rogans Realty Corp., out of New City in upstate New York did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
But residents said that the building has had several safety issues throughout the years, including a lack of security, homeless people allowed to sleep in hallways or the basement and rampant drug dealing. The Comachos also pointed to a recent fire at another building owned by the same landlords as further proof that the building's negligence is habitual.
The younger Comacho said the city should take stronger action about the outstanding violations before something worse happens.
"Does somebody have to die for action to be taken?" she asked.
