Ever since arson was confirmed by the NYPD as being the cause of the 4-alarm, nonfatal commercial fire that ripped through seven small businesses on Bainbridge Avenue by East 204th / East 205th Street in Norwood in October 2023, the affected small business owners, their employees, patrons, and local residents have all been anxiously waiting to hear what is to become of the now demolished and formerly condemned site. Amid rumors that the site has been sold, their patience is waning.

 

As reported, Hillside Meat Market, Bainbridge Bakery, Curry & Kebab, La Familia Market (a Mexican deli), Shahjalal Grocery & Variety, Mz Mexicana Grocery, and 7S Fish Market, all located at the one-story, commercial site, located roughly between 3117 and 3335 Bainbridge Avenue, were all decimated in the blaze, which the FDNY was alerted to at 3.49 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 10.

 

The adjacent CVS Pharmacy also closed temporarily due to some damage but as reported, has since reopened, as has Bainbridge Bakery, though at a new location across the street from its former premises.

 

According to City records, ownership of the entire lot was transferred in February 2012 to Bainbridge Realty Associates LLC, with an address at 1122 Avenue J in Brooklyn, from the prior owner, Bainbridge Three Realty Corp., with an address at 225 West 34^th Street in Manhattan. The deed was signed on behalf of Bainbridge Realty Associates LLC by Morton Kriger. Several prior attempts to reach Bainbridge Realty Associates LLC for comment after the fire were unsuccessful as no contact information could be found for the business.

 

Other attempts to obtain a direct number or email for Morton Kriger were also unsuccessful, but we did locate two business addresses for him, the first at 1122 Avenue J in Brooklyn, which, as above, is the actual listed address for Bainbridge Realty Associates LLC, and a second at 1203 Avenue J, also in Brooklyn. No telephone number was listed for the address at 1122 Avenue J, Brooklyn and Google searches appear to show the office as closed.

We therefore called the number listed for the second address at 1203 Avenue J in Brooklyn on May 14. The following automated recording was heard, “Thank you for calling 10 Plaza,” before the call was then transferred to an extension. A man with a European accent (possibly Dutch) answered the call.

 

We identified ourselves and asked to speak to Kriger. The unidentified man said, “Morton is not in, but this is regarding what?” We explained the reason for our call, citing the arson, and asked what about the future plans for the Bronx property at 3117 Bainbridge Avenue, Bronx, demolished on Oct. 17, 2023. The man responded, “We’d rather not discuss this, ok? No comment.”

 

Acknowledging the man’s response, we asked if he could at least confirm if the number we called was actually for Bainbridge Realty Associates LLC, since we were unable to retrieve any direct number or email for the business, only locating a number for Kriger. The man responded, “No.”

 

We then asked if the man could at least confirm if the property owner of 3117 Bainbridge Avenue, Bronx was definitely still Bainbridge Realty Associates LLC, as listed in the City’s records. The man hung up. We called back but did not reach anyone. When we called again the next day, again, a man hung up once again.

 

Norwood News had earlier also reached out to the legal firm which represented Bainbridge Realty Associates LLC at the time of transfer of ownership in February 2012 i.e. Michael J Schaffer, of Meltzer, Lippe, Goldstein and Breitstone LLP, with an address in Mineola, NY to try to ask if he could perhaps put us in contact with Kriger or with Bainbridge Realty Associates LLC, explaining the reason for our request. We did not receive an immediate response.

Following our phone call with the second office in Brooklyn, we later followed up with NYC Department of Finance and asked if they could confirm if indeed the owner of 3117-3335 Bainbridge Avenue is still Bainbridge Realty Associates LLC. We did not receive a response.

 

Previously, Norwood News had also contacted Bainbridge Realty Group, which has an office located at 280 East 204th Street in Norwood, on a block not far from the fire site, and we asked if that business was affiliated with Bainbridge Realty Associates LLC. A representative of Bainbridge Realty Group confirmed it was not.

 

In the immediate aftermath of the blaze last October, some local residents commented that the owner of nearby Foodtown, located on East 204th Street in Norwood, had allegedly sent some of his workers to the fire site to volunteer to help with the clean-up efforts, and they wondered if perhaps this was an indication that Foodtown had plans to buy the site. We had attempted to reach the Foodtown owner for comment on these rumors at different times, both in person and by phone, but so far, have not managed to speak with him.

 

We also reached out to some of the small business owners impacted by the fire to see if they had any insight or clues into the future plans for the site. Some were unavailable. The son of the owner of Hillside Meat & Deli said the family continue to operate another store in Mount Vernon, NY, as they have for 20 years. Of the demolished Norwood business, he said, “We’re waiting to see if they’re [the property owner] going to give us the opportunity to make another store over there [in Norwood].”

We also spoke to the owner of Hillside Meat & Deli. Asked if he had heard anything about a possible new owner of the site, including rumors of a possible Foodtown takeover, the owner said, “I heard that. Listen, anything could be possible here. I mean I don’t know what the story is here. You hear all kinds of stories. You don’t know what’s going on.” He mentioned that his former store in Norwood had been there since 1983.

 

Meanwhile, despite following up over the course of several months with the FDNY for the final report on the investigation into the cause of the fire last October, citing the NYPD’s earlier confirmation that it had opened a criminal investigation into the incident due to reported arson, we have yet to receive a formal response from the FDNY.

 

Instead, FDNY officials have repeatedly said the incident is still under investigation. Norwood News was later informed we had to submit a “FOIL” [Freedom of Information] request to obtain the report, which we did in early April, and await the results.

In the meantime, we also followed up with the NYPD and asked if anyone has been arrested in connection with the fire, or if any charges have been brought against anyone. We were simply referred to the FDNY. Meanwhile, Norwood News has also asked the Bronx District Attorney’s Office if any charges have been brought against anyone in relation to the fire. We’ve been advised that the team is looking into the matter and will share any updates we receive.

 

As reported, the October 2023 fire is the third major commercial fire to hit the area since 2009, and the second linked to arson,. Click here,  here,here, here, here and here to read our previous coverage of the fire and the previous ones.