Updated: East 1st Street resident found dead after fire

MAN ALL HANDS 31 E 1 ST, MULTIPLE DWELLING FIRE IN THE BASEMENT,

— FDNY (@FDNY) December 10, 2014

Emergency responders found a woman dead after an early-morning fire tore through her basement apartment at 31 E. First St.

The FDNY responded after 3 a.m. to the building just east of Second Avenue.

The Daily News reports that the cause of the fire was not immediately clear. Authorities have not released the woman's name yet. An investigation continues.

Updated 10:07 a.m.

DNAinfo has more details here.

Updated 2:43 p.m.

DNAinfo reports that the victim is Evelyn Dahab, 33, an author and part-owner of Lucey's Lounge in Gowanus.

"She was bigger than life and too young to die," said her grieving father, Richard, who visited the apartment Wednesday afternoon.

[Image via Facebook]

According to DNAinfo, "she planned to leave her apartment come Dec. 31 because of 'a painful legal dispute' with her building's management company, Big Apple Management."

Updated 7:21 p.m.

Per NY1:

Investigators say the fire was accidental, caused by a power strip plugged in with many appliances.

[Updated] Report of a fire at 80 E. 3rd St.

FDNYalerts MAN 2-ALARM 80 E 3 ST, MULTIPLE DWELLING FIRE IN THE SHAFT BETWEEN BUILDINGS,

— FDNYalerts (@FDNYAlerts) December 16, 2017

The address is between First Avenue and Second Avenue...

Fire in East Village pic.twitter.com/bkPOcgIKBF

— Nick Shippers (@nickshippers) December 16, 2017

Updated 12/16
NY1 reports one person was injured. (The report described it as non-life threatening.)

FDNY officials said the fire started in a shaft on the third floor of the five-story building. No word on a cause yet.

Updated 9 a.m.

A look at the building now...





Updated 10:45

An EVG reader who lives in the building shared these photos of the apartment where the fire started...



The resident of this unit has apparently lived in the building for a very long time...



The reader lives in the back of the building ... and that apartment only suffered minor water damage. People living in the front needed to leave. Those apartments have extensive water damage.

Remembering the victims of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire 108 years later

Tomorrow marks the 108th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire ... ahead of that, volunteers were out today taking part in the chalking project (organized by Street Pictures), writing the name and age of the victims in front of the buildings where they lived on the Lower East Side.


[EVG reader photo from 2nd Avenue]

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City on March 25, 1911, was the largest industrial disaster in the city's history ... causing the death of 146 garment workers (mostly young women) who either died from the fire or jumped to their deaths.

The Triangle Waist Company was located on the northwest corner of Greene Street and Washington Place just east of Washington Square Park.

Find more information on ceremonies tomorrow at The Remember the Triangle Fire Coalition website.

At fire-damaged Middle Collegiate Church, it's moving day for the historic New York Liberty Bell

On Dec. 5, a fire destroyed the southeast corner of Second Avenue and Seventh Street, including the neighboring Middle Collegiate Church.

As previously reported, the fire spared the steeple and its historic contents — the New York Liberty Bell, which dates to the early 1700s. 

And yesterday morning, workers removed the bell from the belfry to transport it to the New York Historical Society, where it will be part of an exhibit on the resiliency of NYC for the 20th anniversary of 9/11.

EVG contributor Stacie Joy was there to capture the delicate operation to move the bell to its temporary new home on Central Park West...

Before the bell left Second Avenue, the Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis from Middle Collegiate Church rang it 19 times in honor of Juneteenth ... and for a celebration of liberty...

Today, we saved the New Liberty Bell from our belfry, and I rang it 19 times for freedom.

Make no mistake: We aren’t liberated yet. But damn it, we’ll be free ✊🏾❤️ pic.twitter.com/oYLusCllDZ

— Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis (@RevJacquiLewis) June 16, 2021

Those involved also wanted to give a shout-out to the crews from the DOB, Triton Construction and Gramercy for their professionalism in ensuring a safe transfer of the bell ...

And some history of the bell via the Times:

It is about 25 years older than the cracked Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, according to a 1959 New York Times article.

Cast in Amsterdam in 1729, the bell was rung in 1735 to celebrate freedom of the press after John Peter Zenger, a German journalist, was acquitted of charges of seditious libel. He had published criticism of British tax collectors, according to the Times article.

It also was rung on the day that Representative John Lewis died in July and a week after the presidential election to celebrate "that love and justice" prevailed... 

The bell will be housed in the New York Historical Society lobby until the church is rebuilt. Find out how you can help support the rebuild at this link.

The FDNY previously said that faulty wiring at 48 E. Seventh St. was to blame for the six-alarm fire. An FDNY spokesperson told 1010 WINS that the fire has been deemed "non-suspicious." 

A look at the fire-damaged 218 E. 9th St. and Yakiniku West

[Photos from yesterday morning]

In case you missed this news from Saturday afternoon... when a two-alarm fire broke out at 218 E. Ninth St. between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.

FDNY officials told reporters that the blaze likely started behind a refrigerator in a second-floor apartment.

A fire official said the building is now "unlivable." The building houses Yakiniku West restaurant on the first floor and three apartments

No word on when (or if) Yakiniku West, the restaurant specializing in cook-it-yourself Japanese BBQ, might reopen. There weren't any messages on the restaurant's Facebook page or website. Calls to the restaurant go unanswered.



CBS 2 reported that 25 units with 106 firefighters had the fire under control in about 90 minutes. Nearby residents on the block applauded the FDNY's efforts, containing the fire and keeping it from spreading to the parking garage next door. No injuries were reported.


[Photo Saturday by Steven]

Developing: Second major fire hits the East Village this morning

We're now getting word of a second major fire this morning... Some 20 trucks are on the scene... early reports put the fire at 505 507 E. Sixth St. just east of Avenue A. One witness says it's the building that houses Eastern Bloc, where there's speculation the fire stared. No word on any injuries. [Updated 8:15 a.m.: Another reader says the fire started at 6th Street Kitchen at 507 E. Sixth St.]

The first photo is from reader Steve...



The following photos are from reader Creature...

Report of a fire at 505 E. 13th St.

An EVG reader shares the above photo... the FDNY is responding to a report of a fire at 505 E. 13th St. at Avenue A...

MAN ALL HANDS 505 E 13TH ST, MULTIPLE DWELLING FIRE APT G2/2ND FLR,

— FDNYalerts (@FDNYAlerts) March 29, 2019

One witness says "smoke is pouring out of the top floor apartment on the back right side of the building." The retail space on this corner is currently vacant (the former Percy's Tavern).


[Photo by Christine Champagne]

The @fdnyalerts account reports that the fire was under control in less than 30 minutes...

MAN ALL HANDS 505 E 13TH ST, MULTIPLE DWELLING FIRE APT G2/2ND FLR, UNDER CONTROL

— FDNYalerts (@FDNYAlerts) March 29, 2019

No word on cause or extent of the damage just yet.

H/T dwg

Reader report: Fire destroys 2 apartments at 542 E. 14th St.

The FDNY responded to a fire late this morning at 542 E. 14th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B...

MAN ALL HANDS 542 E 14 ST, MULTIPLE DWELLING FIRE ON 3RD FLR,

— FDNY (@FDNY) December 10, 2014

East Village-based photographer Michael Paul, who took these shots, spoke with a resident of the building... word is two apartments were ruined in the blaze, which started in a third-floor unit...





There were not any reports of injuries. The FDNY is investigating the cause of the fire.

MAN ALL HANDS 542 E 14 ST, MULTIPLE DWELLING FIRE ON 3RD FLR, UNDER CONTROL

— FDNY (@FDNY) December 10, 2014

The FDNY remembers fire marshal Christopher T. Zanetis on 2nd Street

The FDNY and NYU are hosting a Celebration of Life today in remembrance of FDNY fire marshal and U.S. Air Force Major Christopher "Tripp" Zanetis, who died in a military helicopter crash in Iraq on March 15.

Zanetis, 37, was on leave from the department, where he had been a marshal in the Bureau of Fire Investigation.

After graduating from NYU, he was appointed as a firefighter in 2004, and was assigned to Engine Company 28, Ladder 11 on Second Street between Avenue B and Avenue C. Zanetis was promoted to fire marshal in 2013.

Yesterday, the FDNY turned out to honor Zanetis on Second Street...

Today we gather to remember #FDNY Fire Marshal and @USAirForce Major Christopher “Tripp” Zanetis. Watch live beginning at 10:30 am at https://t.co/mhaAigts9x pic.twitter.com/DAlYFoB9ls

— FDNY (@FDNY) March 29, 2018

Thanks to EVG reader Victoria L from Second Street for the photos.

Updated 11:30 a.m.

EVG reader Karen shared these photos of the FDNY procession from Engine Company 28...

Reader report: Fire on an Avenue C rooftop caused by fireworks last night

The ongoing fireworks around the neighborhood nearly resulted in a major fire early this morning.

An EVG reader shared the following from along Avenue C:

People setting off fireworks from Avenue C and neighboring buildings caused a fire at 1 a.m. on the rooftop of our co-op. Thankfully someone saw it and called the Fire Department and no one was hurt. Our doors were destroyed by the firefighters gaining entry, and an apartment now has considerable water damage as a result of the effort to put out the fire.

The reader then asked a follow-up question that others have asked: "Is there any effort to try and stop people from lighting these fireworks?"

Updated 9 p.m.

And a few more photos from the roof,







Per another building resident: "Part of the brand new roof will need to be replaced, and the apartment below suffered water damage. It could have been much worse, but just goes to show what happens when neighboring buildings set off fireworks from their roof."

Early morning look at the fire-damaged SE corner of 2nd Avenue and 7th Street

Here's a 6 a.m.-look at the southeast corner of Second Avenue and Seventh Street following the three-alarm fire that started here yesterday afternoon shortly before 4...



A lone police car is on the scene...



FDNY officials said that the fire started on "a lower floor" of the five-story building and spread up to the top floor before it was extinguished by about 140 firefighters, according to published reports. The cause is under investigation. Five firefighters were treated for minor injuries.

Here's more via the Post:

The owner of Cafe Mocha, the ground-floor restaurant, said he smelled the fire before the building went up in flames.

"I was in the restaurant and we smelled the fire coming from the bathroom. We smelled it, I think, coming through the shaft," owner Ghasan Ballan said.

"I feel bad for the residents, they have no home," he added.

No other word at the moment on the status of the two retail tenants here — Cafe Mocha and Via Della Pace ... or the displaced tenants of the building with 15 units.

One report said that the building suffered extensive interior damage.

Updated 8:30 a.m.

One tenant of the building left this comment on our Facebook post:

I am a tenant of the building. Live on the top floor. Thank you all for your concern. All tenants and animals (including my 2 cats) are safe and sound. Thankfully my family is blessed with much love and support from family, friends and neighbors. According to my super, building has much smoke and water damage. Will take about a year to restore the building.

A garden party tomorrow to help rebuild the East Side Outside Community Garden

[Photos from Sept. 20]

A sizable chunk of the East Side Outside Community Garden on 11th Street just east of First Avenue has been damaged during the post-fire work behind First Avenue.



In recent months, workers have accessed the garden space to gain entry to the rear of 188 First Ave., which suffered a major fire last October. While the structural stability of No. 188 was reportedly unaffected by the fire, the extension behind the permanently closed Uogashi needed to be removed.

Meanwhile, the garden is in poor shape as a result of the demolition work...



Tomorrow (Sept. 28), garden volunteers and other community members are coming together in support of East Side Outside at El Sol Brillante Garden, 522 E. 12th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B starting at noon (to dusk). Per the invite:

Come join us for food, drink, and raffle prizes from local businesses! Raffle will happen at 4 p.m. ... We are excited to announce that photographer David Croland has donated a beautiful portrait of Debbie Harry in her prime, for sale to benefit the garden!

East Side Outside Community Garden was partly destroyed in the aftermath of the October 2018 fire at 188 First Ave. We need to clean up and rebuild almost everything from scratch, and are trying to raise funds to help us reopen for the 2020 season.

East Side Outside Garden is a public community garden in the NYC Parks GreenThumb program. We offer green space and programs for community members and businesses, provide a learning lab for students at the adjacent schools, and operate a community composting program. Help us rebuild better and stronger!

There's also a crowdfunding campaign underway at this link.



The stone wall dating to the 1860s that lines the garden was also badly damaged during the work behind the First Avenue buildings. You can read more about that at the link below...

Previously on EV Grieve:
Cemetery wall knocked down during post-fire work behind 1st Avenue