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Manhattan DA expands deadly Inwood fire investigation to landlord’s company
By
Charles Lane
Published May 21, 2026
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By
Charles Lane
Published May 21, 2026
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The Manhattan district attorney’s office is investigating the owners of an Inwood apartment building with more than 100 housing code violations where a deadly fire broke out earlier this month, a spokesperson said.
A fourth victim, Annie De La Cruz, 53, has since died from injuries suffered in the May 4 blaze at 207 Dyckman St. The DA’s office said it is aware of her death and that its investigation is ongoing.
The investigation comes after prosecutors charged a resident, Victor Arias, with criminally negligent homicide for allegedly tossing a lit cigarette into a pile of cardboard boxes inside the building, setting off the fire.
Prosecutors are now scrutinizing the building’s owner, JanJan Realty Corp., and its president, Jack Bick, for potential corporate liability related to conditions inside the six-story building.
"In addition to prosecuting the individual who allegedly started the fire with his cigarette, the office is investigating the totality of the circumstances of the incident, including the potential for corporate liability," said Doug Cohen, a spokesperson for Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg. "The investigation is in the very initial stages."
Cohen said the office “encourages tenants to report systemic violations to its Housing and Tenant Protection Unit.”
The fire tore through the 25-unit building just after midnight on May 4, initially killing three people and injuring 14 others, including a firefighter. The other victims were identified in court records as Lance Garcia, 24; Yolaine Bienvenida Diaz Dominguez, 48; and Ana Dominguez Lantigua, 72. More than 100 residents were displaced.
The building had 107 housing code violations as of the day of the fire, including 39 considered “immediately hazardous,” according to city housing data.
A week before the blaze, the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development sued JanJan Realty and Bick over fire hazards at the adjoining property at 209 Dyckman St., accusing the company of maintaining “unsafe conditions as part of an intentional and aggressive campaign to harass and displace rent-stabilized tenants.”
Bick and attorneys representing JanJan Realty did not return messages seeking comment.
Prosecutors in New York have previously secured prison sentences and won manslaughter and negligent homicide convictions against companies implicated in construction worker deaths. They’ve also successfully pursued cases against landlords accused of tenant harassment.
Arias has pleaded not guilty and was released with an electronic monitor and a 9 p.m. curfew.
Tagged
manhattan
public safety
Charles Lane
Charles is a Day-of reporter focused on breaking news and enterprise. He’s very friendly and can be reached at [email protected], or more securely on whatsapp/signal 631-295-6715
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