Only 8 barrels of evidence salvaged after massive fire at NYPD warehouse in Brooklyn
NEW YORK -- Public defenders are turning up the heat on the city three months after a massive fire at an NYPD evidence warehouse in Brooklyn.
The lawyers want to know which of their cases are affected and what evidence was destroyed.
The NYPD told CBS2 Tuesday that the December fire destroyed "virtually all the evidence" at the Erie Basin Auto Pound "with the exception of eight barrels."
CBS2's Tim McNicholas asked attorneys Jenny Cheung and Elizabeth Felber, with the Legal Aid Society, if they were aware of that.
"This is the first time," Cheung said.
"No, we heard it from you," Felber said.
Cheung and Felber work to overturn wrongful convictions with the nonprofit, which has sent letters to the city and the NYPD -- one letter Tuesday and another in December -- requesting a list of evidence destroyed so they know which cases are affected.
"New Yorkers need to know, the defense community needs to know, the accused needs to know, the wrongfully convicted need to know," Cheung said.
"And so the communication from the NYPD has been what?" McNicholas asked.
"Non-existent," Felber said.
RELATED STORY: FDNY: NYPD evidence warehouse fire was accidental, caused by electrical problems
The NYPD told CBS2 the eight salvaged barrels are being reviewed and documented and they're working with district attorneys to "verify the location and status of each specific evidence request."
The day of the fire, police said the evidence stored at the warehouse dates back up to 30 years.
"We did have some vehicles in there, and we had some biological evidence -- DNA, things from past crimes, burglaries, maybe shooting incidents," NYPD Chief Jeffrey Maddrey said at the time.
The Legal Aid Society says that evidence could be key because their cases sometimes hinge on DNA testing involving decades-old evidence.
The attorneys said they cannot provide names, but they have one client whose murder conviction is currently under review and the lawyers are trying to find out if important evidence was destroyed.
"Some of these are people who have waited many, many years in order for the technology to advance to the point where DNA could actually be helpful," Cheung said.
According to the FDNY, the fire was caused by electrical problems. Police say before the fire, construction was just about to start on a project to address electrical issues there.
