Arson Epidemic in 1970s New York
In April 1975, New York landlord Imre Oberlander and his associate Yishai Webber drove out of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, wearing disguises, including a wig and blackface, with intentions to set fire to one of Oberlander’s six properties.
However, their plans quickly unraveled when police pulled them over for a broken taillight, leading to their immediate arrest.
Historian Benchansfield notes that Overlander was among the first landlords charged in connection with a decade-long wave of arson, as described in “The Business of Born and the Remake of American City.”
The book challenges the assumption that tenants were primarily responsible for many of the notorious fires during that era, asserting instead that indifferent landlords and ineffective regulations played a crucial role.
In the aftermath of protests and unrest in the 1960s, many small landlords fetched profits by abandoning troubled neighborhoods like the Bronx for suburban properties, waiting for an influx of cheap real estate.
In 1968, a new initiative called Fair Access to Insurance Requirements (FAIR) aimed to revitalize the region by offering a safety net for property owners unable to secure standard insurance. While intended to promote fairness, this policy inadvertently intensified existing inequalities, fueling urban displacement and unrest that have ongoing repercussions.
The initiative was flawed at its core. New owners and tenants could access state-backed insurance but often inflated property values—leading to rampant insurance fraud among unscrupulous landlords.
Take the example of a building on Belmont Avenue in 1895. The bank appraised it at $5,000, but it was insured for $250,000. The landlord, motivated by greed, exploited this disparity.
On August 29, 1976, Carmine Lanni, who specialized in distressed properties, hired handyman Popovega to set the building ablaze. Vega attempted to ignite a five-gallon fuel container in an empty apartment but instead caused a massive explosion. Miraculously, no one was killed, but several families witnessed the act and reported him.
Shortly afterward, Vega was arrested but accepted a deal where he would wear wires to gather evidence against Lanni.
It wasn’t long before Lanni involved Vega in another scheme, asking him to burn a property on Valentine’s Avenue in 2025. When authorities caught wind of their conversation, Lanni was arrested and eventually sentenced to 15 years. It was revealed that he was one of six landlords orchestrating an arson ring responsible for numerous fires in the Bronx.
In an effort to distance themselves from legal repercussions, landlords often relied on young men, particularly from minority communities, to carry out these fire-setting schemes, incentivizing them with quick cash. “It was nearly impossible to find anyone other than those who struck the match,” remarks Ansfield.
This trend not only perpetuated a cycle of poverty in the Bronx but also victimized its young residents. Ansfield highlights the despair of growing up in a neighborhood where legitimate financial opportunities were scarce. For those involved in the arson industry, setting fires became an enticing option.
Ansfield argues that this narrative has wrongly painted black and brown tenants as the culprits behind the widespread arson seen not just in New York but across the United States. “People still have this impression that the Bronx was burned down by its residents,” he writes. “Yet the evidence points to landlords, fueled by economic motives and a complicit state.”
Worryingly, the systemic issues rooted in inequality and arson that plagued New York in the 1970s are far from resolved. “While the wave of landlord arson has receded, its roots—the toxic mix of race and capitalism—remain as potent as ever,” he observes.
