A month after a four-alarm fire burned through three apartment buildings on the border of Greenpoint and Williamsburg, displaced tenants are facing a steep climb up a mountain of bureaucracy and an uncertain future as they work to rebuild their lives.
The blaze began inside a two-family home at 137 Kingsland Ave. at about 4 a.m. on Dec. 15, 2023, and quickly spread to the two apartment buildings on either side — leaving all three charred and uninhabitable.
Unable to return to their homes — and unsure if they will ever be able to – some residents of Kingsland Avenue said they are feeling overwhelmed and unsupported as they try to navigate city services and tenants’ rights.
‘Our lives were uprooted in one instant’
Jacqueline Ortiz, who lived at 135 Kingsland Ave. for more than 30 years, said her apartment was completely destroyed by the fire. She and her 18-year-old son, Jayden, have been staying in a shelter in Far Rockaway since December.
“This process has been surreal, to say the least,” she said. “Just feeling how our lives were uprooted in one instant.”
On the night of the fire, Ortiz said she woke up to commotion on the street and saw smoke rising from 137 Kingsland Ave., but didn’t realize how quickly the situation was escalating.
“I literally grabbed a couple of things, put a couple of things on, and thought we were coming back,” she said. “I never thought we were going to be trying to get out with our lives within seven to ten minutes.”
But when Ortiz stepped into Jayden’s room, she felt the heat of the fire and saw the flames creeping into their building. Within minutes, the apartment was filled with thick smoke.
“It was insane, it was like it was happening to somebody else,” Ortiz said. “You really can’t see anything in the smoke. You can’t see in front of your face, the things you think you would do, you don’t do, because panic sets in.”
Ortiz and Jayden rushed out the rear fire…
Read the full article here
