Dozens
of still-displaced residents of a massive four-alarm fire in Yonkers are
raising serious concerns about the way they've been treated in the seven weeks
since they lost everything.
Many
gathered to discuss the next steps outside Burke's Restaurant & Bar on
Tuesday just feet from where they used to call home at 671 Bronx River Road.
"They're
not allowing them in. It's ridiculous. Totally unacceptable," said former
tenant Joseph Perez.
Residents
have not been allowed back inside the building
since the March 8 fire because
investigators found asbestos inside.
Metropolitan
Property Services, which manages the building, sent a notice to tenants telling
them they would send a person in a hazmat suit with a camera into each unit and
give residents 10 minutes to guide that person to collect their belongings.
Residents
called the plan "horrible."
"There's
got to be a different way. This cannot be happening to us. I mean there's 95
families who lost everything," said former tenant Erika Kazmirzak.
Other
residents have filed reports with police after pictures sent to them by the
building's assessor revealed they were robbed in the weeks since the fire.
Twenty-two-year tenant Keith Marcus, who runs an online
memorabilia business, said he lost tens of thousands.
"Everything
was looted. It looks like a train wreck going through my apartment," said
former tenant Keith Marcus.
News
12 reached out to Yonkers police
for comment but haven't heard back.
Residents
believe management is cutting corners in order to quickly and cheaply reopen
the building.
News
12 reached out to Metropolitan
Property Services for comment but haven't heard back.
One
man was killed and dozens were injured during the massive overnight fire that
destroyed huge chunks of this seven-story, 95-unit rental and co-op building on
Bronx River Road.
Officials
said the roof collapsed and the building sustained extensive fire and water
damage.
Investigators
said it was started around 1 a.m. by an electric heating lamp a
first-floor resident was using to grow marijuana plants for personal use.
A
spokesperson for Yonkers said it and the fire department turned the building
over to residents weeks ago. The city is now in a waiting period until
management decides what to do with the building.