Residents Displaced By Yonkers Fire Discover They've Also Been Robbed
YONKERS, N.Y. (CBSNewYork)-- Residents of an apartment building in Yonkers said they've been victimized, twice.
As if it wasn't enough for some of the 105 people forced out of their homes following Monday's four-alarm fire, they came to discover some of their empty apartments were looted.
CBS2's Lou Young wasn't allowed inside the building on Caryl Avenue, but one of the displaced victims complained outside. The man's relative translated over the phone.
"It was about $3,000, his living room TV, his shoes and some clothes," fire victim Steven Mendez conveyed.
Once they got past the single security guard, it was easy pickings for the thieves because all the apartment doors had been removed during the search for victims. The police confirm six apartments were robbed of jewelry, electronics and cash. All the victims had already lost too much.
One man, who works at a car wash and carries his passport with him to prove his citizenship, said the money he lost was to pay rent and credit card bills.
Another woman has been staying with relatives in Brooklyn and said the once wide-open apartments are now padlocked and no one can get in to check on their stuff.
"We have to wait, I don't know how long-- we can't get anything," Marta Vaquer said.
One full line in the building is inhabitable, but the rest of it could open up soon. The building owner, Om Dhiman, insisted he didn't know anything regarding a security problem, although he did confirm there was only one guard on duty earlier in the week.
"We had one guy there just to be honest. The guy was there the whole night," he said, adding he couldn't confirm the robberies.
Police said the thieves may have come in through a rear entrance, an open window, or across the attached roof from another building.
The Yonkers Fire Department said the flames began at an overloaded extension cord. Although six people were rescued, there were no serious injuries.
