Fire Aftermath Update

The Daily News reported yesterday that among the businesses "destroyed" in Monday's fire on East 204th Street in Norwood, was McKeon Funeral Home. That is totally incorrect as we reported here on Monday. In fact, owner Bill Curran just told us that he has a funeral scheduled today. McKeon suffered a little bit of water and smoke damage, but the newly renovated funeral home survived largely intact. McKeon Funeral Home is located at 3129 Perry Ave. and the phone number is 718-655-6464.

We're a little short-staffed on this almost-holiday work day. Can anyone tell us whether Bank of American on the corner of East 204th Street and Bainbridge Avenue is open for business? The Daily News said that business was destroyed as well, and while we don't think that's the case -- the building appeared completely intact the day of the fire -- we wanted to make sure of  the bank's current status before we posted anything about it. 

Also, we wanted to provide a better phone number for residents wanting to order groceries by telephone from Foodtown --718-293-3032.  The other 718 number in our previous report is for Pricebusters, which will, in the next few weeks, provide some groceries. Residents can also order groceries for delivery on-line at www.foodtown.com. If you use either service, please let us know about your experience so we can share it with our readers and your neighbors.


We'll have a News Roundup and a little more news on the blog as the day progresses.

More on 204th St. Fire Aftermath

I visited some of the merchants I know on East 204th St. this afternoon, and I'll give you a bit of a rundown on what I learned in a moment, but first I wanted to share with you what I've been mulling all day: There have now been 3 fires in the past 7 months on Bainbrdige/E. 204th St. We called the Fire Department today and not only did they tell us that the fire on Oct. 31, which obliterated 14 bussinesses is still under investigation, but that the smaller one in April affecting some of the same businesses is still under investigation as well. Maybe I'm missing something -- and I'm hardly an expert on this -- but how can that be? How can the cause a fire in April, the remains of which have long been obliterated by the Bainbridge Bakery's renovation and its encore destruction, still be undetermined? If it's not possible to determine the cause, then tell us that. Don't keep a frightened community waiting over 7 months.

A week or two after the Oct. 31 fire, I was chatting with a fire marshal near the site. I asked him what kind of things he looks for when he investigates. He laughed heartily. "You want ME to tell YOU what I look for?" he said. "That would be like giving you the keys to the kingdom." Now, what he meant by this is that if he told me and my readers what he looks for that would be kind of like publishing a "how to" for arsonists on how to cover their tracks. Well, he can can keep his keys to the kingdom, but the Fire Department can't keep this shaken community waiting much longer for a determination on either fire. This should be THE question at the upcoming precinct council and community board meetings, as well how both agencies are going to protect the remaining businesses.

We're going to look at this some more, and speak with higher-ups in the Fire Department ... In the meantime, here's what else I learned today ...