gas explosion A gas explosion is the Combustion, ignition of a mixture of air and flammable gas, typically from a gas leak. In household accidents, the principal explosive gases are those used for heating or cooking purposes such as natural gas, methane, propan ...

occurred in the afternoon of March 26, 2015 in a building located at 121 Second Avenue in the East Village neighborhood of

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, United States. The explosion was caused by an illegal tap into a gas main. The explosion caused two deaths, injured at least 19 people, four critically, and the resulting fire completely destroyed three adjacent buildings at 119, 121 and 123 Second Avenue between East 7th Street and St. Mark's Place.

Background

In August 2014, a meter reader for

Consolidated Edison Consolidated Edison, Inc., commonly known as Con Edison (stylized as conEdison) or ConEd, is one of the largest investor-owned energy companies in the United States, with approximately $12 billion in annual revenues as of 2017, and over $62 ...

, a utility company that delivers natural gas, electricity and steam in the New York metropolitan area, discovered that someone had illegally tapped into the gas line that serviced the Sushi Park Japanese restaurant at 121 Second Avenue, the only part of the building authorized to receive gas service from Con Edison. The illegal taps were serving some of the apartments in the building. Con Ed stopped the flow of gas to the building for 10 days until the taps were removed and the plumber who did the work certified to the city's building department that it had been completed. Neither the building department nor Con Edison was required by law to verify that the work had been completed. In the days before the explosion, workers had been installing a new gas line to service the apartments at 121 Second Avenue. Con Edison workers inspected the installation just an hour before the explosion, but did not pass it, for reasons not related to safety. The new line was locked off and not operational. The row of buildings along Second Avenue between East 7th and 8th Streets had

landmark A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances. In modern-day use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures ...

status as part of the East Village/Lower East Side Historic District, created by the

New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the Government of New York City, New York City agency charged with administering the city's Historic preservation, Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting Ne ...

in 2012. The date for the original construction of the Queen Anne-style building at #121 is not known, but it was altered around 1886; the

Greek Revival Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

building at #123 was constructed around 1834 and altered to the

Neo-Grec Néo-Grec was a Neoclassical Revival style of the mid-to-late 19th century that was popularized in architecture, the decorative arts, and in painting during France's Second Empire, the reign of Napoleon III (1852–1870). The Néo-Grec vogue ...

style in 1913 by George F. Pelham; and the building at #125, which was designed by Pelham in the

Renaissance Revival style Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th-century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range of ...

, was built in 1901. All three buildings were five-story

tenement A tenement is a type of building shared by multiple dwellings, typically with flats or apartments on each floor and with shared entrance stairway access. They are common on the British Isles, particularly in Scotland. In the medieval Old Town, E ...

s; #121 and 123 were old-law buildings and #125 was a new-law tenement.

Explosion

On the day of the explosion, Con Edison investigators had inspected a new gas-pipe installation at 121 2nd Avenue, which remained turned off, and left about 2:45p.m. Shortly thereafter, the owner of the restaurant smelled gas and called the landlord of the building, but neither reported it to Con Edison nor called

9-1-1 911, sometimes written , is an emergency telephone number for Argentina, Canada, the Dominican Republic, Fiji, Jordan, Mexico, Pakistan, Maldives, Palau, Panama, Iraq, the Philippines, Sint Maarten, the United States, and Uruguay, as well as ...

. When the contractor in charge of the work and the landlord's son opened the basement door, an explosion occurred, and the front of the restaurant was propelled across the street. The first emergency calls were received at about 3:17p.m.

New York City mayor The mayor of New York City, officially mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property, ...

Bill de Blasio Bill de Blasio (; born Warren Wilhelm Jr., May 8, 1961; later Warren de Blasio-Wilhelm) is an American politician who was the List of mayors of New York City, 109th mayor of New York City, mayor of New York City from 2014 to 2021. A member of t ...

said, "The initial impact appears to have been caused by plumbing and gas work that was occurring inside 121 Second Avenue." Eleven other buildings were evacuated as a result of the explosion, and Con Edison turned off the gas to the area. Several days later, some residents were allowed to return to some of the vacated buildings. City officials, including de Blasio, said that they had suspected that leaking natural gas was the cause. The explosion sparked a seven-alarm fire with 250 firefighters involved; four firefighters were treated for injuries.

Cause

According to law-enforcement sources, the likely cause is that one or more gas lines were surreptitiously tapped over several months using a device that was attached to the gas line with hoses siphoning gas to other lines. The siphoning apparatus was dismantled or hidden on Thursday before Con Edison conducted an inspection. As soon as the utility inspectors left, an attempt to resume the diversion of gas went awry, causing the gas leak that triggered the explosion.

Impact

The three adjacent buildings at 119, 121, and 123 Second Avenue, on the northwest corner of East Seventh Street and Second Avenue, were completely reduced to rubble by the early morning of March 27, 2015. An adjacent building, 125 2nd Avenue, was severely damaged but remained erect. Residents of 144 apartments in 11 buildings were evacuated. Multiple residents and families in the impacted area lost their homes. Four restaurants were completely destroyed, all located on the first floors in the collapsed buildings: the East Noodle

ramen is a Chinese noodle dish popularized in Japan. It includes served in several flavors of broth. Common flavors are soy sauce and miso, with typical toppings including , nori (dried seaweed), menma (bamboo shoots), and scallions. Ramen h ...

shop at 119 Second Avenue; Sushi Park, a Japanese restaurant at 121 Second Avenue; and two restaurants at 123 Second Avenue:

Pommes Frites French fries, or simply fries, also known as chips, and finger chips (Indian English), are '' batonnet'' or '' julienne''-cut deep-fried potatoes of disputed origin. They are prepared by cutting potatoes into even strips, drying them, and fr ...

—a Belgian fries shop—and Sam's Deli. An adjacent storefront at 125 Second Avenue was badly damaged.

B&H Dairy B&H Dairy is a kosher Jewish dairy restaurant or luncheonette in the East Village of Manhattan in New York City. The original owners, Abie Bergson and Jack Heller, later Sol Hausman, opened it in 1938 when the area was known for the Yiddish Thea ...

at 127 Second Avenue was not damaged but was closed. A month later, many businesses in the neighborhood were still recovering economically from the explosion, although some had remained closed more than a week after the explosion and six were destroyed. The Good Old Lower East Side, a nonprofit social organization in the neighborhood, organized fundraising and donation drives to help people affected by the explosion. Two men in the Sushi Park restaurant were killed: Moises Ismael Locón Yac, a 27-year-old employee, and Nicholas Figueroa, a 23-year-old customer on a date at the restaurant. They were initially reported missing and their bodies were found three days later on March 29 in the debris.

Investigation

The

FDNY The New York City Fire Department, officially the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) is the full-service fire department of New York City, serving all five boroughs. The FDNY is responsible for providing Fire Suppression Services, ...

's fire marshals, the

NYPD The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...

's Arson and Explosive Unit, the

New York City Department of Investigation The New York City Department of Investigation (DOI) is a law enforcement agency of the government of New York City that serves as an independent and nonpartisan watchdog for New York City government. Established in 1873, it is one of the oldest l ...

and the

Manhattan District Attorney The New York County District Attorney, also known as the Manhattan District Attorney, is the elected district attorney for New York County, New York. The office is responsible for the prosecution of violations of New York state laws (federal la ...

's office conducted investigations into the incident. Officials focused on plumbing and gas-line work in the 121 2nd Avenue building to determine whether a gas line intended only for the restaurant on the first floor was inappropriately tapped. No work permits were issued after November 2014 according to the

New York City Department of Buildings The New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) is the department of the New York City government that enforces the city's building codes and zoning regulations, issues building permits, licenses, registers and disciplines certain construction ...

. Two roommates who subletted an apartment at 129 2nd Avenue—three buildings away from one of the collapsed structures—reportedly planned to sue the city for $20 million each.

Indictments and arrests

On February 11, 2016, Cyrus Vance, Jr., the

New York County Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the smallest county by area in the U.S. state of New York. Located almost entire ...

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

, announced the indictment and arrest of five people in connection with the explosion, including building owner Maria Hrynenko, Hrynenko's son Michael, a plumber who had used his city license to allow others to perform work for him, the unlicensed plumber who did the work and a contractor, Dilber Kukic. The charges included

manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th ce ...

and

negligent homicide Negligent homicide is a criminal charge brought against a person who, through criminal negligence, allows another person to die. Other times, an intentional killing may be negotiated down to this lesser charge as a compromised resolution of a mur ...

. The indictments alleged that the explosion was the result of an illegal scheme to tap a legal gas line serving the ground-floor restaurant to provide gas service to the renovated apartments on the floors above. An attorney for the building owner had blamed

Con Edison Consolidated Edison, Inc., commonly known as Con Edison (stylized as conEdison) or ConEd, is one of the largest investor-owned energy companies in the United States, with approximately $12 billion in annual revenues as of 2017, and over $62 ...

for the blast, saying that "they should have shut off the main valve." 45_East_7th_Street_EV

On November 14, 2019, Maria Hrynenko, Athanasios "Jerry" Ioannidis and Kukic were found guilty of manslaughter and other charges. Michael Hrynenko had also been charged, but died while awaiting trial. Andrew Trombettas, a plumber who sold his credentials to Ioannidis, pled guilty to lesser charges in January 2019.

Site redevelopment

A building designed by

Morris Adjmi Architects Morris Adjmi Architects is a New York City-based architecture and interior design firm that provides design services to corporate, commercial and residential clients. Background The company was founded by Morris Adjmi (FAIA), a New Orleans native ...

now occupies part of the explosion site. Out of the 3 buildings involved in the explosion, only 1 currently is being re-used.

References

External links

"Videos Show Fire in East Village"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. March 26, 2015 *Larson, Sarah (March 27, 2015)
"The East Village Fire: Love Saves the Day"
''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

''. {{DEFAULTSORT:East Village gas explosions 2015 in New York City 2015 disasters in the United States Building and structure collapses in New York East Village, Manhattan Explosions in 2015 Gas explosions in the United States Consolidated Edison March 2015 in the United States Explosions in New York City Second Avenue (Manhattan)