Firefighters tackled a heavy blaze in a four-story building under construction in Bed-Stuy that spread to a neighboring, occupied building on Friday morning.
Crews encountered a thick column of smoke while en route to 153 Thompkins Ave. shortly after 9:30 a.m. on Jan. 24. Upon arrival, they found flames on the exterior of the construction site extending to the second and third floors of a neighboring three-story wood-frame dwelling.
Construction workers look on as firefighters battle a two-alarm blaze at a building under construction at 153 Tompkins Ave.Photo by Lloyd MitchellA parked car blocks access to a hydrant as firefighters work to contain a two-alarm blaze on Tompkins Avenue.Photo by Lloyd Mitchell
More than 100 firefighters launched an aggressive interior attack, deploying four hoselines to extinguish the main body of the fire despite a parked car blocking a hydrant. Truck companies worked to ventilate the occupied building, cutting multiple holes in its roof.
Searches of both buildings came back negative, according to the FDNY. Construction workers stood by as crews fought the flames, while displaced residents clutched pets and salvaged cherished belongings.
No injuries were reported and the fire was brought under control by 11:15 a.m. The FDNY Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the cause of the blaze.
Mayor Eric Adams will have limited public appearances this week as he attends doctor’s appointments and undergoes medical tests after a week of not “feeling his best,” according to Hizzoner’s top spokesperson.
Fabien Levy, Adams’ deputy mayor for communications, revealed in a late Sunday night social media post that Hizzoner would be stepping back from the public eye this week to attend to his health.
“Over the last few days, Mayor Adams hasn’t been feeling his best,” Levy wrote. “As a result, this week, the mayor will have a number of doctors’ appointments and undergo routine medical tests. While he will continue to communicate constantly with staff and ensure city business continues undeterred, during this time, the mayor will have a limited public schedule.”
Right after Levy’s statement came out, the Mayor’s Office issued the mayor’s daily public schedule, which listed only one item for Monday: an 8 a.m. meeting with senior administration officials that was closed to the press.
Photo by Lloyd Mitchell
However, Levy did not reveal any specifics about the mayor’s symptoms or immediately respond to follow-up questions about them. He also did not answer why doctor’s appointments and tests would stretch for a week.
“Like every other New Yorker, Mayor Adams has a right to privacy when it comes to personal matters, but we will continue to communicate in the unlikely event he is unable to fully discharge his duties on any particular day,” he said in the post.
Another Adams spokesperson, Kayla Mamelak Altus, said the mayor would not hold his weekly media availability on Tuesday this week. She declined to share any additional details about the mayor’s medical appointments.
The news comes after Adams spent much of last week raising questions among the local Democratic political class by appearing to court President Donald Trump and those in his orbit. The mayor took a last-minute trip down to Washington DC to attend Trump’s inauguration last Monday, where he was reportedly made to watch the speech from an overflow room, and did a sit-down interview with far-right commentator Tucker Carlson.
