Fires can make or break Staten Island zombie homes.
The flames may turn occupied houses into so-called zombies — but they also sometimes engulf already vacant, abandoned or neglected buildings and properties.
Staten Island saw 11 fires at vacant buildings last year, according to FDNY. There were two this year by July 25.
The FDNY said fires in abandoned buildings can be caused by squatters or improper electrical hookups. But the department can do little to stop them from taking place.
"Not sure what you're suggesting here," spokesman Frank Gribbon said in an email when the Advance asked if FDNY can do anything to prevent fires at vacant buildings. "This is private property, yes? We do not have the authority to enter premises unless there's an emergency requiring us to do so."
Staten Islanders have shared the locations of more than 115 "zombie" properties in their communities with the Advance in recent months.
They say the properties risk public health and safety, decrease home values and worsen quality of life. Trashy conditions can help spread disease or even flames.
"I'm worried about a fire. That's my biggest fear," said Arthur Barnickel, who lives next door to a Dongan Hills home that was abandoned after the owner died. "There's nobody there, and if nobody's home, we're not home 24 hours a day to be on guard duty."
'I am afraid'
Cosmo Zingaropoli said the house next door at 361 Freeborn Street in Midland Beach was left vacant after Hurricane Sandy.
The home is owned by Vladimir Makhlin and Irina Perre, who couldn't be reached for comment. Department of Buildings records show a stop work order is in place on the property.
"The house is being over-run by teenagers who have broken in and are using it to drink, smoke pot and have sex," Zingaropoli wrote in an email. "I am afraid that these teens might set the house on fire causing my home to catch fire as well."
Last year Staten Island had the highest per-capita number of vacant building fires in all five boroughs, followed by the Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn, according to FDNY and U.S. Census data. Manhattan saw no vacant building fires in 2016.
Staten Island had the second-highest per-capita number of vacant building fires this year through July 25.
The higher per-capita number is partially because the borough has the smallest population. Staten Island is also generally less dense than the other four boroughs, so large apartment buildings are less common than single family homes that can more easily become vacant.
Squatters and drug use
Giselle Jaime lives on Tappen Court in Stapleton, a few houses down from where a fire broke out at an abandoned home last October. FDNY said the incendiary fire began at 23 Tappen Ct. and spread next door to 25.
Arson is the crime of intentionally and recklessly starting a fire or explosion. Incendiary fires, on the other hand, are intentionally ignited under circumstances where a person knows they should not be.
Jaime said squatters were living in both the Tappen Court homes before the fire.
"There was at least, almost 15 people in this house, daily activity, constant," Jaime said of No. 25. Squatters eventually broke into No. 23, too.
There are at least two other vacant homes nearby — one at 52 Tappen Ct. and another nearby at 163 Boyd St.
"We saw a lot of, I guess you could say, drug users in the neighborhood," Jaime said. "There was constant fighting. We had to call the police multiple times."
Another neighbor, Jeanine Ingenito, said in an email that police were driving away squatters daily until the fire.
Clemente Ponce owns 23 Tappen Ct. where the fire began. He couldn't be reached for comment as there's no public record of a phone number in that name in New York. No. 25 is owned by Blanca Ak, who also couldn't be reached for comment. U.S. Bank N.A. owns 52 Tappen Ct. and a spokesman didn't respond to a request for comment. Victor E. Tiburcio owns 163 Boyd St. and he couldn't be reached for comment.
Jaime said 23 and 25 Tappen Ct. have been boarded up and vacant since the fire.
Other properties are abandoned in the wake of fires, like 57 Pembrook Loop in Charleston. That home is still owned by Anthony Carter, who died in a May fire there that also injured his son.
A neighbor said the home is unsecured and worries pieces of roof, glass or other debris may blow onto her own property during a storm.
"That property is still a mess. There's an infestation of gnats, mosquitoes and rodents at night back there," the neighbor said. "We're heading into August now and nothing has been cleaned. I'm not asking them to rebuild the property but could they have at least taken out the garbage, the debris?"
What city does
An abandoned home in West Brighton that caught fire earlier this year had a long history of complaints before and after the blaze broke out.
When reports about abandoned homes are made to the city's non emergency line at 311, the Department of Buildings inspects them to ensure they're structurally stable. If structures are unstable and hazardous to the public, demolitions are performed by city contractors. Otherwise, a city contractor may simply seal the house.
After a vacant Port Richmond building caught fire in June, the FDNY said the boarded-up windows slightly delayed firefighters' efforts on scene.
FDNY doesn't seal buildings after fires.
"We extinguish fires — we do not seal up buildings," spokesman Gribbon said when asked if FDNY can do anything to prevent a second fire at an abandoned building. "That's a question for property owners."
