Slumlords Yechial Lichtenstein and Nahman Lichtenstein of Brooklyn – Gerrer
hasidim whose family also owns the haredi newspaper Hamodia – and Toby
Moskovits of Manhattan allegedly ignored the massive fire and safety risks in their abandoned Philadelphia warehouse. When it burned, the inferno killed two firefighters.
The fire
Leading Hasidic Family Sued Over Deadly Philadelphia Fire
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com
The three haredim owed the City of Philadelphia hundreds of thousands of dollars in back property taxes. Their buildings were decrepit slums with multiple serious violations of safety, health and fire codes when one of those buildings burned down in a fire that killed two city firefighters.
The buildings’ owners, Yechial Lichtenstein and Nahman Lichtenstein of Brooklyn – Gerrer hasidim whose family also owns the haredi newspaper Hamodia – and Toby Moskovits of Manhattan, showed little remorse.
And now one of the widows of those dead firefighters has sued them, Philly.com reported.
In the suit, Diane Neary alleges the Lichtensteins and Moskovits knew that “over 60 vandals, vagrants, drug dealers, prostitutes, looters and other individuals” were illegally squatting in the decrepit and unsafe abandoned factory building at York and Jasper streets but did nothing to oust them or make the building safe.
Diane Neary’s husband Robert and Daniel Sweeney died when a wall of that decrepit warehouse collapsed on them as they fought the fire.
The suit names Yechial Lichtenstein and Nahman Lichtenstein, Toby Moskovits and their companies, York Street Property Development, Heritage Equity Partners and YML Realty Inc.
The three haredim owned 31 properties in Philadelphia at the time of the fire. According to the lawsuit, 24 of of them were tax-delinquent. The haredim owed more than $400,000 in back taxes and fines at the time of the fire and had more than $10,000 in unpaid water bills, the suit reportedly claims.
The city reportedly cited them three times between November 2011 and March 2012 for failing to secure the property. The haredim did nothing in response, prompting the city to begin sheriff’s sale proceedings in February 2012.
The property burned in mid-April 2012.
Besides government attempts to force the hasidim to follow the law, local citizens groups like the New Kensington Community Development Corporation reportedly repeatedly contacted the owners and asked them to secure the property, to no avail.
Yechial Lichtenstein personally visited the decrepit factory not long before the deadly fire in an attempt to rent the property out. He saw the dangerous conditions, including “holes from the floor through the roof as well as combustible materials…(and) bedding and recently opened food containers” showing that squatters were living there, the lawsuit reportedly claims, noting that looters had stripped the five-story factory of copper wiring, pipes and other materials, which created an extreme risk of a major fire.
“They deliberately ignored those dangers, thereby risking a catastrophe to the Kensington community as well as the firemen who responded to the fire call,” the suit alleges.
Related Posts:
Deadbeat Haredi Landlords' Negligence Kills 2 Firefighters.
Hamodia Publisher Married To Slumlord.
Video: Derelict Haredi Landlords Linked To More Dangerous Properties.
Haredi Property Owners Negligence Spreads To Atlantic City.
[Hat Tip: Anonymous Fluffyan.]