On the 16th day after the fatal Belmont fire that broke out at 660 East 187th Street destroyed the building, animal rights advocates and neighbors joined displaced residents on Thursday, May 7, to advocate for their pets and to demand that City officials allow access to the building to rescue at least seven cats and possibly one dog left inside.
As we reported on Wednesday, May 6, surviving displaced residents of the devastating fire that broke out in the 5-story building on April 21, along with Animal Care Centers of NYC, had been calling the City to obtain a status update on various pets trapped inside the building, and had been left frustrated by an apparent lack of urgency on the part of the City in relation to their rescue.
On Monday, May 4, as reported, various officials from NYC Emergency Management (ECM), the FDNY, the NYPD, NYC Department of Buildings (DOB), and Animal Care Centers of New York City (ACC) had met in the vicinity of the impacted Belmont building to discuss the best way to go about placing animal traps inside. This was after DOB had issued a full vacate order for all occupants, including the commercial businesses located on the ground level, following the 5-alarm fire.
On Thursday, May 7, representatives from Little Wanderers NYC, PETA, Animal Care Centers of NYC, John Debacker and other rescuers organized a rally at the building to call for action. They were seen armed with animal traps and were prepared to go in and lay them, they said. Meanwhile, City officials had cited the dangers of accessing the sealed building, including a collapsed roof and the collapse of an interior staircase…