BENSONHURST'S PREMIER NEWS BLOG

The location of the 2010 fire. (Source: Google Maps)

The lawyer for Vasilios and Argyrios Gerazounis, the landlords of the tenement building where five Guatemalan immigrants died in a 2010 fire, is seeking an injunction to prevent CBS from broadcasting a planned reality show about Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes, saying that the show will reveal details about the case that could prejudice jurors.

The New York Times reports:

Gerald L. Shargel, a lawyer for a defendant in a high-profile case being prosecuted by Mr. Hynes’s office, appeared in court on Thursday seeking an injunction that would prevent CBS from broadcasting anything related to his client, a landlord charged with manslaughter as a result of a tenement fire in Bensonhurst in 2010 that killed five Guatemalan immigrants. Mr. Hynes’s office accused the landlords of the building of illegally subdividing apartments without furnishing the required exits.

The Gerazounis’ will be the second prosecution connected to the fire. Earlier this year, Daniel Ignacio was found guilty of setting the fire. The Gerazounis will stand trial for creating unsafe conditions that may have contributed to the five deaths.

The Times continues:

Mr. Shargel wrote a letter on Wednesday to Judge Danny K. Chun of State Supreme Court in Brooklyn, arguing that showing prosecutors interviewing witnesses and making statements about the case before a trial has taken place was a “shocking” violation of professional conduct rules demanded of all lawyers. He asserted that the program would make it difficult for his client, Argyrios Gerazounis, and his client’s father, Vasilios, also a landlord and also charged with manslaughter, to receive a fair jury trial.

“These defendants cannot expect to receive a fair trial if the people provide the public — including prospective jurors and witnesses — with an ‘insider’s look’ at the prosecution’s side of the case, on network television,” Mr. Shargel wrote. “This is a very serious criminal case that should be tried in a courtroom, not on ‘reality TV.’ ”

But when Mr. Shargel arrived in State Supreme Court in Brooklyn on Thursday, he learned from a prosecutor, Lawrence Oh, that CBS would not be including footage of his client after all. Mr. Shargel said afterward that the issue was now “moot.”

However, Jerry Schmetterer, a spokesman for the office, had a different version of events. He said in a telephone interview that CBS had decided on its own not to include the case, not in response to the Shargel letter. CBS, he said, always had final editorial say on what would be shown, but prosecutors have been fastidious about not saying anything on camera that might prejudice a case.

“We are being very careful, and so is CBS that no case would be in jeopardy by what they’re doing,” Mr. Schmetterer said.

Officials in the office said most of the CBS footage concerned cases that are either closed or had been well-publicized at news conferences.

Shargel isn’t the only one upset about the show. Earlier in the week, a candidate seeking to replace Hynes, Abe George, filed suit, claiming that the show will unfairly promote Hynes and give him an advantage in the elections. He is also asking that the show be put on hold.

As first reported by Sheepshead Bites, firefighters discovered the body of an apparent suicide victim while putting out a fire at 2281 Ocean Parkway in Gravesend.

An FDNY EMT on the scene said that the man may have lit the fire prior to shooting himself. NYPD has not yet confirmed the cause of death.

The man who was in his mid-40s lived above ABC Plus Day Care and a gastroenterologist’s office. No other civilians were harmed as both businesses were closed for the weekend.

The fire broke out shortly before 9:00 a.m. and ripped through the first and second floors of the building, leading to the eventual collapse of the front.

No injuries have been reported yet, according to a Tweet by Daily News photographer Todd Maisel.

UPDATE (9:41 a.m.): The FDNY has classified the fire as “under control.”

This is a breaking news story and may contain inaccuracies. We will update it as more information becomes available. If anyone has more information or additional photos, please send them to nberke (at) bensonhurstbean (dot) com.

UPDATE (10:17 a.m.): The fire has been deemed “suspicious” by the fire department. NY1 reports:

At one point, firefighters were ordered out of the building as flames filled the entire structure, causing the roof to collapse.

Fire officials say due to the intensity of the fire and time it took to put out the flames they are deeming the fire suspicious.

“Heavy on arrival building was all locked up in the early morning hours. So these are all indicators of a possible incendiary fire. Fire marshals are here and will do their investigation and talk to the owner,” said FDNY Assistant Chief Ronald Spadafora.

Original story:

A fire swept through a one-story commercial building in Gravesend early this morning, leaving at least one hospitalized.

Firefighters responded to a call to 1716 West 6th Street, just off Kings Highway, at around 4:30 a.m. At first just a two-alarm fire, approximately 150 FDNY responders battled the blaze for more than an hour as it spread to four alarms.

The cause of the fire remains unknown.

MyFoxNY is reporting that one person has been hospitalized in serious condition.

Photos by nolastname.

A car burst into flames on the Belt Parkway on Saturday night, and reader Leon M. was there to see it. He tells Bensonhurst Bean:

Car was on fire at 10pm Saturday night on belt parkway heading west between exits 4-5, looked like the car engulfed in flames rear-ended a car, looked like everybody got out safely. I felt heat from the flames, all the way from the entrance ramp on the opposite side.

Here’s some footage of the fire that tore through several storefronts, including the Empire Beauty School, on 86th Street near 24th Avenue on Saturday. The video above, posted on Youtube by the Daily News, shows firefighters from Squad Company 1 and Rescue Company 5 in action as the fire, which started in a laundromat, threatens the roof and nearby buildings. By the time the blaze was brought under control, six firefighters were injured.

New York Post is reporting that six firefighters and no civilians were injured in this morning’s blaze on 86th Street, which tore through a row of stores.

A three-alarm fire ripped through a row of Bensonhurst stores this morning, injuring six fighters and slowing nearby trains.

Fire officials said the blaze began at 9:48 a.m. in a laundromat on 86th Street near Bay 35th Street. The fire, which started in a cubbyhole between the roof and ceiling, quickly spread to five adjacent stores, including a beauty school, two restaurants, a cell phone shop and a variety store.

FDNY Deputy Chief Richard Howe said about 150 fire and EMS officials were sent to the scene, taming the inferno in about 90 minutes.

Six firefighters suffered minor injuries, and no civilians were injured, he said. The buildings were empty when the blaze erupted, he noted.

The cause of the fire has yet to be determined.

Empire Beauty School (Source: Google Maps)

We just received word that a three alarm fire has broken out at 2384 86th Street, near the corner of 24th Avenue, the site of Empire Beauty School.

Emergency personnel are on the scene, and streets are blocked off.

This is a breaking news story and we’ll have more information as it becomes available.

UPDATE (11:50 a.m.): From NotifyNYC: “Because of a earlier fire at 2370 86th Street in Brooklyn, 86th Street is closed between 23rd and 24th Avenues. Bay 34 and Bay 35 Streets  are closed between Benson Avenue and 86th Street. Expect traffic delays in the area.”

UPDATE (1:00 p.m.): Tipster Jennifer M. tells us via Facebook that it wasn’t the Empire Beauty School, the address given by city officials of the fire. It was a nearby restaurant and a sunglasses store.