Cars Blaze at NYPD Red Hook Impound Lot Two Years After Another Fire

By Kirstyn Brendlen, Brooklyn Paper

At least 10 cars caught fire at an NYPD impound lot in Red Hook on Wednesday, less than two years after a blaze on the same lot destroyed a police evidence warehouse.

The fire broke out shortly before 1 p.m. at the Erie Basin Auto Pound at 700 Columbia Street, which juts out into the Gowanus Bay, according to the FDNY. Firefighters were initially told 10 vehicles were on fire, though the New York Post later reported that as many as 22 were damaged in the blaze.

Clouds of thick smoke were visible from Red Hook and from across the East River as more than 100 firefighters worked to contain the flames. The fire was brought under control by 2:13 p.m. with no injuries, and the FDNY’s fire marshal was still working to determine the cause of the fire as of Thursday afternoon.

The NYPD’s auto pounds, like the one at Erie Basin, are used to store vehicles that are part of investigations, or which have been taken for legal reasons, according to the department’s website.

Police did not answer Brooklyn Paper’s questions about exactly how many vehicles were damaged, or if any were part of ongoing investigations. Both cars and e-bikes are stored in the lot, and the lithium-ion batteries used to power e-bikes are known to cause sudden and destructive fires. It was not clear if any e-bikes were involved in the blaze.

“Seems like fire at the NYPD evidence facility next to [Erie Basin] Bargeport pier,” local organization PortSide NewYork shared on Instagram. “We’re now surrounded by bitter smoke that smells like plastic, rubber, and electric fire. Smells like Ground Zero.”

Wednesday’s fire came less than two years after a three-alarm fire destroyed an NYPD evidence warehouse next to the impound. That blaze incinerated most of the material inside the warehouse — only eight barrels of evidence were recovered, and police did not have exact records of what was lost, or whether it was still relevant in active court cases.

The FDNY later determined the warehouse fire was caused by an electrical blowout inside a conduit connected to an exit sign, and the building has since been demolished.

An NYPD representative did not respond to questions about fire suppression systems at the impound lot, or whether any new fire safety equipment had been installed after the 2022 blaze.

“For the second time in under two years, we’ve seen a fire at the Red Hook NYPD facility,” said Council Member Alexa Avilés in a statement. “For hours, smoke spewed into our community and our constituents could see the plumes for miles away. To me, that is a clear indication that this evidence warehouse is not being properly managed nor that systems have been put in place to put out fires. Our community needs answers and transparency from NYPD. Plumes of smoke cannot and will not be normalized in my district. We need information about the cause of these destructive fires and immediate steps to prevent and mitigate future ones.”

Editor’s note: A version of this story originally ran in Brooklyn Paper. Click here to see the original story.

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