Bill De Blasio’s Instagram.
“There is a possibility here that a gas line was inappropriately accessed internally by people in the building,” Mayor De Blasio revealed in a press conference this afternoon.
While saying there was a “strong assumption” that the explosion that occurred shortly after 4pm yesterday was gas-related, he stressed that the matter was still under investigation, and the possibility that a gas line was inappropriately accessed was merely a “theory” based on “a variety of sources.”
De Blasio called the fire “a terrible tragedy” on what had been “a vibrant, bustling street.” Before the press conference, he toured the corner of Second Avenue and East 7th Street, where three buildings (119, 121, and 123 Second Avenue) were leveled and another, at 125 Second Avenue, suffered what he described as “tremendous fire damages.” At last count, 22 people were injured, four critically. Six firefighters received non-life-threatening injuries.
De Blasio and FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro said it would take several days to meticulously sort through the wreckage, partly because of the possibility of human remains and partly because the smoldering debris may flare up as it’s shifted. “The debris removal will begin now,” said Nigro, “and we anticipate that we’ll be doing this probably for a week’s time.”
A total of 144 residential units were evacuated across 11 buildings in the area. The mayor said they would likely be reinhabitable by Sunday, pending Department of Building inspections, but the city was “still working to fine tune” that.
Regarding the reopening of Second Avenue, a portion of which is still roped off, De Blasio urged residents to “keep their expectations low” and allow authorities time to work in the area.
At the press conference, officials sketched a timeline of the hour leading up to the explosion. According to NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce, ConEd workers met with contractor Dilber Kukic and a subcontractor at 2pm to discuss previous renovations at 121 Second Avenue. A gas pipe serving the ground-floor eatery, Sushi Park, was being upgraded to a larger pipe that would serve the restaurant and some apartment units, according to ConEd President Craig Ivey. The new installation didn’t yet have gas service and failed to pass the inspection that would’ve allowed gas to be introduced.
ConEd left the building at 3:45pm, Boyce said. Around 4pm, the owner of Sushi Park smelled gas and called the building owner. The explosion occurred shortly thereafter, dealing facial burns to both Kukic and the building owner’s son, whom Kukic pulled from the debris.
After the blast, it was confirmed, an off-duty firefighter, Mike Shepherd of Squad 41 (Bronx/Harlem), climbed a fire escape to check the building for anyone who needed to be rescued. Shepard has already been cited for bravery six times and is likely to receive a seventh commendation, Nigro said.
As of now, two people who were thought to be at Sushi Park at the time of the blast — 27-year-old bus boy Moises Locon and 23-year-old diner Nicholas Figueroa — are unaccounted for, and a third person who wasn’t thought to be in the building may also be missing, according to Boyce.
Regarding the possibility of malfeasance, De Blasio said that “an option is that something was tapped into inappropriately,” but he stressed that investigators won’t be able to determine if that was the case until debris is cleared, allowing them access to the basement where the blast originated.
Developing story: this post will be updated as more information becomes available.
