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After DC apartment explosion, I-Team finds missed warning signs and no insurance

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2 years ago

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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.

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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.

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“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.

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“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.

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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.’”



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Washington

Inside Woodlawn Cemetery’s mission to preserve history

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54 minutes ago

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June 24, 2026

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Inside Woodlawn Cemetery’s mission to preserve history


The iron gate to Woodlawn Cemetery is almost always locked shut, but Toni White-Richardson was more than happy to let News4 inside.

As president of the Woodlawn Cemetery Perpetual Care Association, she was excited to talk about what makes this resting place so special.

“It is major D.C. history, first. Then it’s also major Black history, second,” White-Richardson said.

More than 30,000 people, mostly African Americans, are buried among the 22 acres of Woodlawn Cemetery, which opened in Southeast D.C. in 1895. And like so many cemeteries that date back to the 1800s, particularly African American cemeteries, this one has fallen into disrepair, is overgrown and has headstones tumbled over, like those of Wilhelmina and her husband James, and Eliza Spencer, a mother who died in 1887.

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“Let me do a very upfront disclaimer,” White-Richardson said. “We have no idea where these stones go. And when we looked at the grid, it became even clear as mud, it became less clear as to where these stones should really go. Unfortunately, when we look back, we can tell there was a plan, but we could see we never got totally completed. Even back then, there are no markers saying this is Section H or this is Section G or this is 102 and this is, none of that.”

One of the most notable Washingtonians laid to rest here is John Mercer Langston, Virginia’s first Black congressman.

“Langston University came one year because they had a grand reunion in D.C., and we arranged for them to come to see […] John Mercer Langston, the university that was named after this man,” White-Richardson said.

And Blance Bruce, the first Black U.S. senator to serve a full term and register of the treasury, is also buried in the cemetery.

“He’s the signature on our dollar bill, you know, back in the late 1800s,” White-Richardson said. “So, oh, it’s history. It’s capital letters. No getting around it.”

Woodlawn is also the resting place of several of the original founders of two of the country’s most prominent Black sororities, Alpha Kappa Alpha and Delta Sigma Theta. Both organizations volunteer to help with clean ups.

The Perpetual Care Association recently received a grant from the D.C. Office of Planning to help with upkeep of the grounds and preserving the history here.

“These are important individuals who’ve made contributions to the District a century ago, but today still their history and their stories reverberate and really influence the trajectory of our city,” said Anita Cozart, director of the D.C. Office of Planning.

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The cemetery tucked away off Benning Road is only open to the public five days a year, but groups can request tours anytime. The next chance to visit Woodlawn when it will be open to the public is Labor Day.

They’re always looking for volunteers and donors to help with the upkeep of this sacred ground.



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Parsing Trump’s claims about Washington’s reflecting pool

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11 hours ago

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June 24, 2026

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Parsing Trump’s claims about Washington’s reflecting pool


US President Donald Trump wanted to mark the US’s 250th birthday with a renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on the National Mall.

The makeover, including a new coat of “American Flag blue,” cost taxpayers $16 million (€14.1 million).

But the water is covered in green algae. The blue paint is already peeling. Trump has blamed vandals, while his critics question the project’s transparency and cost.

DW’s Brent Goff and Washington correspondent Janelle Dumalaon unpack the whole fiasco.

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Social media reacts to former BYU star AJ Dybantsa going No. 1 in 2026 NBA draft

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21 hours ago

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June 23, 2026

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Social media reacts to former BYU star AJ Dybantsa going No. 1 in 2026 NBA draft


Former BYU basketball star AJ Dybantsa fulfilled his dream of going No. 1 overall in the 2026 NBA draft.

The Washington Wizards selected Dybantsa with the first pick.

Immediately after the pick, reactions poured in on social media about the Wizards drafting Dybantsa.

Social media reactions to the Washington Wizards selecting BYU star AJ Dybantsa

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSL and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast daily on KSL Sports YouTube and KSL NewsRadio (SUBSCRIBE). Harper also co-hosts Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL NewsRadio.

Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU athletics in the Big 12 Conference on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram: @Mitch_Harper.

Want more coverage of BYU sports? Take us with you wherever you go.

Download the new and improved KSL Sports app from Utah’s sports leader. Allows you to stream live radio and video, keeping you up to date on all your favorite teams.

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