The New York City Police Department is investigating a suspicious fire that broke out this morning at a six-story Bronx residential building, leaving three dead and three injured, according to the New York Times. The fire at 2275 Morris Avenue off the corner of East 183rd Street in Fordham Heights broke out at 7:50 a.m. and took roughly 40 minutes to get under control, according to a spokesperson for the Fire Department of New York, who said that 60 firefighters arrived on the scene. No firefighters suffered serious injuries. [more]

A tenant in an illegal apartment in East New York died after being trapped in the cellar dwelling during a small fire early this morning, according to the Department of Buildings. The two-story building at 568 Drew Street had been illegally converted to accommodate a basement tenant, a DOB spokesperson said.

Firefighters received a call alerting them to the blaze at 4:49 a.m. and arrived at the scene at 4:52 a.m., according to a spokesperson for the New York City Fire Department. The fire was under control at 5:23 a.m.

The cause of the fire is under investigation by the New York City Police Department, according to a NYPD spokesperson. [more]

Violent crimes in New Your City’s public housing developments rose sharply in 2010, particularly in Harlem and the Bronx, according to city data compiled by the Daily News. Citywide, there were 73 murders at public housing projects, up from 62 one year ago. Of those, 27 took place in the Bronx, including 14 at the violence-plagued Edenwald Houses. The Bronx’s public housing developments had seen only 13 murders in 2009. While murders declined in Manhattan, shootings were up dramatically. There were 54 people shot at Manhattan projects in 2010, including 40 in Harlem, up from 37 in 2009. [more]

The New York Police Department’s 108th precinct has handed over 15 of its roughly 55 Long Island City parking spots to residents of One Hunters Point, the new 12-story condo tower at 549 Borden Avenue, who have complained for months that the cops were taking up more than their fair share of parking. The condo owners, who also recently succeeded in a campaign to lessen the volume of idling Long Island Railroad train engines nearby, petitioned and lobbied Community Board 2 to get the street parking issue on the table. The NYPD hasn’t exactly surrendered the spots, though. — the city has merely agreed to “kicked the can down the street a little,” according to Joseph Conley, chair of Community Board 2. Now, the bright red “no standing” signs that irked those living at One Hunters Point will be located on the west side of Fifth Street.

The city’s public and private development projects are a testament to its bright future, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in his weekly radio address on 1010 WINS yesterday. Bloomberg praised the job-creating new NYPD College Point Police Academy, a $750 million project that he said will create 2,000 construction jobs after being on the drawing boards for more than 20 years. In Williamsburg, the vacant “30-acre eyesore” known as the Broadway Triangle is awaiting final approval from the City Council on its rezoning, which Bloomberg said will allow close to 1,900 new apartments, nearly half of which will be designated affordable. Bloomberg also cited the last piece of the West Side rail yards’ rezoning decision, expected this week, as a way for the city to preserve affordable housing options, as well as the Hunters Point South development on Queens’ East River waterfront, where construction broke ground six weeks ago. “All these projects in Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan spell j-o-b-s for New Yorkers,” Bloomberg said. TRD

The planned security post at the World Trade Center has, in fact, no plan at all, the Daily News reported. The Port Authority’s Site-Wide Operations Coordination Center, slated to monitor security at Grand Zero and fend off terror threats, has not yet been designed and no budget has been set. Agency officials said the location — which was initially planned for the northwest corner of Greenwich and Liberty streets — and opening date of the facility is also still up in the air, and delays could in turn throw off plans for the Freedom Tower and Transportation Hub, which are supposed to rely on it for critical security operations. In place of the permanent facility, whose NYPD, FDNY and counterterrorism staff will be intended to overcome the communications breakdowns that occurred on 9/11, the agency said it would open an interim facility early next year at 115 Broadway. The Daily News said news of the interim location came only after months of rebuffed questioning from reporters.
[NYDN]

A new New York Police Department publication offers landlords and
building security personnel anti-terror guidelines for their buildings.
The guidebook, which is called “Engineering Security,” tells building
owners how they can measure the ways their buildings might be affected
by terrorism. Suggestions in the guide include positioning glass
facades away from buildings that face higher risk of terrorism and
using fire-resistant materials in construction. [more]