RV fireball torches NYC diner from ‘Goodfellas,' sparking calls for camper crackdown
A fireball from a parked RV sparked a fire that tore through an iconic Queens diner from the movie 'Goodfellas' – and now one mayoral candidate is calling for a camper crackdown.
The fire erupted at 9:30 p.m. Saturday at GoodFellas Diner in Maspeth with 60 firefighters eventually arriving to put out the flames, according the FDNY.
The blaze came seven years after the same diner caught fire.
Advertisement
3 A raging blaze erupted from an RV in Queens and quickly spread to the iconic Goodfellas Diner on Saturday night while mayoral hopeful Curtis Sliwa was already on the scene.
Curtis Sliwa/X
Two civilians were evaluated on the scene and refused medical attention, the department said.
Guardian Angels founder and Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa had just wrapped a fundraiser at nearby Clinton Hall when the blaze erupted and posted a video talking in front of the swarm of firetrucks on X.
Advertisement
'We were talking about all the RVs and debris in the garbage and the problems that come with this epidemic of RVs on the streets of the outer boroughs, and that's when boom!,' Sliwa said. 'We all came running out of the Clinton Hall, and we saw the truck exploded on fire and watched as the fire spread to the Goodfellas diner.'
3 Sliwa had just wrapped a fundraiser at nearby Clinton Hall when the blaze erupted.
Curtis Sliwa for NYC Mayor
The fire has reignited debate over illegal RVs in the outer boroughs neighborhoods like Maspeth, Red Hook, and Hunts Point, which have seen streets taken over by dilapidated campers, local outlets have reported.
Sliwa blamed City Hall for the latest.
Advertisement
'There's no police response, no DOT response, nothing like this right here, you got campers parked on the lot of the Goodfellas Diner?! The Buildings Department should be out here asking what the hell is going on, but nothing,' he said.
'If you go and you talk to them, you find out some of them are migrants, some of them are drug sellers, some of them are drug users, some of them just have no place to stay, and it's happening all over the outer boroughs,' Sliwa warned of the RV inhabitants. 'People are getting arthritis calling 311, and nothing is happening.
3 The iconic diner known for its big-screen cameos already experienced a devastating fire in June 2018.
WAYNE CARRINGTON
Truck driver and longtime Queens resident Savo Jernic, 54, parks his 18-wheeler across from the GoodFellas lot during his monthly long hauls and said the situation has deteriorated.
Advertisement
'Six months ago, it was empty. Clean. Now, too many [RVs] to count,' Jernic said, pointing to a heap of garbage blocking a sidewalk. 'One guy in a camper said for $20, he'd watch my truck. That's where we're at now.'
Sliwa is now calling for a sweeping crackdown, more inspections, and stronger penalties for property owners allowing commercial vehicle storage in violation of zoning codes.
'The quality of life is just hitting the skids… It's as if the city is just saying who cares? I'll tell you who. The people who live here and the people who do business here, they care,' he said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Boston Globe
an hour ago
- Boston Globe
What to know about Trump's deployment of National Guard troops to LA immigration protests
The 2,000 Guard members authorized Monday are an addition to the 2,100 Guard troops the president previously mobilized for the protests Sunday morning. Trump also deployed 700 Marines to help them Monday. Trump, a Republican, said in a post on his social media site that the city would have been 'completely obliterated' if he had not sent Guard members. Advertisement This appears to be the first time in decades that a state's National Guard was activated without a request from its governor. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Here are some things to know about the lawsuit, the protests and the guard's deployment: State sues the president over troops California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit over the use of National Guard troops following the first deployment, telling reporters Monday that Trump had 'trampled' the state's sovereignty. 'We don't take lightly to the president abusing his authority and unlawfully mobilizing California National Guard troops,' Bonta said. He sought a court order declaring Trump's use of the Guard unlawful and asking for a restraining order to halt the deployment. Bonta has said the lawsuit became necessary once Trump escalated the number of troops, leading to growing unrest. Advertisement California Governor Gavin Newsom Trump and his border czar, Tom Holman, traded taunts with Newsom about the possibility of arresting the governor if he interfered with federal immigration enforcement efforts. 'I would do it if I were Tom. I think it's great,' Trump said. Newsom responded in a post on X: 'The President of the United States just called for the arrest of a sitting Governor. This is a day I hoped I would never see in America.' Newsom has called the presence of troops on the streets of Los Angeles both 'illegal and immoral.' On the social platform X, Newsom called the decision to deploy the additional National Guard troops reckless and 'disrespectful to our troops.' 'This isn't about public safety. It's about stroking a dangerous President's ego,' said Newsom, a Democrat. In a post Monday evening, Newsome called the deployment of Marines 'a blatant abuse of power' and said officials would sue to stop it. 'U.S. Marines serve a valuable purpose for this country — defending democracy. They are not political pawns,' Newsom wrote on X. 'The Courts and Congress must act. Checks and balances are crumbling.' What's the mood in Los Angeles? A large crowd gathered Monday in a park across from Los Angeles City Hall to protest the arrest of prominent labor leader David Huerta, whose arrest Friday while protesting immigration raids became a rallying cry for people angry over the administration's crackdown. Huerta was later released on $50,000 bond. Monday's demonstrations were less raucous than Sunday's, with thousands peacefully attending the rally at City Hall and hundreds protesting outside a federal complex that includes a detention center where some immigrants are being held. The protests have been driven by anger over Trump's stepped-up enforcement of immigration laws that critics say are breaking apart migrant families. Advertisement Demonstrations were also taking place in other cities, including inside Trump Tower in Manhattan, and more than a dozen were planned in all. In Los Angeles, the smell of fire hung in the air and ash piles littered Los Angeles Street with the charred remnants of cars set afire during protests. Police cars blocked streets, and workers swept up debris. Crews painted over graffiti that covered downtown buildings. An Australian television journalist was hit in the leg by a nonlethal round Sunday while reporting live, while a British photographer remained hospitalized Monday after undergoing surgery for a similar strike to the thigh Saturday in Paramount. The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed in a news release on Monday that it used tear gas and more than 600 rubber bullets and other 'less than lethal' munitions on protesters over the weekend. Police arrested 29 people Saturday night 'for failure to disperse' and made 21 more arrests on Sunday on charges ranging from attempted murder with a Molotov cocktail and assault on a police officer to looting. Five officers had minor injuries, police said. Perla Rios, an indigenous community leader in Los Angeles, stood outside of Ambiance Apparel on Monday, where US Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids on Friday set off days of tense protests. Rios urged legal representation and due process for immigrants who were detained by federal agents. The weeklong tally of immigrant arrests in the area climbed above 100, federal authorities said. Many more were arrested while protesting. 'What our families are experiencing is simply a nightmare,' Rios said. Behind her, relatives of the detained of workers held up signs saying, 'Immigrants make America Great' and 'We want justice,' next to photos of their loved ones. Advertisement What are officials in California and Washington saying? Newsom, in a post on X, warned that Trump could activate the National Guard in other states unless he is challenged. 'This is exactly what Donald Trump wanted. He flamed the fires and illegally acted to federalize the National Guard,' Newsom wrote. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, speaking on CNN, said she was concerned that more federal immigration raids will spark 'pandemonium.' She said protesters are prepared to respond quickly if they see ICE in action. 'It's just a recipe for pandemonium that is completely unnecessary,' said Bass, a Democrat. ICE officials, in a statement, said they are working to enforce immigration laws and remove immigrants with criminal convictions. They also said they stand ready to arrest protesters who break the law. Holman called Newsom 'late to the game' in responding to the demonstrations. Trump, speaking to reporters in Washington, called Newsom 'grossly incompetent.'
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Utah senator looks to resuscitate Nevada-Utah federal lands sale proposal
Organizations from around the country signed a letter on Monday urging U.S. senators not to include a controversial proposal to sell thousands of acres of federal land in Congress' budget bill. The letter comes in the wake of reports that Utah Sen. Mike Lee is considering reviving an amendment to the bill originally proposed by Republican U.S. Reps. Mark Amodei of Nevada and Celeste Maloy of Utah that would dispose of nearly 11,500 acres of Bureau of Land Management land in southwestern Utah, and about 450,000 acres in Nevada. Lee, when asked by a Politico reporter last week if he intended to reintroduce the disposal, responded, 'I gotta go vote, but yes.' Lee's office did not respond to a request for comment on Monday, and it's unclear whether Utah's senior GOP senator is considering bringing back an exact copy of the amendment, or something different. Amodei outrages NV congressional colleagues with 'dead of night' federal land sales amendment But more than 100 organizations and nonprofits around the country are sounding the alarm, telling Senate leaders to 'heed how dramatically unpopular this idea is and reject any misguided attempt to get public lands sales back in this bill.' 'Decisions about the future of public lands should remain in public hands. Leaders in the House and Senate, extractive industry, and private developers are using the reconciliation process to sell off federal lands to pay for billionaire tax cuts. But such moves are deeply unpopular. Polling has repeatedly shown that the public — especially westerners — strongly believes in keeping public lands in public hands and, across partisan lines, rejects any efforts that would lead to the sale of these shared and cherished lands,' reads the letter, signed by Utah groups like the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, Conserve Southwest Utah, Save Our Canyons, Great Basin Water Network and Back Country Horsemen of Utah. The letter is addressed to Lee, who chairs the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, New Mexico Democrat Martin Heinrich, the committee's ranking member, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat. The House amendment backed by Amodei and Maloy was dropped from the budget bill after it received pushback from all sides of the aisle. That includes Montana Republican Rep. Ryan Zinke, who previously said selling public lands is a line he would not cross and rallied support from a bipartisan group of lawmakers to strip the proposal from the bill. 'The public had no opportunity to participate in the process of identifying these parcels, let alone time to understand the long-term effect of selling off these public lands,' the letter reads. This story was originally published in Utah News Dispatch.
The Hill
an hour ago
- The Hill
Watch live: House GOP leaders brief media as Senate grapples with ‘big, beautiful bill'
House GOP leaders will hold a press conference Tuesday morning as Senate Republicans rework the 'big, beautiful bill' encompassing President Trump's legislative agenda. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has urged senators not to make significant changes to the bill, which narrowly passed the House. The upper chamber does not appear inclined to follow his advice. Republican senators are torn over various aspects of the bill, including its impact on the deficit and deep cuts to programs like Medicaid and food assistance. A number of House members have also expressed concern with aspects of the bill, even though they voted for it, signaling another heavy lift for Johnson and his team when it returns to the lower chamber. Other Republicans joining the Speaker Tuesday are House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (La.), Majority Whip Tom Emmer (Minn), GOP Conference Chair Lisa McClain (Mich.) and Rep. Gabe Evans (Colo.). Watch the press conference live starting at 10 a.m.
