Residents gather at 43-09 47th Ave. to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the five-alarm fire. Photo: Ramy Mahmoud.
Dec. 23, 2024 By Shane O’Brien
Displaced tenants, elected officials and community advocates gathered at a Sunnyside residential building destroyed by fire last December to mark the one-year anniversary of the five-alarm fire that left hundreds displaced from their homes.
The five-alarm fire broke out at 43-09 47th Ave. at around noon on Dec. 20 last year, bringing hundreds of firefights and EMS personnel to the scene.
The FDNY said the blaze was caused when a contractor hired by building landlords A&E Real Estate illegally used a blow torch, causing the fire to rip through the six-story residential building and displacing around 250 residents.
A number of tenants displaced by last year’s fire gathered at the building on Friday evening to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the blaze, joining several elected officials and community advocates.
They also called on A&E to start construction work and make the building inhabitable again, stating that tenants still remain displaced 12 months later, with some people still living on friends’ couches.
Attendees at Friday’s commemoration held signs bearing slogans such as “365 days too long” and “A&E: Fix 43-09 47th Ave. now”.
Melissa Orlando, who lost her home in the fire last December, said it has been a “very long year” for residents and urged A&E to repair the damage to the building.
“Not one of us has been able to return home,” Orlando said. “Every single resident has had to make due – whether by searching in an impossible market for another apartment, taking a temporary housing assignment, or by sleeping on the couches of family and friends.”
Melissa Orlando speaks at Friday’s commemoration. Photo: Ramy Mahmoud.
Judson Jones, another resident who was displaced last December, spoke of how tenants throughout the building were preparing to celebrate the holidays when the blaze broke out.
“Decorations were hung, presents were wrapped and placed under the tree, all in anticipation of families gathering together for the holidays,” Jones said Friday. “In an instant, all of that came to a violent halt.”
Jones described how residents looked on as their homes—and the lives they had built within them—were destroyed before their eyes. However, he also spoke of the humanity and solidarity that he witnessed among the local Sunnyside community in the aftermath of the blaze.
“Local businesses stepped forward, donating services without hesitation. Restaurants opened their doors and gave meals. On Christmas Eve, strangers came together as neighbors, gathering at a local church to wash donated clothes.”
Council Member Julie Won. Photo: Shane O’Brien
Council Member Julie Won welcomed news that A&E was providing displaced tenants with another six months of temporary relocation license agreements, allowing tenants from 43-09 47th Ave. to rent apartments at other A&E buildings at the same rate they were paying in the Sunnyside building.
However, Won said residents need a “permanent fix” that guarantees them stability and security.
“250 tenants in Sunnyside lost their homes due to a fire started by A&E Real Estate. A year later, they continue to be bad landlords and have not started construction,” Won said. “Our neighbors lost their homes through no fault of their own and should not have to wait another year out in the cold.”
U.S. Rep. Nydia Velázquez also called on A&E to take action and get tenants back into their apartments.
“Tenants deserve the stability and security of their homes—not the uncertainty of eviction or burdensome rent increases,” Velázquez said.
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