Thomas Breen photo
John Farrar lunges at a reporter outside 121 Elm St.
The landlord of an illegal Hill rooming house where two tenants died in a May 5 fire got a continuance for a case involving his alleged assault of a tenant three nights before the lethal blaze.
While the landlord wound up not having to appear before a state judge Thursday, he did lunge at this reporter on the sidewalk outside of court while threatening to “break your fucking camera” in response to follow up questions about the night of the fire.
That scene played out inside and outside the state courthouse at 121 Elm St., soon after Bronx-based landlord John Farrar received an administrative continuance from state Superior Court Judge Phillip Scarpellino for the third-degree assault, second-degree breach of peace, and third-degree criminal trespassing charges he faces from his May 1 arrest. His next day in court will be June 19.
Farrar, a 40-year-old X‑ray technician and contractor from the Bronx, is the owner of 150 West St., a two-family house he bought from Yonkers-based landlord Dorjan Jashari at the beginning of March.
In the early-morning hours of May 5, the house burst into flames, leaving two tenants dead, 14 tenants displaced, several jumping out of third-story windows to save their lives, and four firefighters injured.
2nd story of 150 West after the fire.
Local and state authorities are still investigating the source of the fire, whether or not there were functioning smoke detectors (multiple tenants have told the Independent there were not), and the city anti-blight agency’s long and frustrated history with trying to get the prior landlord to agree to an inspection.
Farrar was in court Thursday not for any charges related to the fire, but rather to his alleged assault of a second-floor tenant during an altercation that took place around midnight on May 1. According to the police report from his arrest, Farrar got into a “verbal altercation” with a tenant, Michael Randall, after asking Randall if the latter’s cousin, who was present at the time, lived at 150 West. According to what Randall told the police, Farrar “aggressively walked up” to Randall’s cousin and questioned him. Then, when Randall intervened, Farrar grabbed Randall “by his neck using two hands and pushed him against the sink.”
The police report quotes another 150 West tenant, Katira Sanchez, who said she saw Farrar “mushing Randall in the corner of the kitchen.” Still another tenant, Jacques Bastien, said he saw Farrar and Randall “got into a scuffle,” with Farrar pushing the tenant. He also accused Farrar of busting down his bedroom door when looking to collect overdue rent.
Randall was one of the tenants who died in the May 5 fire.
None of that was discussed in court on Thursday. In fact, Farrar didn’t have to appear before the judge at all, even though he did spend several hours waiting to be called by Scarpellino and checking in with his public defender.
Just before 1 p.m., Scarpellino granted Farrar an “administrative continuance,” moving his next court hearing for the alleged assault case out by three weeks. Scarpellino said the procedure is common for first-time offenders charged with misdemeanors, like Farrar, who is free on $5,000 bail.
Farrar and companion walk away up Church Street.
Outside the court house, the Independent caught up with Farrar, who was walking up Church Street with a female companion.
Asked where he was the night of the fire and what he believes may have caused it, he kept walking and said, “I have no comment.”
When asked whether or not he hung up on 150 West tenants who called him the night of the fire, as two former tenants claimed, he replied, “Tell them to show you their phone records if they called me. I ain’t saying nothing. Don’t ask me, ask them. Show me the fucking records.”
When this reporter lifted his camera to take a picture of Farrar, the latter stopped, then lunged and thrust his arm. A woman with whom he was walking restrained him before he made contact and encouraged him to keep moving.
“I’ll break your fucking camera,” he warned this reporter. “Do not take a picture of me. I don’t give a fuck. Don’t take a picture of me. I’m not your fucking friend.”
Previous coverage:
• Tenants Return, Retrieve Burnt Belongings
• Slumlord Unloads 2 More Hill Properties
• Police Report: 150 West St. Landlord Assaulted Tenant Who Later Died In Fire
• Files Reveal Slumlord-Chasing Challenges
• Tenants Who Escaped Deadly Fire: Smoke Alarm Didn’t Sound. Slumlord Didn’t Care
• 2 Die In Hill Fire; Tenants Leap For Lives; Questions Raised On Smoke Alarms, Exits