Four lives lost in a building that should've been shut down. The question now: who's criminally responsible—the landlord, the tenants who stayed, or the city that let violations pile up for decades?
No arrests yet, but both NYPD and FDNY investigations continue. The homicide designation means prosecutors believe someone's deliberate actions—whether arson, criminal negligence, or code violations—directly caused these deaths.
A 2003 violation for illegal conversion was still open 23 years later, even after the building changed owners. This wasn't neglect—it was a pattern. The property operated as an illegal rooming house while the city's evacuation order sat unenforced.
The March 16 fire at 132-05 Avery Ave. in Flushing killed toddler Sihan Yang, 50-year-old Chengri Cui, and two others still unidentified. The Medical Examiner ruled all four deaths homicides—meaning someone's criminal actions caused the fire.
A Queens apartment fire that killed four people—including a 3-year-old—is now officially a homicide investigation. The building had been under a partial evacuation order for six years before the blaze, with 16 open violations still unresolved.
The violation history is staggering: 55 violations dating back to 1998. The legal two-family dwelling was illegally converted into five single-resident units plus nine additional beds. Inspectors ordered floors 2-3 vacated in August 2020—an order ignored for years.
6/6 🧵
Four lives lost in a building that should've been shut down. The question now: who's criminally responsible—the landlord, the tenants who stayed, or the city that let violations pile up for decades?
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#threadstorm
5/6 🧵
No arrests yet, but both NYPD and FDNY investigations continue. The homicide designation means prosecutors believe someone's deliberate actions—whether arson, criminal negligence, or code violations—directly caused these deaths.
4/6 🧵
A 2003 violation for illegal conversion was still open 23 years later, even after the building changed owners. This wasn't neglect—it was a pattern. The property operated as an illegal rooming house while the city's evacuation order sat unenforced.
2/6 🧵
The March 16 fire at 132-05 Avery Ave. in Flushing killed toddler Sihan Yang, 50-year-old Chengri Cui, and two others still unidentified. The Medical Examiner ruled all four deaths homicides—meaning someone's criminal actions caused the fire.
1/6 🧵
A Queens apartment fire that killed four people—including a 3-year-old—is now officially a homicide investigation. The building had been under a partial evacuation order for six years before the blaze, with 16 open violations still unresolved.
3/6 🧵
The violation history is staggering: 55 violations dating back to 1998. The legal two-family dwelling was illegally converted into five single-resident units plus nine additional beds. Inspectors ordered floors 2-3 vacated in August 2020—an order ignored for years.