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April 16-April 22, 2021
Jackson Heights tenants displaced by fi re to call for
‘dignifi ed, compassionate’ return to their homes
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
Several Queens elected
officials joined more than 60
tenants and their families
who were displaced by a massive
fire in Jackson Heights to
call for a “dignified and compassionate”
return to their
homes on Monday, April 12.
The press conference took
place in front of 89-07 34th
Ave., the six-story building
where the eight-alarm fire
broke out last week, and was
organized by its tenants association,
89th Street Tenants
Unidos. Congresswoman
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez,
state Senator Jessica Ramos,
Assemblywoman Jessica
González-Rojas, Queens Borough
President Donovan
Richards and a representative
from Councilman Daniel
Dromm’s office stood with the
tenants as they spoke about
their devastating loss and
need for long-term support.
“This is a crisis. This is a
disaster impacting an entire
community,” said Andrew
Sokolof Diaz, co-president
of the tenants association.
“There are 132 apartments in
these two buildings behind
me, and over 150 families, who
in less than an hour lost our
homes and were left with only
the clothes on our backs.”
Sokolof Diaz said many of
the families in the building
— known as an immigrant
The displaced victims of the Jackson Heights fire demand permanent and nearby housing at a press
conference outside their destroyed apartment building on April 12. Photo by Gabriele Holtermann
hub that welcomed everyone
— are low-income, workingclass
immigrants, who were
already disproportionately affected
by the ongoing COVID-
19 pandemic.
Nube Bermejo, a mother of
three children, lived on the
third floor of the building for
eight years with her husband.
Bermejo was overcome with
emotion when speaking about
the fear they felt as they evacuated
the burning building,
saying they’ve had sleepless
nights since then.
“It hurts to remember and
to see our home today,” Bermejo
said in Spanish.
HPD and the American
Red Cross placed many of
the families in hotels across
the borough, with some tenants
saying they’re in hotels
at JFK Airport. But for many
of them who don’t have transportation,
JFK is too far.
Elvira Suarez, 73, has lived
in the building with her husband,
who is 78 years old, since
1976. When the fire broke out,
Suarez said she lost two cats,
and only had time to grab one
pup. Her other seven cats who
survived are currently in a
shelter in Manhattan, while
Suarez and her husband stay
in a hotel in JFK.
Suarez asked to be moved
to a nearby hotel, as it’s hard
for her husband to use public
transit.
“I tried to bring him back
on the first day in a taxi and
it cost $40,” Suarez said in
Spanish. “I don’t have that
kind of money for me to come
and go.”
Tenant leaders said HPD
has had an “insensitive and
irresponsible approach” by
forcing them into the shelter
system and forcing them to
stay in hotels that are too far
from 89th Street.
While the hotel stay was
meant to expire on April 13,
elected officials announced
on Monday that HPD has extended
the stay until April
20.
When asked for a response
to the tenants’ demands,
an HPD spokesperson said,
“HPD worked with the American
Red Cross to extend hotel
stays through April 20. We are
asking for all impacted households
to register with HPD’s
Emergency Housing Services
to receive further relocation
support, including assistance
returning home where possible.
We are directly contacting
families impacted by the
fire to determine their needs
and what support can be provided.”
Read more on QNS.com.
Vol. 9 No. 16 36 total pages
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