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| Landlord in Deadly East Village Explosion Sentenced to at Least 4 Years | Landlord in Deadly East Village Explosion Sentenced to at Least 4 Years |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| To keep tens of thousands of dollars in monthly rent money rolling in, Maria Hrynenko, a landlord in the East Village, rolled the dice and decided to cut corners at her tenants’ expense, installing a jury-rigged gas system. That gamble was illegal, perilous and, ultimately, deadly. | |
| On Friday morning, Ms. Hrynenko found out, she will spend between 4 and 12 years in state prison as a result. | On Friday morning, Ms. Hrynenko found out, she will spend between 4 and 12 years in state prison as a result. |
| Ms. Hrynenko was sentenced in State Supreme Court in Manhattan for allowing an illegal gas line on her property that caused a fatal 2015 explosion. The blast killed two men, obliterated two Manhattan buildings and injured more than a dozen people. | Ms. Hrynenko was sentenced in State Supreme Court in Manhattan for allowing an illegal gas line on her property that caused a fatal 2015 explosion. The blast killed two men, obliterated two Manhattan buildings and injured more than a dozen people. |
| A jury found Ms. Hrynenko and two other defendants — a general contractor and an unlicensed plumber — guilty of manslaughter and related offenses in November. | A jury found Ms. Hrynenko and two other defendants — a general contractor and an unlicensed plumber — guilty of manslaughter and related offenses in November. |
| The contractor, Dilber Kukic, 44, and the plumber, Athanasios Ioannidis, 59, were also sentenced to between 4 and 12 years, depending on their behavior in prison. Ms. Hrynenko’s son, Michael, 31, was also charged for his role in the scheme, but died in 2017 while awaiting trial. | The contractor, Dilber Kukic, 44, and the plumber, Athanasios Ioannidis, 59, were also sentenced to between 4 and 12 years, depending on their behavior in prison. Ms. Hrynenko’s son, Michael, 31, was also charged for his role in the scheme, but died in 2017 while awaiting trial. |
| A fifth person, Andrew Trombettas, a licensed plumber who sold the use of his credentials to Mr. Ioannidis, pleaded guilty to lesser charges in March and was placed on probation. | A fifth person, Andrew Trombettas, a licensed plumber who sold the use of his credentials to Mr. Ioannidis, pleaded guilty to lesser charges in March and was placed on probation. |
| The sentencing is the culmination of a narrative that began nearly five years ago after the blast leveled half of an East Village block and left New Yorkers worried about vulnerabilities in the city’s infrastructure. The blast happened just over a year after a 2014 gas explosion leveled two buildings on Park Avenue in East Harlem, killing eight people. | The sentencing is the culmination of a narrative that began nearly five years ago after the blast leveled half of an East Village block and left New Yorkers worried about vulnerabilities in the city’s infrastructure. The blast happened just over a year after a 2014 gas explosion leveled two buildings on Park Avenue in East Harlem, killing eight people. |
| The sentencing also closes a painful chapter for the families of the two men killed in the blast: Nicholas Figueroa, who was 23 years old, and Moises Ismael Locón Yac, who was 27. | The sentencing also closes a painful chapter for the families of the two men killed in the blast: Nicholas Figueroa, who was 23 years old, and Moises Ismael Locón Yac, who was 27. |
| During the trial, prosecutors painted Ms. Hrynenko as a money-hungry landlord, eager to capitalize on New York’s real estate boom, to catastrophic consequence. | During the trial, prosecutors painted Ms. Hrynenko as a money-hungry landlord, eager to capitalize on New York’s real estate boom, to catastrophic consequence. |
| “What was it that made these three defendants circumvent all the rules they were aware of?” the lead prosecutor, Rachana Pathak, said in her closing remarks. “Money, money, money.” | “What was it that made these three defendants circumvent all the rules they were aware of?” the lead prosecutor, Rachana Pathak, said in her closing remarks. “Money, money, money.” |
| At a 2016 news conference announcing the charges, the Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus R. Vance Jr., laid bare an elaborate plot involving deceit, chicanery and subterfuge by Ms. Hrynenko and the defendants. | At a 2016 news conference announcing the charges, the Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus R. Vance Jr., laid bare an elaborate plot involving deceit, chicanery and subterfuge by Ms. Hrynenko and the defendants. |
| After the 2004 death of her husband, Ms. Hrynenko assumed control of his housing stock, and hired Mr. Kukic, a general contractor, to renovate apartments at 121 Second Avenue in 2013. | After the 2004 death of her husband, Ms. Hrynenko assumed control of his housing stock, and hired Mr. Kukic, a general contractor, to renovate apartments at 121 Second Avenue in 2013. |
| The work was completed in 2014, but the utility company Consolidated Edison did not approve gas lines for the apartments. Still, Ms. Hrynenko immediately began shuffling tenants into the building, subletting apartments at an average price of $6,000 each per month. | The work was completed in 2014, but the utility company Consolidated Edison did not approve gas lines for the apartments. Still, Ms. Hrynenko immediately began shuffling tenants into the building, subletting apartments at an average price of $6,000 each per month. |
| Hyeonil Kim, the owner of Sushi Park, a popular Japanese restaurant on the building’s bottom level, said he had wondered how apartments above got hot water and gas for cooking since the only gas line coming into the building had been dedicated to his restaurant. | Hyeonil Kim, the owner of Sushi Park, a popular Japanese restaurant on the building’s bottom level, said he had wondered how apartments above got hot water and gas for cooking since the only gas line coming into the building had been dedicated to his restaurant. |
| In August of 2014, Con Edison, responding to calls from people smelling gas, discovered that the utility line intended only for Sushi Park had been tapped with flexible plastic pipes to provide gas to the apartments. The company turned off gas at the building for nine days until the plastic pipes were removed. | In August of 2014, Con Edison, responding to calls from people smelling gas, discovered that the utility line intended only for Sushi Park had been tapped with flexible plastic pipes to provide gas to the apartments. The company turned off gas at the building for nine days until the plastic pipes were removed. |
| But Ms. Hrynenko, facing mounting complaints from tenants, devised a new plan. She would tap gas from a meter at her neighboring building at 119 Second Avenue and siphon it to her needy tenants, evidence at the trial showed. | But Ms. Hrynenko, facing mounting complaints from tenants, devised a new plan. She would tap gas from a meter at her neighboring building at 119 Second Avenue and siphon it to her needy tenants, evidence at the trial showed. |
| The illegal system of pipes was constructed by Mr. Ioannidis and set up in a locked room in the building’s basement, hidden from Con Ed inspectors, tenants and other workers, prosecutors said. | The illegal system of pipes was constructed by Mr. Ioannidis and set up in a locked room in the building’s basement, hidden from Con Ed inspectors, tenants and other workers, prosecutors said. |
| In 2015, on the day of the explosion, workers for the utility had returned to the building for a final inspection. | In 2015, on the day of the explosion, workers for the utility had returned to the building for a final inspection. |
| They found a faulty meter but no signs of leaking gas. Unknown to them, Mr. Kukic and Mr. Ioannidis had shut off the illegal gas line before the inspection, according to testimony at trial. Mr. Kukic even warned a tenant to say, if asked, “you don’t have gas.” | They found a faulty meter but no signs of leaking gas. Unknown to them, Mr. Kukic and Mr. Ioannidis had shut off the illegal gas line before the inspection, according to testimony at trial. Mr. Kukic even warned a tenant to say, if asked, “you don’t have gas.” |
| The explosion erupted when the two turned the gas back on just minutes after Con Edison inspectors left the building. | The explosion erupted when the two turned the gas back on just minutes after Con Edison inspectors left the building. |
| As gas filled the basement, surveillance footage showed Mr. Kukic and Mr. Ioannidis running out of the building without warning any of the residents, Sushi Park patrons or calling 911, Mr. Vance said. | As gas filled the basement, surveillance footage showed Mr. Kukic and Mr. Ioannidis running out of the building without warning any of the residents, Sushi Park patrons or calling 911, Mr. Vance said. |
| About one minute later, the gas-filled building exploded, sending flames as high as 40 feet into the air, a mushroom of billowing smoke over Lower Manhattan and the neighborhood into chaos. | About one minute later, the gas-filled building exploded, sending flames as high as 40 feet into the air, a mushroom of billowing smoke over Lower Manhattan and the neighborhood into chaos. |
| Shards of shattered glass speckled the streets in front of the building, and onlookers described streets stained with blood as residents, patrons and workers, shellshocked by the explosion, bleeding and covered in dust and ash stumbled away from the fire. | Shards of shattered glass speckled the streets in front of the building, and onlookers described streets stained with blood as residents, patrons and workers, shellshocked by the explosion, bleeding and covered in dust and ash stumbled away from the fire. |
| The seven-alarm fire was so intense, the 250 firefighters called to the scene were forced at one point to withdraw from the building and attempt to quell the flames from a defensive position outside the building. “It was pretty crazy, pretty fast,” one onlooker said in an interview. | The seven-alarm fire was so intense, the 250 firefighters called to the scene were forced at one point to withdraw from the building and attempt to quell the flames from a defensive position outside the building. “It was pretty crazy, pretty fast,” one onlooker said in an interview. |
| “You rarely see a scene of such devastation in the middle of a city like this,” Mayor Bill de Blasio told The New York Times as he surveyed the wreckage. | “You rarely see a scene of such devastation in the middle of a city like this,” Mayor Bill de Blasio told The New York Times as he surveyed the wreckage. |
| The bodies of Mr. Figueroa, who had been on a date at the sushi restaurant, and Mr. Yac, a busboy, were not recovered until three days after the blast. | The bodies of Mr. Figueroa, who had been on a date at the sushi restaurant, and Mr. Yac, a busboy, were not recovered until three days after the blast. |