Burned Down Building Had History of Violations; Known Fire Hazard

City records show that a two-story building— displacing five tenants — had a long history of violations and was a known fire hazard. 

"The building is in very poor condition and may pose a structural or a fire hazard," Zoning Officer Ann Holtzman wrote in a June 16, 2010 letter after she toured the building at 609 First St., which formerly housed Hoboken staple, Nardine's Restaurant. Prior to Nardine's, the building was home to Casella's Restaurant, the legendary Hudson County mob headquarters in the 1970s and 1980s. 

Mayor Dawn Zimmer called the building "challenging" while at the fire scene Saturday, adding that fines had been issued to the landlord, Esmat Zaklama, who has owned the building since 1990.

The building's file in the Construction Office in Hoboken City Hall reveals several failed attempts to acquire a liquor license, several "stop work orders," a lawsuit between the city and the landlord, as well as a denial of certification to allow Zaklama to re-open Nardine's —which has remained vacant as long as Zaklama has owned the building.

Several stop construction orders were issued to Zaklama in 2003 and 2004. In the mid 1990s, the city refused to renew Zaklama's liquor licence for at least eight consecutive years, which resulted in Zaklama suing the city in 2003.

In the suit, Zaklama alleged that he had been subject to harassment by city officials, who refused to grant him permits and a liquor license for Nardine's restaurant.

On Saturday, Zaklama said he had tried to re-open Nardine's as recently as last summer, but was shut down by the city.

A denial of certification was issued on May 18, 2010, stating that Zaklama was not allowed to open Nardine's as a bar without proper documentation. The certificate, signed by the city's zoning official Holtzman, stated that no application had been received in the zoning office to open the restaurant. To re-open the restaurant—which Zaklama was planning to run as a bar-only—a zoning variance would have to be granted, according to the document.

A month later, on June 16, Holtzman visited the building along with Health Inspector Lynette Medeiros and a police lieutenant. In a summary of the day, Holtzman wrote that the building was "in very poor condition" and that "numerous health violations" were found, according to city documents.

Holtzman and Medeiros were unable to inspect the kitchen and the bar area of the vacant restaurant that day, because the doors were locked, according to the document.

During this time, Zaklama was still looking to open the bar, after he had been denied a month earlier, in May 2010.

"The owner is pressing to open before June 30, since he is at risk of losing his liquor license," Holtzman wrote in June 2010. "He will not be able to do so legally, but his history with the city suggests that he may attempt to do so anyway."

A full report on Saturday's fire, issued Thursday by city-hired firm Boswell Engineering, advised Zaklama that while the charred structure serves no immediate danger to other buildings at the moment, it should be demolished as soon as possible. 

Inside the building, the roof and the ceilings collapsed, according to the report, and the Fire Department was unable to enter the building during the blaze, because of "danger of imminent collapse."

Zaklama—who was present at the scene Saturday—said that a worker had fixed something behind the stove in one of the upstairs apartments of the building, causing it to begin smoking, but the exact cause of the blaze was not listed in the fire report.

Authorities confirmed, however, that the fire started on the second floor and that flames came out of the southwestern corner of the building, which stands on the corner of First and Jackson.

Saturday's fire displaced five people who lived in the two apartments on the second floor of the two-story building. A fundraiser has been organized for the five women, and several businesses have opened drop off locations for items.

A benefit will be held for the fire victims on Dec. 30 from 6 to 9 p.m. at Room84.