Fire In Historic Red Hook Warehouse 'Highly Suspicious,' Pol Says

RED HOOK, NY — The fire that tore through a century-old Red Hook warehouse, which residents feared was illegally being torn down for apartments, was called "highly suspicious" by the local council member.

Councilman Carlos Menchaca called on the city to review building records for the S.W. Bowne Grain Storehouse after a Thursday night two-alarm fire damaged the top two floors of the structure. The blaze came a week after residents spotted workers with axes on the roof.

"The two alarm fire last night at Red Hook’s historic S.W. Bowne Grain Storehouse, on Smith Street is highly suspicious," Menchaca said in a statement.

"It occurred after the Red Hook community raised alarms about recent, potentially illegal construction activity on the roof and after my office and community leaders took steps to start land marking the building."

A fire erupted inside the 595-611 Smith St. building at about 11:15 p.m. on Thursday night, the FDNY said. It took 102 firefighters more than an hour to quell the flames.

No one was injured in the fire, as the building was vacant at the time, and fire officials were investigating the cause of the blaze.

The blaze came weeks after a local group of preservationists started a push to landmark dozens of buildings in Gowanus and Red Hook, including the S.W. Bowne Grain Storehouse which was built in 1886 and was recommended for designation by the Society of Industrial Archaeology in 2009.

Local preservationist Brad Vogel met with a staff member of Menchaca to push for landmarking the Smith Street building a day before the fire, who told him he followed up with the LPC about the proposal, Vogel said in a statement.

"The timing of the fire immediately on the heels of the meeting and the subsequent outreach to the owner paints the blaze in an incredibly suspicious light," said Vogel. "This is a true, sad loss for the community. It’s time for an investigation."

Residents also recently spotted workers on the roof with an ax who appeared to be doing demolition work and feared owners the Chetrit Group want to tear it down to build apartments.

"I also place the owners of this property on notice: I will not allow demolition by neglect or fire to prompt zoning changes that allow residential or other non-manufacturing uses at this site in Red Hook’s Industrial Business Zone," Menchaca said.

The Chetrit Group could not be reached for comment.

Menchaca said developers neglected the building for years and has been a constant source of complaints from residents to his office.

"Before the fire, my office was engaged with issues like sub-standard fencing, decrepit sidewalk sheds, unpermitted construction and demolition, and illegal dumping there," Menchaca said.

The storehouse was built during the time when Red Hook was a global shipping hub and remained as a warehouse until it was abandoned in the 1960s, Curbed New York reported.

CF Smith LLC and Red Hook Developers Holding LLC, both registered in Delaware, bought the spot in 2007 along with several structures in the area for $14.5 million, city records show. Permits filed to the Department of Buildings last year list Jacob Chetrit, founder of the Chetrit Group, as the owner of Red Hook Developers Holding LLC and his brother Meyer Chetrit as the owner for the building.

The Chetrit group previously demolished three buildings on the lot, but permits were only filed for one and records don't show the DOB approving any, Brownstoner reported.

Developers were issued a $5,000 violation, which they paid, from the city in 2017 for the building's dangerous, crumbling structure, records show. The DOB issued another $1,500 fine in December because the Chetrit Group did not repair the damage.

A complaint was filed to the DOB in March after a resident spotted a person on the roof with an ax who appeared to be demolishing the building without a permit, city records show.

Menchaca added he will join residents in trying to get the city's Landmark Preservation Commission in protecting the historic warehouse.

"As the Bowne Storehouse stood abandoned and unrepaired, a vital part of Red Hook’s history was threatened," Menchaca said. "This fire highlights the urgent need to land mark this part of Brooklyn’s history and I will work with Red Hook Community Activists to continue our efforts for preservation."

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