To the Editor:
Baruch Hashem, nobody was killed in the devastating fire at 1 West Burda Place in New City this past Shabbos.
But a dog died, a home was destroyed, and roughly a dozen people were displaced.
Following the fire, authorities said the single-family home appeared to have one family living downstairs while three unrelated adults rented individual rooms upstairs. Neighbors have also said they had concerns about the occupancy of the home prior to the fire.
We need to stop pretending that situations like these are merely zoning disputes.
This is a massive Chilul Hashem waiting to happen.
Residents in New Hempstead, New City and Hillcrest have spent years raising concerns about homes they believe have been converted into overcrowded rentals or SRO-style housing.
There have been other properties in the area where residents and municipal records have raised concerns involving alleged overcrowding, additional bedrooms, construction and fire-code issues. Whatever one’s opinion may be about the broader disputes surrounding these properties, nobody should defend placing excessive numbers of people into homes that were never designed or legally approved for such occupancy.
There is also a painful communal issue that cannot be ignored.
When frum property owners or institutions disregard building codes or the safety concerns of their neighbors, it does not remain a private matter. Eventually, there can be a fire, a police investigation, media coverage and an enormous Chilul Hashem.
Our elected officials and municipalities also have an obligation to enforce housing and fire-safety laws fairly and consistently.
Political influence, relationships with askanim or the ability to deliver votes cannot be allowed to shield anyone from legitimate enforcement. If officials hesitate to act because a property owner or community is politically influential, they are potentially gambling with human life.
I am not suggesting that every overcrowded house will catch fire.
I am saying that we already know what can happen when one does.
This time, Baruch Hashem, we can say that no person lost their life.
Do we really want to wait for the day when we cannot say that?
There is nothing wrong with demanding safe housing. There is nothing wrong with demanding legal occupancy and proper fire protection.
Protecting human life must come before everything else.
Moish M.
The views expressed in this letter do not necessarily represent those of Monsey Scoop. Have an opinion you’d like to share? Send it to us for review.Â
Mr. Millstein, arbitrary laws that discriminate against it less fortunate residents are the major culprit behind the hiring crisis in Rockland and the United States. Further, it appears your information about this fire is only partially correct. There were apparently 7 people in the home; a family of three downstairs, one unrelated person in each of the three bedrooms upstairs, and a visiting friend of one of those people. We all know that many of our families have seven people or more in them. Other than arbitrariness, there is no reason to disallow unrelated people from living in a house as long as they are not disturbing the peace. The problem we have in Rockland is that people are upset at unrelated people living together (and any other accomodation for the poor and lower middle class) and then those very same people oppose housing for them. What we really need is a considered effort to have safe affordable units built for singles and small families who are not as fortunate, so they can afford to live here. Not everyone can afford $1.1 million for a “fixer upper” high ranch, or $5,500 to rent the same thing.
That said landlords should be responsible to keep their properties safe; the reporting states that there were no smoke alarms in the house. In addition landlords should be immediately responsible for any single or group of people who are disturbing neighbors.
We can get along if we have common sense laws that consider everyone living in Rockland. And society is not judged favorably on how it treats millionaires, but rather on how it treats its least fortunate.