CBS 2 Gets Action After Flatlands Residents Demand House Destroyed In 2009 Blaze Be Torn Down
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Some residents of a Brooklyn neighborhood are demanding a house be torn down nearly four years after it was destroyed in a fire, calling the home an eyesore and a safety hazard.
The home at 1114 East 40th St., in the Flatlands was once a pretty Victorian house, but neighbors said it caught fire after someone tossed a Molotov cocktail at the property back in 2009.
Everyone made it out safely, but residents said they haven't seen the owner, Diogene Vladimir, or his family since then.
"I go past the street all the time and it's an eyesore," said resident Elaine Henry. "It's been an eyesore since 2009."
"You look down here and there's a lot of stuff, illegal dumping going on down here," said resident Zeke Foster.
In response to the CBS 2 report, the city's Department of Buildings announced Tuesday evening it will be issuing an order to take down the home by the end of the day.
Demolition will take place soon thereafter.
The Buildings Department has logged more than a dozen complaints about the property over the last three years for vagrants, vermin and illegal dumping, CBS 2's Kathryn Brown reported.
Two years ago, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development approved it for demolition, but the house is still standing.
City Councilman Jumaane Williams said he hears from residents on a near-daily basis about the property.
"We've asked all of the city agencies what the problem is," he said. "This is an epitome of bureaucracy at its complete worst and everybody pointing fingers and the people who suffer are the homeowners of this beautiful block."
Residents complained it's past time for someone to act.
"You keep telling us we're taking it down, we're taking it down, we're taking it down," said resident Esther Odle. "Take it down already."
"It became a dump then everybody who had garbage threw it over the fence," Odle added.
"We have rodents and all sorts of things that are gathered here and then they run all over the area," Henry added.
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