Brooklyn Landlord Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Setting Fire to Rental Property with Eight People Inside

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, June 10, 2026

Brooklyn Landlord Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for
Setting Fire to Rental Property with Eight People Inside

Defendant Admitted to Setting Blaze; Had Threatened Family of Tenants Over Unpaid Rent

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez today announced that a Brooklyn landlord has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for setting fire to a Cypress Hills home he owned while a family of eight, including six young children, slept inside. He had previously threatened to burn the building down over an unpaid rent dispute.

District Attorney Gonzalez said, "This defendant turned a rent dispute into a life-threatening act of violence, setting fire to a home where a family, including six children, slept. These children were forced to flee the blaze and be dropped into neighbors' arms below. The victims in this case endured an unimaginable ordeal, and today's sentence ensures the defendant is held accountable for the trauma he inflicted on this family and his community."

The District Attorney identified the defendant as Rafiqul Islam, 68, of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. He was sentenced today before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Margaret Martin to 10 years in prison. The defendant pleaded guilty to second-degree arson on April 28, 2026.

The District Attorney said that, according to the investigation, the defendant owned 212 Forbell Street, a two-story, two-family home in the Cypress Hills section of Brooklyn. Built in 1920, the building has a single entrance and no fire escape.

On September 26, 2023, at approximately 5:17 a.m., a tenant on the second floor noticed a burning smell from outside his family's apartment. The tenant exited the apartment and saw smoke and flames coming up from the interior stairwell - the only point of egress within the building. As the fire spread, the entire family, including six children, ages 1 to 8, were forced to climb out of a back window. From there, two adult tenants were able to drop the children into the arms of neighbors waiting approximately 20 feet below. The two tenants then jumped to the ground. One of the tenants called 911.

Firefighters arrived to find the building fully engulfed. Approximately 55 firefighters were needed to extinguish the blaze while family members were taken to Brookdale Hospital and treated for minor injuries and smoke inhalation.

Video surveillance obtained by FDNY Fire Marshals shows the defendant walking toward the building wearing a mask and carrying a bucket and a garbage bag. Additionally, video surveillance captured immediately before the tenant's 911 call shows the defendant leaving the building. Witnesses were subsequently able to identify the defendant from the surveillance footage.

Police arrested the defendant on October 25, 2023. The defendant was angry that the tenants had stopped paying rent and refused to move out of the building, according to the investigation. Three prior complaints were lodged between the defendant and the tenants dating back to February 2023. They include accusations from the tenants that the defendant threatened to cut off the family's power and, later, set fire to the building.

The case was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Jennifer DaRin, of the District Attorney's Red Zone Trial Bureau, and under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Andrea Orlando, Deputy Chief of the Red Zone, and the overall supervision of Assistant District Attorney Karla Watson, Bureau Chief.

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