| Editor’s note: Police today alleged that a homeless man is responsible for starting a blaze that took New York City’s bravest more than 36 hours to put out. Please read the related FireRescue1 News Report |
The Associated Press
NEW YORK CITY — Police arrested a homeless man Wednesday on charges he started a fire that destroyed a historic waterfront complex last month.
Kuczera Leszek, 59, was held on arson, burglary and other charges.
He allegedly started the fire while trying to burn off insulation from copper cable he planned to steal and sell as scrap, police said.
The May 2 blaze in Brooklyn took nearly 36 hours to douse.
Officials said the fire was the city’s biggest — excluding the World Trade Center disaster — since a blaze at Brooklyn’s St. George Hotel in 1995.
The huge plume of roiling black smoke was visible for miles.
The destruction included a building that was the world’s largest rope factory in the late 19th century and a portion of the former Greenpoint Terminal Market, a place preservationists wanted listed as a city landmark.