Infant found dead in Brooklyn apartment after exposure to heating fixture, police say

Police are investigating the death of an 11-month-old infant found in a Brooklyn apartment after he apparently suffered burns from a heating fixture in the building.

Officers found the boy around 6 a.m. Friday in response to a 911 call from an apartment building on East 14th Street in Midwood, according to the NYPD.

The boy was pronounced dead at Maimonides Medical Center in Borough Park after first responders transported him there.

Investigators are looking into a burst steam pipe in the building, NYPD Assistant Commissioner of Public Information Carlos Nieves said.

Officials said the boy’s mother was feeding one baby in a bedroom while the 11-month-old was in another bedroom, where she soon discovered him burnt by a heating apparatus.

Police said it was still unclear where the leak occurred, though on Friday morning they requested that the city Department of Buildings inspect the site for a “faulty radiator causing steam to fill the bedroom,” DOB records show.

The department later issued a partial vacate order for an apartment in the building, citing a “damaged ceiling at multiple locations, corroded radiator pipe and floor damage.”

According to city records, there were several complaints over conditions in the apartment in 2022, including over paint peeling from a radiator in a bedroom. But the Department of Housing Preservation and Development inspected the unit later that week and didn’t issue any violations.

The NYPD had made no arrests as of Friday afternoon.

In interviews at the building, a few residents said most of the tenants live in rent-stabilized apartments and that the landlord and superintendent are typically responsive to any issues that arise.

“I haven't had any major issues with the radiators,” said Michael Roberto, a 60-year-old musician who’s lived there for 26 years. “They make noise, but I expect that because they're old.”

Still, Muhammad Haseeb, a 29-year-old tenant who works as an Uber driver, said he’s lived in the building for about a year and complained about not getting enough heat during the colder months. He said the super responded to his concerns by noting the city sets temperature regulations.

Haseeb recalled hearing people crying and screaming in the building Friday morning. He said he was familiar with the family and described the father as a kind person.

Property records show the four-story building is owned by a limited liability company tied to landlord Ruvin Itskovich, who bought the complex in 2001 and owns at least two other apartment complexes in southern Brooklyn. He did not immediately respond to voicemails or an email.

DOB spokesperson David Maggiotto said inspectors for the department arrived at the building “after receiving reports that a resident was injured in an incident involving a radiator.”

“DOB inspectors from our Boiler Unit are currently conducting a full inspection of the boiler and boiler room,” he said, adding that the family’s apartment would be inspected once police allow it.

The building had not received a DOB complaint or violation since 2016, when one was issued in response to a report of an unsecured window air conditioner box.

The building was subject to 57 open housing code violations, but none have been issued since 2020, according to HPD records.

Friday’s tragedy recalled the deaths of two young girls scalded by steam in 2016 inside their Bronx apartment, which the city had been renting out as a so-called “cluster site” shelter for homeless families. Their deaths galvanized opposition to the cluster site model, leading the city to gradually eliminate the practice.

Steam heat remains ubiquitous throughout New York City, where it dates back more than a century.

Over 80% of the city's multifamily residential buildings rely on steam heat, according to a 2019 report by the nonprofit Urban Green Council. About 70% of tenants in steam-heat buildings surveyed by the organization reported being “chronically overheated” in the winter.

According to Roberto, the longtime building resident, the family had three children: the deceased 11-month-old and recently born twins. Police identified the father as Binyomin Kuravsky.

“They're nice people,” Roberto said. “Whenever I saw them with the kids they were in a carriage and swaddled up, smiling.”

Bahar Ostadan contributed reporting. This story has been updated with new information.