Fort Greene Fire Update: Tenants Still Displaced From Homes

FORT GREENE, BROOKLYN — Tenants of the apartments above Putnam's Pub & Cooker who suffered a two-alarm fire on Tuesday morning told Patch that families in 12 units are still displaced from their homes and won't be able to return until Wednesday — a full eight days later — due to a delay from what they believe is the Department of Buildings.

The DOB is delaying the restoration of gas service to the building and preventing the tenants from returning home, one tenant, who preferred to remain anonymous, told Patch.

"The building's owners have done an outstanding job getting us on the road to recovery," the tenant said. "I just want people to understand that it's not just Putnam's that's been affected, and to know that DOB is preventing us from being able to come home."

Apartments on the second and fourth floors of the building, at 419 Myrtle Ave., suffered holes in the ceilings and walls from firefighters and smoke residue on many personal belongings, the tenant said.

According to the tenant, the owners of the building obtained the permit needed to repair the gas lines, the Limited Alterations Application, and a licensed plumber then tested the gas lines. The DOB, however, said it wouldn't be able to come out to the building until Wednesday, Feb. 22 to sign off on the repairs and restore the gas.

A spokesperson for the DOB told Patch that the department approved the LAA permit on Feb. 16, but it had not yet gotten a request from the plumber for an inspection of the completed work. The spokesperson also said that the DOB doesn't have to be involved in the process of turning on the gas if the plumber presents a self certification to the utility company.

"Alternatively, the plumber can self-certify that the work has been completed in conformance with the Building Code, furnish this self-certification to the utility company and get the gas turned back on if the utility deems it safe to do so," the spokesperson said in an email. "In this latter case, DOB would perform an inspection after the gas is back on."

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Red Cross offered a $250 debit card to tenants on the second and fourth floor, where most of the damage was done, and referred them to housing services, but did not offer housing itself, the tenant said. Most tenants were either crashing with friends or family or forced to pay expensive Airbnb prices in the NYC area over the holiday weekend, according to the tenant.

"They're afraid they won't be able to make ends meet next month," the tenant said.

The residents of 419 Myrtle Ave. have appealed to the Brooklyn Community Board 2, council member Laurie Cumbo and city public advocate Letitia James to no response, the tenant said.

Lead photo a screengrab from a video by @lovemusicandbrooklyn