Four-alarm fire at NYC garden center damages Metro-North Railroad

Updated: 11:20 a.m., May 25

Top photo: The front of Urban Garden Center, which resides under the Metro-North Railroad tracks in New York City's Harlem neighborhood. Photographed in May 2014 by Michelle Simakis.

When a building across the street from the center of Dimitri Gatanas’ New York City business, Urban Garden Center, exploded after a gas leak in March 2014, it nearly destroyed everything he had built there since 2011, leaving plants and remnants of a hoop house scattered and smoldering. Last week, just over two years later, the East Harlem garden center suffered another obstacle – a four-alarm fire that brought 160 fire personnel underneath the tracks of the Metro-North Railroad system that took about two and a half hours to get under control. Gatanas and about nine other vendors do business in the space, an area known as La Marqueta that dates back to the 1930s, according to information on the New York City Economic Development Corporation website, the city agency that leases out space in La Marqueta.

According to Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) Spokesperson Jim Long, the fire was accidentally caused while Urban Garden Center employees were refueling an outdoor generator. Three FDNY fire fighters sustained minor injuries, but no other injuries were reported.

“While trying to refuel a generator, they spilled the gas and the generator itself had previously been in use, so it was hot, and the heat from the generator and vapors from the gas ignited,” Long says. The fire spread to nearby pallets and trailers that were being used as offices, as well as a panel truck, Long says, but the main store itself, which is in a separate area underneath the viaduct, was not damaged.

RELATED: Life under the tracks

After the Harlem blast in 2014, Urban Garden Center rebuilt and was up-and-running just two months later. A day after the fire broke out on May 17, the business once again quickly rebounded and reopened.

"Our retail store was completely unaffected. My office and machine shop are no longer," Gatanas said via email.

The damage to the tracks and the setback for commuters made headline news, causing delays throughout the week, and the site is still under investigation. Urban Garden Center’s owners received violations last week.

“The fire marshal investigated and continues to investigate,” Long says. “The owners and occupants of the garden center received violations for working without permits and having too much propane and gasoline on site. They didn’t have permits for fuel, period, and specifically for the amount they had on site.”

According to a May 18 press release from the Metropolitan Transit Authority, “the fire caused structural damage to one steel supporting column and three adjacent horizontal steel girders that run east-west along the width of the underside of the viaduct … Because of the structural damage, Metro-North has taken the inside two of the viaduct’s four tracks out of service, and put a speed restriction in place on the two outside tracks.”

The work caused enormous delays and headaches for commuters, though the MTA worked to repair the damage as soon as possible. Normal train schedules resumed Friday, but the delays affected thousands of travelers, and NY1 reported that residents were "reeling" about the incident.

As part of the repairs, MTA workers installed six temporary steel columns to support the damaged column. The seven columns, braced together, are intended to bear the weight of the viaduct until permanent repairs can be made, according the MTA press release. “The fire did not cause any damage to Metro-North’s tracks, signals, or third rail power systems,” the release reads. “The damaged column, located near the centerline of the viaduct, is an older, multi-piece ‘built-up’ column design notable for its lattice-like steel appearance. Portions of the column date to the initial construction of the viaduct in the 19th century.”

According to an article in The New York Times, which quoted an interview aired on NY1, "Thomas F. Prendergast, the chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, said the matter demanded investigation."

“Should we have material like that stored under such a vital, critical piece of infrastructure?” he said during the interview, referring to the propane tanks. “That’s a question that needs to be asked and answered.”

Urban Garden Center's owner did not immediately return calls for comment, but did respond via email. The store posted the following to its Instagram page May 18: “We are open for business. Everyone is safe and sound. The retail shop and garden was completely unaffected. Thank you all for the love and support. Really sorry for putting everyone through this.”

Long says he is unaware if there are any other agencies or bodies investigating Urban Garden Center for liability, but adds that the violations served to Urban Garden Center by the FDNY will include fines. He currently has no estimate for the dollar amount the fines may total.

The city agency that leases the space to Gatanas and other vendors of La Marqueta, the New York City Economic Development Corporation, has not yet responded to questions concerning the fire.

We will continue to update this article as more information is gathered and released.