Remembering Nicholas Figueroa and Moises Locón

Today marks the eighth anniversary of the deadly Second Avenue gas explosion, which killed two men, injured two dozen people, and leveled three buildings (119, 121 and 123 Second Ave.).

There is a memorial plaque on site for the two men who died that day — Nicholas Figueroa and Moises Locón.

Officials dedicated this plaque in May 2021. The Village Preservation advocated for its placement here on the new residential building at 45 E. Seventh St. 

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• RIP Nicholas Figueroa 

• RIP Moises Locón 

• Dedicating Moises Locón Way and Nicholas Figueroa Way on 2nd Avenue at 7th Street

Remembering Nicholas Figueroa and Moises Locón

Today marks the seventh anniversary of the deadly Second Avenue gas explosion, killing two men and leveling three buildings (119, 121 and 123 Second Ave.).

There is a memorial plaque for the two men who died that day — Nicholas Figueroa and Moises Locón.

Officials dedicated this plaque last May. The Village Preservation advocated for its placement here on the new residential building at 45 E. Seventh St. 

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• RIP Nicholas Figueroa 

• RIP Moises Locón 

• Dedicating Moises Locón Way and Nicholas Figueroa Way on 2nd Avenue at 7th Street

Honoring the memories of Nicholas Figueroa and Moises Locón on 2nd Avenue

Family members of Nicholas Figueroa and Moises Locón came together outside 121-123 Second Ave. yesterday morning for the dedication of a memorial plaque in honor of the two men who died here during the gas explosion on March 26, 2015.

Retired (2017) FDNY battalion chief John Dunne joined the families ... Dunne, the third-highest-ranking member of the FDNY at the time, was part of the massive response to the explosion that leveled three buildings here at Seventh Street.  

State Sen. Brad Hoylman, City Councilmember Carlina Rivera and her predecessor, Rosie Mendez, who was in office at the time of the tragedy, were also on hand to pay their respects to the family members.

The Village Preservation advocated for the inclusion of the plaque here on the new residential building at 45 E. Seventh St.  

Thank you to Steven for the photos 

Previously on EV Grieve:

• RIP Nicholas Figueroa

• RIP Moises Locón

• Dedicating Moises Locón Way and Nicholas Figueroa Way on 2nd Avenue at 7th Street 

Unveiling the plaque in honor of Nicholas Figueroa and Moises Locón on 2nd Avenue

Workers yesterday installed the memorial plaque on the new residential building at 45 E. Seventh St. that pays tribute to Nicholas Figueroa and Moises Locón, the two men who died here during the gas explosion on March 26, 2015. (Top photo by Steven; photo below by Drew Heffron.)

We're told there will be an official unveiling this morning at 11. The plaque is on the Second Avenue side of the Morris Adjmi-designed building, where the residences range between $1.35 and $8 million.

Figueroa, 23, who had recently graduated from SUNY Buffalo State, was at Sushi Park, 121 Second Ave. and the site of the fatal blast, dining with a co-worker. Locón, 27, worked at Sushi Park.

The explosion also injured more than 20 others and leveled 119, 121 and 123 Second Ave. (The new building sits on two of these three lots.)

In January 2020, landlord Maria Hrynenko, contractor Dilber Kukic and unlicensed plumber Jerry Ioannidis were found guilty of manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and related offenses for their role in the explosion. They were each sentenced to four to 12 years in prison. Hrynenko is out on bail as she awaits an appeal of the case.

Prosecutors said that Hrynenko, driven by greed, and her cohorts rigged an illegal system to funnel gas from 119 Second Ave. to 121 Second Ave. to save money.

In October 2017, city officials unveiled new street blades that co-name this northwest corner of Second Avenue and Seventh Street after Figueroa and Locón.

Previously on EV Grieve:
• RIP Nicholas Figueroa

• RIP Moises Locón

• Dedicating Moises Locón Way and Nicholas Figueroa Way on 2nd Avenue at 7th Street 

A message from Nixon Figueroa and Ana Lanza, Nicholas Figueroa's parents

On March 26, 2015, Nicholas Figueroa was having a late lunch with a friend at Sushi Park, 121 Second Ave., when an explosion rocked the building. The blast killed Figueroa and Sushi Park employee Moises Locón, 27, injured more than 20 others, and leveled 119, 121 and 123 Second Ave.

He was a December 2014 graduate of SUNY Buffalo State with a degree in criminal justice. He was 23.

His parents, Nixon Figueroa and Ana Lanza, shared this message on the fifth anniversary of his death:

Now it has been five years since we lost our son.

We would like to thank everyone who has been so supportive, especially family and friends who help us to cope with our grief.

Our son was so full of life. All he wanted was to help people in all the ways he could, particularly by listening and being there for them. He would go out of his way to help a friend. It didn't matter what time it was. If you needed someone to talk to, he would be there.

His absence leaves an empty space because he was a motivator. He had a big heart for people and for life. He was smart and you could talk to him about anything. He was such a good listener. His soul is irreplaceable because he showed us there is more to life. He saw good in everyone and wanted to help.

If he were alive today, he would tell people to love life to the fullest. Enjoy every moment. Life is too short. He knew that, and that's why he was so full of life. He would tell us to take this time and be very grateful for your family and friends. And for all that you have.

Read more about Nicholas here.

Thank you to EVG reader Daniel.

Updated 8 p.m.

Late today, Mr. Figueroa visited Second Avenue and Seventh Street and placed flowers on the corner ...

Remembering Nicholas and Moises: the Figueroa family marks the 4-year anniversary of the 2nd Avenue gas explosion

Today marks the fourth anniversary of the gas explosion that killed two men, injured more than 20 others, and leveled 119, 121 and 123 Second Ave.

Members of the Figueroa family gathered on the corner of Second Avenue and Seventh Street today to remember their brother and son Nicholas Figueroa, 23, who died on March 26, 2105, along with Moises Locón, 27.


[Top photos by Steven]

Figueroa, who had recently graduated from SUNY Buffalo State, was at Sushi Park, 121 Second Ave. and the site of the fatal blast, dining with a co-worker. Locón worked at Sushi Park.


[Photo by Lola Sáenz]

The previous owner of 119 and 121 Second Ave., Maria Hrynenko, her son Michael Hrynenko (now deceased), contractor Dilber Kukic and their plumber Anthanasios Ioannidis illegally tampered with the gas line at 121 Second Ave. then failed to warn those in the building before the blast, according to the Manhattan District Attorney.

According to public records, Hrynenko and the other defendants will appear in court again April 26. Records show that Hrynenko and the other accused have appeared in New York County Criminal Court 25 times since February 2016... and the outcome was the same — "adjourned/bail continued" — since their initial appearance.

On March 20, Andrew Trombettas, the plumber indicted in connection to the explosion, was sentenced to probation and community service. He reportedly signed off on required paperwork that went to the Department of Buildings and Con Edison because a friend who actually did the job did not have a license.

Meanwhile, work continues on the retail-residential complex coming to part of the blast site. The new building will include a commemorative plaque that honors Locón and Figueroa.


[Photo by Lola Sáenz]

Previously on EV Grieve:
RIP Nicholas Figueroa

RIP Moises Ismael Locón Yac

A memorial on 2nd Avenue

Birthday wishes for Nicholas Figueroa on 2nd Avenue

A family continues to feel the loss on 2nd Avenue

Dedicating Moises Locón Way and Nicholas Figueroa Way on 2nd Avenue at 7th Street

[Updated] The makeshift memorials at the 2nd Avenue gas explosion site have been removed

[Photo from yesterday]

An EVG reader passed along word that the two makeshift memorials inside the empty lot on Second Avenue and Seventh Street were removed some time late on Tuesday.

It is not immediately known who took away the memorials for Moises Locón, 27, and Nicholas Figueroa, 23, the two men who died in the gas explosion here on March 26, 2015. The memorials first arrived in the fall of 2015, created by the Figueroa family.

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Updated 10:30 a.m.

An EVG reader shared this:

The Figueroa family removed the makeshift memorial. They were asked to because they were told construction on the site will start soon. They took the angels to Maple Grove Cemetery in Kew Gardens and placed them there.

In addition, EVG regular Lola Sāenz created this sign and placed it along the Second Avenue fence this morning...



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In early August, the development team behind the proposed 7-story condoplex at part of the explosion site (the former No. 119 and 121) received approval from the Landmarks Preservation Commission for a high-end residential building with ground-floor retail. (The new building will include a commemorative plaque that honors Locón and Figueroa.) However, the project is still waiting for final approval from the Department of Buildings.

Shaky Cohen's Nexus Building Development Group paid $9.15 million for the empty lots.

The owner of 121 Second Ave., Maria Hrynenko, her son Michael Hrynenko (now deceased), contractor Dilber Kukic and their plumber Anthanasios Ioannidis illegally tampered with the gas line then failed to warn those in the building before the blast, according to the Manhattan District Attorney.

According to public records, Hrynenko, who owned No. 119 and 121, and the other defendants will appear in court again on Jan. 8. Records show that Hrynenko and the other accused have appeared in New York County Criminal Court 21 times since February 2016... and the outcome was the same — "adjourned/bail continued" — since their initial appearance.

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Above photo of Nicholas Figueroa's father tending to the memorials from October 2015 by James and Karla Murray. Posted with permission of the Figueroa family.

Previously on EV Grieve:
RIP Nicholas Figueroa

RIP Moises Ismael Locón Yac

A memorial on 2nd Avenue

Birthday wishes for Nicholas Figueroa on 2nd Avenue

A family continues to feel the loss on 2nd Avenue

Dedicating Moises Locón Way and Nicholas Figueroa Way on 2nd Avenue at 7th Street

Dedicating Moises Locón Way and Nicholas Figueroa Way on 2nd Avenue at 7th Street

City officials this morning unveiled the new street blades that co-name the northwest corner of Second Avenue and Seventh Street after Moises Locón, 27, and Nicholas Figueroa, 23, who died in the gas explosion here on March 26, 2015.

Ana and Nixon, parents of Nicholas Figueroa, and Alfredo Locón, brother of Moises Locón, were at the dedication as well as several local elected officials and first responders at the time of the explosion.

This was a healing moment for all. #eastvillage Photo: Cora Cofield pic.twitter.com/rmpHCitVr5

— Rosie Mendez (@RosieMendez) October 14, 2017

Officials say that illegal gas tampering caused the explosion.

Photos by Steven

Previously on EV Grieve:
RIP Nicholas Figueroa

RIP Moises Ismael Locón Yac

A proposal to co-name part of 2nd Avenue and 7th Street after the victims of the 2015 gas explosion

Street co-naming ceremony Saturday for the 2 victims of the 2nd Avenue gas explosion

Street co-naming ceremony Saturday for the 2 victims of the 2nd Avenue gas explosion

Last spring, City Council approved co-naming the northwest corner of Seventh Street and Second Avenue Moises Locón and Nicholas Figueroa Way.

Locón, 27, and Figueroa, 23, were killed in the gas explosion here on March 26, 2015, that also destroyed three buildings, 119-123 Second Ave.

This Saturday morning at 11, city officials will be on-hand on this corner for the official co-name ceremony ...



Organizers who were behind the co-naming hope that the street sign bearing the names of the two men will both help commemorate their loss and serve as a warning against unscrupulous landlords.

In a story at DNAinfo on the co-naming proposal this past May, Ana Lanza, Figueroa's mother, said, "It's not going to bring him back — nothing is going to bring him back. But at least this brings a little bit of comfort, that he's going to be remembered somewhere, somehow. That his life wasn't taken in vain. That he meant something."

Authorities have said that illegally siphoned gas at 121 Second Ave. was to blame for the explosion. In February 2016, Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance's office charged landlord Maria Hrynenko and her son Michael Hrynenko Jr. along with contractor Dilber Kukic and plumber Jerry Ioannidis with manslaughter in the second degree, criminally negligent homicide and assault in the second degree, among other charges.

According to an obituary, Michael Jr. died on Aug. 25 at age 31.

The criminal case has yet to go to trial while the multiple civil actions are still making their way through the courts.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Updated: 2nd Ave. explosion — landlord, 3 others charged with 2nd degree manslaughter; showed 'a blatant and callous disregard for human life'

Memorial for Mary Spink tomorrow

RIP Nicholas Figueroa

RIP Moises Ismael Locón Yac

A proposal to co-name part of 2nd Avenue and 7th Street after the victims of the 2015 gas explosion

Michael Hrynenko, Jr., awaiting trial for his role in the 2nd Avenue gas explosion, dies at 31

City approves co-naming the northwest corner of 7th Street and 2nd Avenue Moises Locón and Nicholas Figueroa Way

The northwest corner of Seventh Street and Second Avenue will be co-named Moises Locón and Nicholas Figueroa Way for the two victims of the gas explosion here on March 26, 2015.

A volunteer who helped with the co-naming efforts told us that City Council approved the bill on May 24. As we understand it, there will not be a mayoral signing ceremony for the legislation, and it will go into law on June 23. It then usually takes the Department of Transportation six weeks to prepare the new street blades.

Members of CB3's Transportation & Public Safety/Environment Committee and the full CB3 board signed off on the proposal last month.

Organizers behind the co-naming hope that the street sign bearing the names of the two men will both help commemorate their loss and serve as a warning against unscrupulous landlords.

In February 2016, the DA charged landlord Maria Hrynenko and her son, Michael Hrynenko Jr., with involuntary manslaughter ... as well as contractor Dilber Kukic and an unlicensed plumber, Athanasios Ioannidis. (A fifth person, Andrew Trombettas, faces charges for supplying his license to Ioannidis.) All pleaded not guilty.

Authorities have said that siphoned gas at the Hrynenko-owned 121 Second Ave. was to blame for the explosion, which killed Locón and Figueroa, and injured two dozen other people. The blast also destroyed three buildings.

Figueroa, 23, a recent graduate of SUNY Buffalo State, was at Sushi Park with a co-worker. Locón, an employee at Sushi Park, was 27.

In a story at DNAinfo last month on the co-naming proposal, Ana Lanza, Figueroa's mother, said, "It's not going to bring him back — nothing is going to bring him back. But at least this brings a little bit of comfort, that he's going to be remembered somewhere, somehow. That his life wasn't taken in vain. That he meant something."

Previously on EV Grieve:
Updated: 2nd Ave. explosion — landlord, 3 others charged with 2nd degree manslaughter; showed 'a blatant and callous disregard for human life'

Memorial for Mary Spink tomorrow

RIP Nicholas Figueroa

RIP Moises Ismael Locón Yac

A proposal to co-name part of 2nd Avenue and 7th Street after the victims of the 2015 gas explosion

Members of CB3's Transportation & Public Safety/Environment Committee will hear a proposal this month to co-name Second Avenue between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place after the two men who died in the gas explosion here on March 26, 2015.

Authorities have said that siphoned gas at 121 Second Ave. was to blame for the explosion, which killed Moises Ismael Locón Yac and Nicholas Figueroa, and injured two dozen other people.

Figueroa, 23, a recent graduate of SUNY Buffalo State, was at Sushi Park with a co-worker. Locón, an employee at Sushi Park, was 27. Locón sent most of his paycheck back to his family in Guatemala, where he worked as a school teacher before moving to the United States in 2008.

Here's more information about the street co-naming proposal via a petition:

In memory of these young men, we ask that our community honor their lives and demonstrate to their families who their loss was also our loss and that we share in their sorrow by co-naming these blocks.

The petition must be signed by a minimum 75 percent of the total number of residential units and 75 percent of the total number of businesses on these blocks. (We appreciate the support, but do not need signatures from elsewhere in the neighborhood. The petitions will be available at neighboring businesses.)

If approved, then City Council will vote on this in May or June. If passed in the City Council, we will set a date with the Department of Transportation for a street blade installation and have a street co-naming event.

Here's a document (PDF) with more information on CB3's guidelines for co-naming a street. (If you have any questions or want to get more involved, then please email nicholasandmoises [at] gmail [dot] com.)

The committee meeting is May 9 at 6:45 p.m. at Downtown Art, 1st Floor Theater, 70 E. Fourth St. between the Bowery and Second Avenue.

The committee is also expected to hear a request to co-name Second Street between Avenue A and Avenue B for Mary Spink.

Spink, a local business owner and member of CB3, was a community activist and later served as executive director of Lower East Side People’s Mutual Housing Association. She died in January 2012 at age 64.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Updated: 2nd Ave. explosion — landlord, 3 others charged with 2nd degree manslaughter; showed 'a blatant and callous disregard for human life'

Memorial for Mary Spink tomorrow

RIP Nicholas Figueroa

RIP Moises Ismael Locón Yac

The Figueroa family clears the weeds from the site of the deadly 2nd Avenue explosion

[EVG photo from Sept. 10]

Today, Nixon Figueroa, whose son Nicholas died in the gas explosion at 119-123 Second Ave. in March 2015, visited the site and cleared out the weeds that had been growing. (Mr. Figueroa was assisted by one of his other sons.)


[Photo by Lola Sáenz]


[Photo by Steven]

The memorials for Nicholas and the second victim of the blast, Moises Ismael Locón Yac, had been obscured by the weeds in recent months.


[Photo by Lola Sáenz]

Previously on EV Grieve:
[Updating] Explosion on 2nd Avenue and East 7th Street

RIP Nicholas Figueroa

A family continues to feel the loss on 2nd Avenue

Report: The estate of Nicholas Figueroa files wrongful death lawsuit

The estate of Nicholas Figueroa, the 23-year-old recent college graduate who died last March in the Second Avenue explosion, has filed a wrong death lawsuit, The Real Deal reports.

The estate is suing the building’s owner, Maria Hrynenko and her son Michael, as well as the restaurant, contractors and plumbers who worked on the allegedly illegally-installed gas line, Con Edison, the city, Neighborhood Construction Corporation, Beta Plumbing & Heating and others.

The lawyer who is representing the estate said that the amount of damages sought has not yet been set. The suit was filed last week in New York State Supreme Court.

Authorities have said that siphoned gas at 121 Second Ave. is to blame for the explosion, which killed Figueroa and Moises Ismael Locón Yac, injured two dozen other people and destroyed three buildings.

On Feb. 11, the DA charged No. 119 and 121 landlord Maria Hrynenko and her son, Michael Hrynenko Jr., with involuntary manslaughter ... as well as contractor Dilber Kukic and an unlicensed plumber, Athanasios Ioannidis. (A fifth person, Andrew Trombettas, faces charges for supplying his license to Ioannidis.) All pleaded not guilty.

In early March, George Pasternak, the landlord of 123 Second Ave., put his vacant plot of land up for sale, asking $9.7 million.

Previously on EV Grieve:
[Updating] Explosion on 2nd Avenue and East 7th Street

RIP Nicholas Figueroa

A family continues to feel the loss on 2nd Avenue

A memorial on 2nd Avenue

[Photo by Lola Sáenz]

There was a memorial tonight for Moises Ismael Locón Yac and Nicholas Figueroa, the two victims of the Second Avenue explosion on this date last year...


[LS]


[Photo by EVG reader Daniel]


[Photo by EVG reader Daniel]

Baiting stations arrive at the 2nd Avenue explosion site

An EVG reader passes along word about the recent (Friday?) arrival of baiting stations on Second Avenue and East Seventh Street, the site where three buildings (Nos. 119-121-123) were destroyed in the deadly gas explosion this past March 26.



According to the city's Rat Information Portal, there are "Active Rat Signs" at 123 Second Ave., the address of one of the buildings lost on March 26.

The reader also noted the unfortunate proximity of the baiting stations to the memorials for Moises Ismael Locón Yac and Nicholas Figueroa, the two men who died in the explosion.

A family continues to feel the loss on 2nd Avenue

The following is from photographers James and Karla Murray today...

Nicholas Figueroa's father tends to his son's memorial at 121 Second Ave., the site of the March 26 gas explosion and fire that killed his son.

His mother talked to us about the loss of their 23-year-old son and how hard it has been coping with it.

Today, his father placed a statue of Mary and keepsake box at the memorial and also tended to the memorial for the other victim, Moises Ismael Locón Yac.

Mrs. Figueroa gave her OK to post the above photo because she doesn't want anyone to forget the tragedy. Per the Murrays: "Their feelings of anger and loss are still understandably very raw and intense."

[Updated] Birthday wishes for Nicholas Figueroa on 2nd Avenue

Nicholas Figueroa, who died in the gas explosion at 121 Second Ave. on March 26, would have been 24 today.

A Figueroa family member stopped by the site of the blast on Second Avenue and East Seventh Street this morning to hang the Happy Birthday banners.



Moises Ismael Locón Yac also died during the explosion that leveled three buildings at 117-123 Second Ave.

Updated 7 p.m.

Nicholas's friends and family are gathering on the sidewalk this evening to celebrate his birthday…




His mother made cupcakes for passersby…



… and here is a birthday greeting from his parents…



Thanks to EVG reader Daniel for the photos

Posters arrive to memorialize Moises Ismael Locón Yac and Nicholas Figueroa on 2nd Avenue

Several EVG readers noted early last evening that a woman was adding these poster-sized tributes to the plywood surrounding the Second Avenue explosion site at East Seventh Street...



Moises Ismael Locón Yac and Nicholas Figueroa died during the blast at 121 Second Ave. on March 26.

Photos today via Derek Berg

Remembering Moises Ismael Locón Yac on 2nd Avenue

[Photo Thursday by Derek Berg]

On Thursday, the family of Nicholas Figueroa, one of the two men who died in the March 26 gas explosion at 121 Second Ave., created a makeshift memorial in his honor on the plywood at the scene of the disaster.

Yesterday, East Village resident Lola Sáenz added an In Memoriam and flowers for the second victim — Moises Ismael Locón Yac …


[Photo by Lola Sáenz]

Locón worked at Sushi Park, and, according to media accounts, sent most of his paycheck back to his family in Guatemala.

Sáenz said that she did it because his family is in Guatemala, and likely wouldn't have the opportunity to do it themselves.

"He was loved," Sáenz told us. "He mattered."

She also included a copy of the painting that she said was inspired by the explosion.



"It was so sad what happened," she said. "It broke my heart."

You can read more about the painting and Sáenz's work here.