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New York City is stepping up efforts to tackle dangerous, fire-prone housing.
Focusing on historically-significant risk factors, Mayor Mike Bloomberg and the City Council have sent teams to inspect the most hazardous homes earlier this month. The most serious risk is that of illegally subdivided apartments, which often have improper access to emergency exits and carry inadequate gas, electric, and plumbing lines. Hundreds of thousands are estimated to live in illegally subdivided apartments in New York. Other risk factors include "whether a building was constructed before 1938, whether it is located in an area with a history of dangerous fires and whether the property is in foreclosure."
The new program utilizes firefighters to add credibility to inspectors, who normally have trouble gaining access to apartments half the time. In the program's trial period, they gained access 93% of the time. This is despite the city's consideration to close 20 fire departments under financial strains. Mayor Bloomberg says that to combat serious issues, they must "find ways to do more with less."
In its first week, the city's program inspected 225 recent complaints. 16 were identified as high-risk, 6 were vacated and 4 were charged with violations.
The effort comes on the heels of several deaths from fires earlier this year. In February, a 43-year-old man died in Brooklyn. In April, a 12-year-old boy and his parents died in the Bronx.
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