The inferno displaced 450 tenants from 105 apartments. Photo by Paul Frangipane
Feb. 6, 2024 By Bill Parry
More than 175 tenants who were displaced from their Sunnyside apartment building following a massive five-alarm fire just days before Christmas are being represented by attorneys from the law firm of McLaughlin & Stern LLP.
A Manhattan-based law firm will represent a group of more than 175 victims who were displaced by a massive five-alarm fire in December. Photo by Lloyd Mitchell
The Manhattan-based law firm, established in 1898, will represent the more than 175 victims who were among the 450 occupants of the building located at 43-09 47th Ave. who were impacted when the inferno broke out on Dec. 20. The firm aims to get compensation for the tenants who were forced out.
Photo by Lloyd Mitchell
FDNY fire marshals determined the fire was sparked by a contractor who was using an unauthorized blow torch to heat lead paint on a metal closet door frame inside the vacant 6th floor apartment.
Brett Galloway, who handles the firm’s class action practice, and Nelson E. Carter, who heads McLaughlin and Stern’s Insurance Subrogation Group, will be working on the case.
Photo by Paul Frangipane
“We hope to expeditiously resolve each claim of our clients so they can get their lives back together after this tragic and devastating fire rendered them homeless through no fault of their own,” Carter said.
Photo by Paul Frangipane
The building’s management company, A&E Real Estate, tried to resettle the displaced residents from 105 apartments in the aftermath of the 5-alarm fire but few units were available in western Queens and some families were temporarily housed at A&E properties in Kew Gardens Hills and East Harlem.
“We’re working cooperatively with residents, their lawyers, local officials and all our stakeholders to deal with this difficult situation as swiftly and effectively as possible,” a A&E Real Estate spokesman said.
