Deadly fires at NYC public housing caused by neglect, e-bike policies, investigators say

A pattern of neglect and a failure to implement regulations around e-bike storage were among the causes for a string of deadly fires at New York City’s public housing buildings, according to a new report from the Department of Investigation.

City investigators launched the inquiry last February after consecutive fires at three public housing complexes took the lives of two residents, including a 6-year-old boy, and injured several others.

The fires broke out over a two-month period at the Mitchel Houses in the South Bronx, the Jacob Riis Houses in the East Village, and the Wise Towers on the Upper West Side – a privately managed NYCHA development.

“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,” DOI Commissioner Jocelyn Strauber said in a statement.

The fires at the Mitchel Houses and the Wise Towers began in trash chutes and then spread into stairwells and hallways. In both cases, investigators found that a lack of maintenance and planning had contributed to the tragedies. This included a missed inspection of a fire suppression system at the Mitchel Houses — where the 6-year-old boy was killed — that would have extinguished the blaze in the trash compactor.

The investigation also revealed that PACT Renaissance Collaborative, the much-criticized property manager that oversees the Wise Towers – along with 16 other NYCHA developments – suffered from deficient maintenance protocols and lacked an adequate fire safety plan. The report found that NYCHA, which ultimately oversees the private contractor, “failed to ensure the development had sufficient maintenance and fire safety protocols.”

At the Jacob Riis Houses, the blaze was caused by the explosion of an e-bike battery – one of more than two dozen fires inside NYCHA properties sparked by volatile lithium-ion batteries. While DOI had previously urged the housing authority to ban or regulate the storage of e-bikes inside their buildings, they have been slow to take that advice. “To date, no regulations have been put in place,” the report notes.

NYCHA spokesperson Barbara Brancaccio said the authority is currently reviewing public comments solicited from residents and other concerned parties about e-bikes, as they continue “learning more about the technology, alternatives for storage and other technical aspects from expert sources.”

Earlier this month, Mayor Eric Adams announced a plan to crack down on unregulated e-bikes that will include a pilot program to test outdoor storage and charging stations at four NYCHA developments.

The report listed eleven additional recommendations for NYCHA, such as improving staff training around fire hazards and “excluding the inspection and repair of fire suppression systems from budgetary constraints.”

At a recent City Council hearing, NYCHA's Interim CEO Lisa Bova-Hiatt warned that the authority would have to significantly cut expenses and curtail repairs if it could not secure additional funding from the state or federal government.

A preliminary budget released by Gov. Kathy Hochul this year included no new money for the housing authority.

Brancaccio said NYCHA had already made revisions to fire safety policies, while allocating funding to address trash disposal, fire suppression and building infrastructure issues.

“NYCHA is also implementing staff training, repair procedures and inspection audits, among other recommendations including developing responsible micromobility policies,” her statement continued. “We thank the inspector general for carefully investigating these fires, as we are committed to improving our operations and keeping our residents safe.”