Parents of baby who died from radiator malfunction rally for annual inspections in NYC
NEW YORK — The parents of a baby boy who died from injuries from a malfunctioning steam radiator in 2023 testified at a New York City Council hearing Wednesday. They're calling for a bill that would mandate annual radiator inspections in certain homes.
"We want action"
A brisk Wednesday morning in Marine Park, Brooklyn began with a moment of prayer for the Kuravsky household. Loading signs and a megaphone in his car, Alex Kuravsky admitted he was feeling anxious.
"It's a lot to come out and be vulnerable and share everything that we are thinking, but it's something that we feel like we have to do. We want the world to know what happened, not because we want sympathy, but because we want action," he told CBS News New York reporter Hannah Kliger.
It's been nearly eight months since their son, 11-month-old Binyomin Zachariah, died from a malfunctioning steam radiator, and they've been waiting for their chance to propel their pain into change.
They drove to City Hall, where loved ones and friends joined them to rally for a new bill they dubbed the "Ben Z Law." Introduced by Brooklyn Councilmember Farah Louis, it would require annual radiator inspections for apartments that are home to a child under 6.
"Children do not die in the safest of safe spaces: their own home, their own bed," Kuravsky said to his small but passionate crowd of supporters.
As CBS News New York reported in an exclusive interview with the family in March, Binyomin is the third baby in the city in eight years to die from a broken radiator. In 2016, two sisters in the Bronx were killed the same way.
"How many children need to die before the right laws are in place?"
After the rally, the family entered City Hall where a Committee of Housing and Buildings meeting was underway.
It's the first time the bill was heard in the council. Elected officials had a chance to sit down in front of leaders from the Department of Buildings, and Housing Preservation and Development to ask specific questions about radiator safety enforcement.
"This piece of legislation is actually surfacing of a major gap in the way that New York City does code enforcement on radiators. We don't," said Councilmember Pierina Sanchez, who represents the Bronx and is chair of the committee.
"How many children need to die before the right laws are in place? Many often say that certain things are out of their control, but here today, it is in your control," Bessie Kimelfeld, Binyomin's mother, said during her testimony in front of lawmakers.
City DOB and HPD cited concerns that the law would be burdensome to the agencies. Among other things, they would need to create a portal to track inspections.
Some local unions also had reservations, which Louis hopes to address.
"Making sure the right folks are being hired to actually conduct the inspection, making sure that they are licensed or that they're working with the local union. Folks feel like they're going to be left out of the process, so that's the biggest issue – making sure that landlords are not trying to cut corners," Louis said of her bill.
Lawmakers will continue to amend the bill before a finalized version comes back to the committee.
"Human life is not expendable. Human life has immeasurable value. And we will send that message home," Kuravsky said.
HPD says it issued 1,600 violations for radiators in Fiscal Year 2024, 400 of which were considered immediately hazardous.
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