fire

yesterday i woke up for my morning run, and as soon as i stepped outside my house, i heard helicopters. lots of them. i looked up and felt frightened for a second: something has happened. running to the end of my block, i could see what happened: there was a fire. i could see smoke, but it took me several blocks to see the building (at the end of my friend's block)--an abandoned building on the waterfront. i have never seen so much smoke in years--it has been the worst fire in over 10 years (besides 9/11) and the smoke coming from the building--it reminded me of the twin towers.

after talking to rachelle, friend and greenpoint expert, neighbors, and others, i learned that this was the one building that could NOT be torn down--though it was owned by developers and slated for renovation for luxury apts. it was a historical site, so they couldn't destroy it. however, there have been several reports of someone being sighted sloshing liquid on the roof of the building--and for the intensity of the fire--a ten alarm fire--it could not have been a random burning. the developer sounded like a real asshole in this new york times article and the fire was still burning earlier today--on my morning run today, i saw several hoses shooting at the fire, and a bunch of exhausted-looking firefighters. i ran home from work today and felt as if i were choking--the smell was horrid. luckily, the smoke blew north, and so it did not affect me...and it mainly went into the river, so most people were okay.