{"id":235088,"date":"2025-09-18T00:27:14","date_gmt":"2025-09-18T00:27:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/235088\/"},"modified":"2025-09-18T00:27:14","modified_gmt":"2025-09-18T00:27:14","slug":"fdny-finds-dungeon-casino-bootleg-prada-warehouse-and-sketchy-bedrooms-under-massage-parlor-death-trap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/235088\/","title":{"rendered":"FDNY finds dungeon casino, bootleg Prada warehouse and sketchy bedrooms under massage parlor: ‘Death trap’"},"content":{"rendered":"

The FDNY<\/a> uncovered a basement labyrinth filled with slot machines, bootleg merchandise and sketchy cubbies with mattresses underneath two Manhattan buildings that house a massage parlor, officials said.<\/p>\n

FDNY Fire Protection Inspectors were investigating a complaint about unlawful charging of hazardous lithium ion batteries<\/a> inside the connected buildings on Elizabeth Street near Grand Street around 12:30 p.m. Tuesday when they found the batteries \u2014 and lots of other illicit items, the department said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

An area of the basement was converted into a gambling den<\/a> packed with 17 slot machines, and a storage space held an assortment of counterfeit designer bags and accessories, according to officials.<\/p>\n

\"SeizedFDNY Fire Protection Inspectors were investigating a complaint about unlawful charging of the hazardous devices inside the connected buildings on Elizabeth Street when they discovered a basement filled with slot machines. New York City Fire Department (FDNY)<\/p>\n

The front and rear cellars of both buildings were converted into illegal sleeping areas, while \u201cmazelike\u201d cellar hallways were converted into single-room occupancy units crowded with mattresses, clutter, hot plates and space heaters connected with extension cords, according to the FDNY.<\/p>\n

None of the rooms had secondary exits, contributing to the \u201csevere life risks\u201d in the sleeping spaces, the department said.<\/p>\n

\u201c118 and 120 Elizabeth Street was a death trap waiting to happen,\u201d FDNY Commissioner Robert Tucker<\/a> said in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cIllegal, uncertified lithium-ion batteries, illegally converted apartments with no way to get out, and poor electrical practices made these locations extremely dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Lithium-ion batteries \u2013 which have accounted for multiple fires<\/a>, some fatal, across the city in recent years \u2013 were also found charging throughout the space, the department said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A photo posted on Instagram by the FDNY shows the slot machines lined up against a wall in a narrow hallway.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"SeizedThe department said lithium-ion batteries were also found at the site of the illegal slot machines. New York City Fire Department (FDNY)<\/p>\n

Other photos show multiple plastic bags stuffed with clutter, mattresses packed into cramped rooms, counterfeit Prada products and the hazardous batteries plugged in next to each other. <\/p>\n

The NYPD\u2019s Vice Squad confiscated the gambling equipment and counterfeit items, while the city\u2019s Department of Buildings issued a partial vacate order for the cellar spaces in both buildings, officials said.<\/p>\n

Two FDNY summonses and two criminal summonses were issued, but no arrests were made, authorities said.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tStart your day with all you need to know\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMorning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

A massage parlor operates on the ground floor of the property but there were sleeping rooms found there, sources said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks to the amazing work of our Fire Protection Inspectors, and our partner agencies, the DOB and the NYPD, we were able to prevent a catastrophe before it happened,\u201d Tucker said.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The FDNY uncovered a basement labyrinth filled with slot machines, bootleg merchandise and sketchy cubbies with mattresses underneath…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":235089,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,19979,6525,5249,5248,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,67,586,132,5230,68,1154,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-235088","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-batteries","10":"tag-fdny","11":"tag-manhattan","12":"tag-metro","13":"tag-new-york","14":"tag-new-york-city","15":"tag-newyork","16":"tag-newyorkcity","17":"tag-ny","18":"tag-nyc","19":"tag-united-states","20":"tag-united-states-of-america","21":"tag-unitedstates","22":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","23":"tag-us","24":"tag-us-news","25":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115222468792741020","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235088","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=235088"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235088\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/235089"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=235088"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=235088"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=235088"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}