Washington
After DC apartment explosion, I-Team finds missed warning signs and no insurance
An explosion shook an entire apartment building in Northwest D.C. the morning of Sept. 20 and residents ran. It felt like an earthquake, one resident told the News4 I-Team.
D.C. Fire blames the explosion in Columbia Heights on a gas leak from a stove inside an apartment. The woman using that stove was sent to the hospital. No one else was hurt, but D.C.’s Department of Buildings said no one could live in the building at 1433 Columbia Road NW until repairs were made and 41 building code violations found after the explosion were fixed.
Following the explosion, D.C.’s Office of the Tenant Advocate, a city-funded office, snapped into action and spent more than $250,000 on emergency housing for the tenants. It’s money it would get back with liens on the building, but that’s a court process and the building already has been tied up in court for years. Additionally, the OTA supplied rental vans to help tenants move to new housing.
More than a month later, District-funded emergency housing for the residents has run out but needed repairs haven’t even begun, according to the city. The I-Team found it’s not the only obligation the building’s owners, Helenia and John Steininger, a mother and son, have ignored.
A lawsuit filed last year claims the Steiningers owe D.C. Water $81,019.33 in delinquent water bills. D.C. Water asked the court to appoint a receiver but kept the water on. Property tax records show the family owes $206,655.68 in property taxes. The records show they haven’t paid taxes in the past three years, possibly longer. A tax sale is pending.
Maybe most concerning, the property has no insurance to pay for repairs. Court records in the property tax case show Ms. Steininger and her son told the court they had no insurance on the building and according to court records, “repairs will be expensive.” There is no law in D.C. requiring landlords to have insurance.
The News4 I-Team called and emailed the owners and attorneys who represented them in the past. We didn’t get any response to our questions. A visit to Ms. Steininger’s Northwest D.C. home didn’t yield answers either. A caregiver for the elderly owner wouldn’t let our team speak with her and didn’t say when she could.
Minutes after our visit, the owner’s son emailed, not to answer our questions but referring us to an attorney who indicated she doesn’t represent them on these issues. Her son didn’t reply to our questions either.
Residents had described substandard conditions for years
The conditions are no surprise to Abel Núñez, executive director of the aid group Carecen. Núñez said the group has tried for years to help the tenants deal with the conditions and a landlord who they said didn’t insist on safe repairs.
“The conditions are horrible,” Núñez told the I-Team. “This is a place that you would consider being run by a slumlord. But it wasn’t that black and white because the owner wasn’t necessarily exploiting them, more than just allowing them to do what they would do.”
He explained tenants told him they were allowed to do illegal sublets and make their own repairs to the building. One tenant told us, “We were very worried because they don’t say nothing about the lights, about their repairs, because they don’t do nothing.”
The building was last inspected in 2018, when 30 violations were found. Online records don’t show if repairs were made. City law makes it the landlord’s responsibility to maintain a safe building.
Speaking last week, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser told reporters, “I am not sure what the viability of that building is at this point. It’s in really bad shape.”
As he was helping his aunt move out of the building, part-time resident Stanley Valencia told the I-Team he felt D.C. officials could have forced the owners to do more.
“They definitely should have done more,” he said.
Carecen’s Núñez said, “The city should create mechanisms to identify the owners, to either help them get right with the law and do what they need to do for their property or transition them out.”
Núñez told the I-Team, “They were willing to sacrifice good standard of living because they could afford to live in a neighborhood that they wanted to live.” In doing so, Núñez said, they sacrificed their own safety.
After the explosion, the D.C. Department of Buildings ordered the owners to submit a plan to fix the building and start repairs by mid-November. They still haven’t submitted a plan, let alone fixed anything.
DC’s Department of Buildings turned down an interview offer from the I-Team but explained “since day one … the District government has been working with residents. The Department of Buildings is ready to issue the permits to the landlord to do the necessary repairs and, until that happens, the building unfortunately must stay closed. In the interim, the District government is working with the tenants on removing their belongings if they desire and is also connecting them with community resources.”
The Department’s written statement didn’t say anything about the years before and it’s unclear if the residents, who were paying below-market rent, complained – seemingly trapped by low rent in a high-cost city.
“That is the tragedy,” Núñez told the I-Team, “because if they’re saying, ‘If I fight, but in the end, I win, but lose my apartment… I really lost.’”
Israel is potentially days away from a cease-fire deal with Lebanon’s Hezbollah, the Israeli ambassador to the United States said, following a new round of shuttle diplomacy by a senior envoy for the outgoing Biden administration.
“We are close to a deal,” Michael Herzog told Israel’s Army Radio on Monday. “It could happen within days.”
On a quiet Sunday, here’s a fun one. Denzel Washington is telling The Times that he spent a lot of the ‘90s making movies solely for the paycheck.
After Malcolm X I made some real clunkers. Look them up — I won’t say their names…They are all in the 1990s. But I was earning. I had responsibilities.
So, after “Malcolm X,” which is post-1992 … Denzel doesn’t mention any particular titles, but he does ask us to look them up — don’t mind if I do.
One look at his filmography, and it’s clear to me that the paycheck gigs might have been “The Pelican Brief,” “Virtuosity, “Fallen,” “The Bone Collector,” “The Preacher’s Wife,” and “The Siege.”
It wasn’t all bad. In the middle of all those clunkers, Denzel still managed to star in a few well-reviewed films, including “Philadelphia,” “Devil in A Blue Dress,” “Crimson Tide” and “He Got Game.”
We all know Denzel takes his craft seriously, and I just can’t blame him for doing “paycheck” movies. He evens tells The Times that it’s just part of the business. The reciprocal, unsaid deal that gets made between talent and studio.
In life, you learn, earn and then you return — as in give back. So if your life is 90 years long, up until 30 you learn and from 30 to 60 you earn. So in that era I was earning. With a great agent, my career built into making money and so the earning kicked in and then life also kicked in, with bills, four kids and a house.
While we’re at it, what’s the greatest performance Denzel has graced us with that isn’t called “Malcolm X”? I’ll give you some of the more obvious contenders: “American Gangster,” “Glory,” “Training Day,” “The Hurricane,” “Flight.” His most underrated work might be found in 2017’s “Roman J. Israel.”
The Washington Commanders return to Northwest Stadium for a high-stakes Week 12 rivalry clash against the Dallas Cowboys.
After back-to-back losses, the Commanders is not only seeking a much-needed win but also bragging rights in this storied division matchup. Several players also have their sights set on key milestones heading into Sunday’s game.
With a win, Washington would move to 8-4, marking their best start through 12 games since 1996. It would also solidify their dominance at home this season, improving to 5-1 at Northwest Stadium — their best home record through 12 games since 1992.
As Week 12 approaches, here are the numbers to watch as players aim for historic milestones:
1
Tight end Zach Ertz needs one touchdown reception to tie Keith Jackson (49) for 16th all-time among tight ends in NFL history.
2
Linebacker Bobby Wagner needs 100 tackles in 2024 to become only the second player since 2000 to achieve 13 or more consecutive 100-tackle seasons, joining London Fletcher, who accomplished the feat 14 times from 2000-2013. Wagner currently has 66 tackles this season. He’s also closing in on another milestone, needing two interceptions to reach 15 for his career.
Tight end Zach Ertz is just two touchdown receptions away from reaching 50 in his career.
Running back Austin Ekeler needs two receptions to surpass Thurman Thomas (472) for 25th all-time in receptions by a running back.
Defensive tackle Daron Payne is 2.5 sacks shy of breaking into the top 10 for career sacks in Washington franchise history.
3
Frankie Luvu needs three sacks to reach 30 career sacks.
4
Washington wide receiver Terry McLaurin is on the verge of several milestones. McLaurin needs 50 receptions and 900 receiving yards this season to become just the fourth player in NFL history to reach those marks in each of his first six seasons, joining Mike Evans, A.J. Green, and Randy Moss—a feat DK Metcalf is also chasing.
Additionally, McLaurin needs 75 receptions and 1,000 receiving yards in 2024 to become the fourth player to hit those marks in five of his first six seasons, joining Torry Holt, Brandon Marshall, and Randy Moss.
McLaurin is also closing in on franchise history, needing four receptions to pass Chris Cooley (429) for fifth all-time in Washington history. He’s four touchdown receptions away from reaching 35 career touchdowns.
5
Linebacker Bobby Wagner is also nearing a milestone, needing five sacks to reach 40 for his career.
6
Austin Ekeler recently surpassed Arian Foster (8,873) for the second-most scrimmage yards by an undrafted running back in the common-draft era, trailing only Priest Holmes (11,134). Ekeler now has 8,916 career scrimmage yards and has his sights set on another milestone. With 471 career receptions, he is just 29 catches away from becoming the sixth running back in NFL history to record 500 receptions in his first eight seasons. This exclusive club includes Marshall Faulk (548), LaDainian Tomlinson (510), Christian McCaffrey (509 in seven seasons), Roger Craig (508), and Alvin Kamara (505 in seven seasons).
Meanwhile, tight end Zach Ertz continues to cement his place in NFL history. Despite Washington recent losses, Ertz became the sixth tight end in league history to reach 750 career receptions, joining legends like Tony Gonzalez (1,325), Jason Witten (1,228), Antonio Gates (955), Travis Kelce (907 entering 2023), and Shannon Sharpe (815). Ertz currently has 752 career receptions.
7
While it may not happen this Sunday, Austin Ekeler is closing in on a historic milestone. He needs seven more touchdown receptions to surpass Marshall Faulk (36) for the most by a running back in the Super Bowl era. Ekeler currently has 30 career touchdown receptions.
9
Another milestone to keep an eye on—though it may not happen this week—is Zach Ertz approaching 8,000 career receiving yards. He is just 138 yards away from becoming the ninth tight end in NFL history to reach this milestone.
Stick with CommanderGameday and the Locked On Commanders podcast for more FREE coverage of the Washington Commanders throughout the 2024 season.
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