Although it has not been confirmed, records show that the apartment in which Officer Peter Figoski was killed had been illegally converted. While this may seem like a small thing to focus on in such a heart-breaking tragedy, the illegal conversion may have played a larger role than one might think.
The building was a two-family home, but the basement had been converted into single rooms that the owner rented to single men. Figoski was shot on the staircase emerging from the basement, as one of the alleged robbers tried to escape. So we have location.
Rumor, unconfirmed of course, has it that the apartment the men were after was occupied by a drug dealer. Whether or not the man who resides there is a drug dealer is irrelevant – what matters here is that the robbers thought he was, and targeted him. And so we have motive.
Of course the fact that the apartment was illegal does not automatically mean that its illegality caused the problem. But it did make it harder for police to corner criminals. It did draw unsavory characters with the lure of what might be hidden inside. And it did result in the death of one of New York’s finest, which is just unacceptable.
Sure, one could argue that this terrible death would have occurred even if the apartment hadn’t been illegally converted. Maybe the criminals would have just picked a different house to rob. Maybe they would have successfully robbed the house, but then killed multiple officers in a car chase wreck. Maybe they would never even have thought to rob anything, if it wasn’t right there in front of them.
But if it was the alleged drug dealer in the illegal basement apartment that attracted the would-be thieves in the first place, if the whole situation was avoidable, shouldn’t we take a moment to think about that? To wonder how much other crime is being concealed in illegally converted apartments throughout the city, and how much of it could be prevented.
It seems as if every time you look at the news there’s another crime been committed – and more and more often lately, it’s involved an illegal apartment.
There was the fire in Woodside in 2009, in which three people lost their lives because firefighters could not get into the basement, which had been converted into four bedrooms that shouldn’t have been there. In that case, one could argue that no one would have died, if the rules had been followed.
In Richmond Hill in 2011 there was another fire, in yet another illegally converted basement, in which six civilians and five firefighters were injured.
There are even rumors that the Maspeth apartment where a woman was accidentally shot by a friend in October was illegally converted. Whether by fire or folly, illegally converted apartments seem to draw trouble.
I’m all for the government minding its own business and staying within its bounds. But some of the regulations we have in place are there for a reason. If the city says you can’t put another apartment in your basement, maybe it’s just red tape. And maybe, just maybe, it’s a legitimate, desperately-needed safety measure.
How many deaths have to occur before we take steps to resolve the illegal conversions issue? And how many more after that before we find an effective way to regulate it and keep our city safe?
