Commissioner of the New York City Department of Investigation (“DOI”) Jocelyn E. Strauber, issued a report that examined fires in three New York City Housing Authority (“NYCHA”) developments, one of which is overseen by a private management company, that occurred during the last two months of 2021: a trash chute fire on November 5th at Mitchel Houses in the Bronx that killed a six-year-old boy and injured his father; a fire caused by an explosion of a battery in an electric bike (“e-bike”) on December 16th at Jacob Riis Houses in Manhattan that led to the death of one resident and severely injured another; and a trash chute fire on December 28th at Wise Towers in Manhattan (the privately managed NYCHA development) that caused smoke inhalation injuries to two residents. DOI’s investigation into the fires at Mitchel Houses and Wise Towers exposed deficiencies in a range of fire safety protocols at NYCHA developments and the privately managed development, including with respect to the repair and maintenance of trash chute hopper doors and other relevant fire safety elements in the developments, as well as the auditing of fire safety and maintenance records. DOI also found that privately managed NYCHA developments, such as Wise Towers, should be required to incorporate NYCHA’s fire safety policies into their fire safety and prevention plans, as well as to perform regular audits of fire safety records to ensure compliance with NYCHA procedures. Regarding the e-bike fire at Jacob Riis Houses, DOI determined that electric bikes and other forms of electronic transportation pose a significant risk of fire when stored or charged in enclosed spaces, including within NYCHA apartments.
Immediately after the fires, and at DOI’s recommendation in some cases, NYCHA made significant revisions to its fire safety and maintenance protocols. The report issued includes 11 recommendations to NYCHA, among them that NYCHA improve staff training so that staff can more readily identify and correct fire safety hazards, implement procedures to ensure prompt repairs that impact fire safety, audit fire suppression inspection and repair records, provide additional oversight of privately managed NYCHA developments, and ban the operation of any business involved in the repair, storage, and/or charging of electric modes of transportation anywhere on NYCHA property. A copy of this report is attached to this release and can be found here: https://www.nyc.gov/site/doi/newsroom/public-reports.page
DOI Commissioner Jocelyn E. Strauber said, “NYCHA operates and oversees 335 developments throughout New York City, and fire safety must be a top priority at each of them. Three fires in 2021 – two that tragically led to fatalities, including a six-year-old boy – showed that NYCHA needs to improve its fire safety procedures across the board and better protect its tenants. And while NYCHA made immediate improvements to fire safety and building maintenance protocols after these three fires, DOI’s recommendations further advance that important effort by calling for NYCHA to provide greater oversight of fire safety protocols, thereby adding protections for the residents who live in NYCHA housing.”
DOI’s investigation found that the fires at Mitchel Houses and Wise Towers began in trash chutes. DOI’s investigation found that smoke spread from the chutes and into stairwells and hallways, and that the spread of smoke likely was due in part to NYCHA’s and private management’s failure to properly maintain building components relevant to fire safety, prioritize the prompt repairs or reinstallations of trash chute hopper doors and ensure staff is adequately trained for this work and properly document inspections of these critical building components.
DOI’s investigation also found that, with respect to one Mitchel Houses building, NYCHA failed to perform required inspections and repairs of the fire suppression system capable of extinguishing fires within the trash compactor box.
DOI also found that the privately managed Wise Towers failed to have an adequate fire safety plan, and had deficient maintenance and fire safety protocols, and that because NYCHA is responsible for oversight of, and approval of, the management plan for Wise Towers, which should have included provisions relating to fire safety and maintenance, NYCHA failed to ensure the development had sufficient maintenance and fire safety protocols.
With respect to the fire at the Jacob Riis Houses, the New York City Fire Department (“FDNY”) determined that the fire was caused by the explosion of a battery in an e-bike stored in the apartment where the death occurred. In late 2018, DOI recommended that NYCHA consider implementing a policy to regulate and/or ban e-bikes, hoverboards and scooters in NYCHA buildings. NYCHA accepted that recommendation and, as required, allowed public comment on the proposed ban. NYCHA encountered some resistance from various stakeholders, including NYCHA residents and community groups, as many residents rely on these forms of transportation for their livelihoods. To date, no regulations have been put in place. On March 20, 2023, NYCHA announced a collaboration with Con Edison on a pilot program to test viability of outdoor storage and charging stations for electric bikes and similar modes of transportation on NYCHA properties. While this pilot program ultimately may reduce or eliminate the storage of these devices within NYCHA properties, in light of the need to take immediate steps to reduce the risk posed by these modes of transportation, particularly in enclosed spaces, DOI recommends NYCHA establish protocols to limit the number of e-bikes allowed in NYCHA apartments and to ban the operation of businesses involved in the repair, storage or charging of electric modes of transportation anywhere on NYCHA property.
DOI’s 11 recommendations include:
• NYCHA should revise its procedures to ensure that every shift includes at least one staff member properly trained to identify, report, and secure safety hazards, such as missing, loose, or damaged hopper doors, according to NYCHA’s amended standard procedures.
• NYCHA should enforce its procedures concerning the inspection and repair process for fire suppression systems to improve efficiency by ensuring that the development forwards the inspection deficiency sheet to the Fire Safety Unit immediately to avoid needless delays in the repair process.
• NYCHA should consider putting protocols in place to monitor contracts specifically concerning those related to inspection of safety hazards, including but not limited to those that involve fire safety and suppression, and lead and mold abatement, to ensure that contracts are either extended or renewed to avoid any service delays due to expired contracts.
• NYCHA should limit the number of electric modes of transportation that use lithium-ion batteries, including, but not limited to e-bikes, electric hoverboards, and electric scooters, that are allowed to be stored and/or charged in each apartment, and make compliance with the limitation a condition of the NYCHA lease.
• NYCHA should consult with FDNY to create fire safety and prevention strategies that may allow for safe storage and maintenance of electric modes of transportation. NYCHA should then begin a campaign to inform tenants of the safest ways to store these devices inside NYCHA apartments.
• NYCHA should ban the operation of any business involved in the repair, storage, and/or charging of electric modes of transportation, anywhere on NYCHA property.
The investigation was conducted by Chief Investigator Alfred Carletta and Deputy Counsel Lynette Wade of DOI’s Office of the Inspector General for NYCHA under the supervision of Deputy Inspector General Osa Omoigui, Inspector General Ralph Iannuzzi, Deputy Commissioner/Chief of Investigations Dominick Zarrella and First Deputy Commissioner Daniel G. Cort.
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