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Owner of NYC home that went up in flames says he can't get rid of squatters who 'have more rights' than him

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Owner of NYC home that went up in flames says he can't get rid of squatters who 'have more rights' than him

The New York City man whose million-dollar home went up in flames late last year says he cannot get rid of squatters who “have more rights” than homeowners.

Zafar Iqbal, 53, told the New York Post he has repeatedly tried to renovate the house but they “keep coming back.” 

He pays $6,000 a month for the Brooklyn property after paying $1.1 million for it in 2017. He says the home is now causing him to go broke, and he also fears for his safety.

“Every two or three weeks I go there, but I don’t approach,” Iqbal told the Post. “I don’t know if these guys have weapons or whatever. My safety is precious too.”

SQUATTERS BURNED NEW YORK HOME WHILE WREAKING HAVOC ON ‘HARDWORKING FAMILIES,’ OFFICIALS SAY

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The Dyker Heights home before it burned to the ground in November. Squatter Cheng Chen, who was arrested for arson and criminal mischief, told police a candle started the inferno. (Google Maps)

Residents say the cadre of squatters took up residence in the Dyker Heights neighborhood over the summer and quickly made themselves known by stealing security cameras and other goods from surrounding houses – and directly threatening neighbors.

“I got a couple of contractors, they started working on the house,” Iqbal told the Post. “Next thing I know, I got a call from the fire department that the house is burnt out.” 

BLUE STATE SQUATTERS PUT ON NOTICE WITH ‘AGGRESSIVE’ LAW AND ORDER BILL: ‘PEOPLE ARE GETTING KILLED’

Squatters set fire to a home in Brooklyn’s Dyker Heights on Nov. 29 last year after a monthslong campaign of terror against their neighbors. Now, politicians are citing the incident as another indication that loopholes enabling squatters need to be closed. (LLN NYC)

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Cheng Chen, 46, was charged with arson and criminal mischief after the Nov. 29 fire at 1237 67th Street last year. He was saddled with a six-month prison sentence after pleading guilty, according to court records. 

“The fire was caused by candles,” Chen told police, according to a criminal complaint. “I was smoking a cigarette, lit a candle. While I had the stove on to heat up the water and to keep myself warm, [I] went downstairs to take a shower. When I came back, I saw flames and smoke everywhere.”

Dozens of firefighters took an hour to put out the blaze, which caused $900,000 in damage. One squatter, Cheng Chen, was arrested on arson and criminal mischief charges. The other occupants of the home have taken up residence in the razed property’s backyard, neighbors say. (LLN NYC)

However, the New York City Police Department told Fox News Digital that Chen started the fire “intentionally” and “recklessly.” 

The inferno caused $900,000 in damage, the New York Post reported, and took dozens of firefighters an hour to extinguish, according to ABC 7. 

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The Dyker Heights home Zafar Iqbal owns is in Brooklyn, seen here where people take photos near Brooklyn Bridge Park in New York City on Oct. 19, 2022. (Yuki IWAMURA / AFP via Getty Images)

“Somebody got in there and torched my house,” Iqbal said. “That’s when I found out it was a squatter living there. The squatters have more rights than the homeowners. I’m the owner of the house. How much more can I do? I need help.”

Iqbal has been waiting for months since the fire for his insurance claim to go through, he told the Post. Once it does, he plans to fix the 8-bedroom, 4-bath home that has become a source of neighborhood complaints.

New York, most notably in New York City, has been rocked by repeated instances of squatting cases, including a handful that have turned violent and even murderous. Republican state Sen. Mario Mattera pointed to one man on Long Island in 2021, plumber Thomas Buckleman, who was brutally beaten with a baseball bat by a squatter when he was hired to winterize a building in Blue Point. Buckleman was left with three fractures to his skull and blood on his brain, and told local media at the time he believed he was going to die.

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Fox News’ Emma Colton and Christina Coulter contributed to this report. 

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Connecticut

2 injured in motorcycle, pedestrian crash in Hartford

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2 injured in motorcycle, pedestrian crash in Hartford


Two people were injured in a crash involving a motorcyclist and a pedestrian, according to officials.

The Hartford Fire Department was called to the crash just before 6:30 p.m. Officials said the crash happened on Albany Avenue between Edgewood Street and Sigourney Street.

When first responders got to the scene, they found two men injured but conscious and breathing. Fire officials said one person was in critical condition with serious injuries and another had an injury to his arm.

Both were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.

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The Hartford Police Department is investigating the crash.



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Maine

Cooper Flagg was asked if he wants to be a Celtic one day. Here’s what the Maine native said.

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Cooper Flagg was asked if he wants to be a Celtic one day. Here’s what the Maine native said.


Boston Celtics

Flagg said he loves being with the Mavericks and doesn’t want to be elsewhere. He’s also looking forward to playing at TD Garden for a long time.

Cooper Flagg AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith

  • Jayson Tatum’s return was essentially perfect: 7 takeaways as Celtics blow out Mavericks


  • With Jayson Tatum back in the fold, these Celtics know their story is just beginning

The crowd was loud, the number of jerseys with his name on the back were plentiful, and Cooper Flagg was back in New England for his first game at TD Garden as an NBA player Friday night.

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Flagg, whom the Mavericks selected with the No. 1 overall pick in last year’s draft, grew up in Maine rooting for the Celtics. Boston was as close to a hometown team as he could get back then.

During his postgame press conference, Flagg was asked what the crowd was like and whether or not he’d like to experience it from the other side as a Celtic one day.

“Nah, I love being a Maverick,” Flagg said. “That’s home and I don’t want anything else. It was incredible to be able to play here, obviously this is the place where I came as a kid and got to watch, so I think it’s going to be incredibly fun for the rest of my career for me to be able to come here and playin front of this crowd.”

Flagg, who is in the first year of his rookie deal, likely won’t hit free agency until 2030. Bringing him to Boston before then would probably have to involve a trade. He is under contract for next season, and the Mavericks have a club option for 2028 and 2029.

With Flagg averaging 20.3 points and 6.5 rebounds as a rookie with room for his game to grow, hanging onto him as long as possible seems like the logical move for Dallas unless something unexpected happens.

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Despite losing to the Celtics by 20 points during Jayson Tatum’s return, Flagg seemed to enjoy the experience of playing in Boston.

“I had a lot of people come up from back home. Having that experience was really cool,” Flagg said. “The energy was incredible tonight, obviously, with Jayson coming back. The energy was great, it’s an incredible environment and an incredible place to play.”

His time in Texas is just beginning, and this isn’t the Mavericks’ last trip to TD Garden. But, there’s nothing like the first one, and this was a moment that Flagg wanted to savor.

“It meant a lot. I tried to take a moment to take a deep breath and take it all in,” Flagg said. “It’s a dream come true just being out there on that court competing and playing at a high level. It’s really special.”

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Khari A. Thompson

Sports Reporter

Khari Thompson covers professional sports for Boston.com. Before joining the team in 2022, Khari covered college football for The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss.

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Massachusetts

Seven takeaways from Friday’s high school basketball quarterfinals, including another Feehan thriller – The Boston Globe

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Seven takeaways from Friday’s high school basketball quarterfinals, including another Feehan thriller – The Boston Globe


There was no doubt which of Friday’s 24 MIAA basketball tournament quarterfinals served as the game of the night, as the Shamrocks rode their post prince’s 36 points and 18 rebounds to a 65-60 double-overtime win over No. 6 Bridgewater-Raynham, despite trailing by 7 midway through the fouth quarter.

That was one of two upsets on a night that saw 23 teams punch their semifinal ticket, with another 13 slated for Saturday, alongside five hockey semifinals.

Find all of Friday’s scores here, sign up for Varsity News here, prep for New England wrestling with beat writer AJ Traub’s preview, read Bob Hohler’s latest on a Sharon football player’s catastrophic brain injury, and check out everything we wrote:

Whitman-Hanson senior Dylan Hurley got her 1,000th point out of the way early so she could focus on beating Oliver Ames in the Division 2 quarterfinals. Hurley entered Friday needing just 2 points to reach the mark, and she did so less than eight minutes into an eventual 51-47 victory.

Hurley, who is committed to Saint Anselm, finished with 17, including the tying bucket with 29 seconds left, plus two key free throws, giving her 17 points on the night and 1,015 for her career, putting her fourth in program history.

All 13 girls’ games went to chalk, but there were a pair of lower seeds winning on the boys’ side. We already covered No. 14 Bishop Feehan taking out No. 6 Bridgewater-Raynham, just two days after the Spartans eliminated No. 3 Needham. Thus far, they are the lowest-seeded team to reach the semifinals in any division across basketball and hockey, with a baker’s dozen basketball quarterfinals still to be played Saturday.

Also pulling off a quarterfinal upset was No. 6 Lynn Classical, which knocked off No. 3 Tewksbury, 68-59, in the Division 3 bracket, led by 29 points from senior DJ Reynolds and elite defense from seniors Shyheim Babb and Deshawn Rucker.

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Abby Broderick, Medfield — The sophomore exploded for 31 points and five rebounds as the top-seeded Warriors took care of business against No. 8 Norwood, 66-46.

Grace Higgins, Millis — The senior wasn’t the team’s leading scorer (Ella Maher had 17) but she made her presence known in the paint, blocking eight shots to go with 9 points and nine rebounds.

Jimmy Farrell, Masconomet — The senior captain chipped in everywhere, spreading out his impact with 17 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks in a 61-25 win over Burlington in Division 1.

Brody Bumila, Bishop Fehan — Where to start? The 6-foot-9-inch senior was absolutely dominant in a 65-60 two-overtime upset of Bridgewater-Raynham, scoring 18 of his team’s 22 points in the fourth quarter and overtime to finish with 36 points and 18 rebounds. Committed to play baseball at Texas, Bumila has 117 points and 55 rebounds over three playoff games, which have featured six overtime periods and two Shamrocks wins.

4. Hockey semifinal brackets breakdown

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Six observations as we enter the MIAA boys’ and girls’ hockey semifinals Saturday and Sunday. Find the full schedule here.

  • The lowest seeds remaining are No. 9 St. Bernard’s in Division 4 boys and No. 9 Medfield in D2 girls. No double-digit seeds made it out of the quarterfinals.
  • Only one of the top five seeds made the Division 1 boys’ final foursome, which is a 50-50 split between public (No. 4 Arlington, No. 6 Hingham) and private schools (No. 7 Pope Francis, No. 8 St. John’s).
  • The other three boys’ divisions feature 11 public schools and one private: St. Bernard’s, bringing the boys’ total to 13 publics and three privates.
  • The final eight girls’ teams include three privates, all in D1 (No. 1 Notre Dame-Hingham, No. 2 St. Mary’s, No. 5 Archbishop Williams) and five publics.
  • Of the 24 remaining teams, 18 are public and six are private.
  • Of the six divisions, only three No. 1 seeds reached the semifinals, with Catholic Memorial (D1 boys), Stoneham (D4 boys), and Westwood (D2 girls) getting eliminated. Yet five of the six No. 2 seeds are still dancing (the exception, Xaverian in D1 boys)

Milton Academy senior wide receiver Kash Kelly, who hails form Northampton, announced he will play football at Amherst. The 5-foot-11-inch, 180-pounder averaged 21 yards per catch

▪ Southern California sophomore Ellie Thomas, a Needham graduate, was selected as Big 10 Defensive Player of the Week for women’s lacrosse. She went wire-to-wire in the cage, producing a career-high 16 saves, including seven in the fourth quarter, during a 16-14 road win at Arizona State. She also picked up two ground balls.

▪ Northeastern freshman Xavier Abreu, a Phillips Andover graduate from Lynn who was the 2025 A Shot for Life Challenge champion, was named to the All-CAA Rookie Team. Abreu set the Northeastern freshman scoring record, averaging 12.3 points per game and shooting 46 percent from the field.

▪ Brandeis senior Ragini Kannan, a Westford Academy graduate, opened her season with a five-inning no-hitter of Emmanuel for her first career no-no. She struck out four and issued one walk in a 14-0 win in Clermont, Fla.

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▪ Brandeis senior Hannah Du, a Winchester graduate, make the All-Northeast Fencing Conference women’s second team for the first time. She led Brandeis with 12 wins at the NFC Meet, and finished the season with 39 victories, good for second on the team.

7. Basketball leaderboard

Brody Bumila, Bishop Feehan, 36

Abby Broderick, Medfield, 31

Anna Freeman, Medway, 29

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J’Dore Reece, Renaissance, 29

DJ Reynolds, Lynn Classical, 29

Josh Roux, Andover, 27

Mollie Mullen, Bishop Feehan, 26

Lily Denomme, Douglas, 23

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Cece Levrault, Apponequet, 23

Logan Volkringer, Plymouth South, 23

Caprese Conyers, Pittsfield, 22

Addie Harrington, Frontier, 22

Ryan Nikiforow, Millbury, 21

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Rolky Brea-Arias, St. Mary’s, 20

Thomas Denton, Andover, 20

Dylan Hurley, Whitman-Hanson, 20

Maliah Pierre, Whitman-Hanson, 20

Brody Bumila, Bishop Feehan, 18

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Lamar Valentina Jr., West Bridgewater, 15

Thomas Denton, Andover, 12

Tyrese Wanliss, Roxbury Prep, 12

Avery Teixeira, Bishop Feehan, 11

Tamia Darling, Cathedral, 10

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Jag Garces, West Bridgewater, 10

Emma Smith, Bishop Feehan, 7

Jimmy Farrell, Andover, 3

Naya Annigeri, Medfield, 5

Mollie Mullen, Bishop Feehan, 4

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Grace Higgins, Millis, 8


Brendan Kurie can be reached at brendan.kurie@globe.com. Follow him on X @BrendanKurie.





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