Nob Hill fire tenants get rushed access to retrieve belongings

Tenants pushed out of Nob Hill’s Building 3 after the deadly Feb. 28 fire are finally getting back inside, but many say the chance to recover belongings has been so tightly controlled that it feels like another loss instead of a step toward stability.

The fire broke out shortly after 4 a.m. at the 761-unit complex on LaFayette Road, displacing about 50 people and leaving two people dead, including a 26-year-old man found in a bathroom in another unit. For residents trying to rebuild, the fight now is over what can still be saved: furniture, family photos, documents and other items that cannot be replaced.

Syracuse City Court Judge Shadia Tadros ordered Destra Management on April 15 to let tenants retrieve their possessions within 14 days. The order also threatens a $500-per-week fine for each tenant who is not allowed into the building to collect belongings, putting legal pressure on the property manager to open the door while the broader safety questions remain unresolved.

Tenants say the access being offered has been far too limited. Some reported being given only about 15 minutes per person, with only two people allowed to carry items at a time. Residents say that does not work for people who need time off from jobs, who have transportation problems or who live with disabilities, and they say the process leaves too little room to carefully sort through what survived the fire.

The concern goes beyond a rushed move-out. The city said Building 3 was declared unfit for occupancy on March 2, and officials have said no one may be inside except for repairs meant to reduce hazards. Inspectors later identified additional violations, including a fire-alarm certification issue, deteriorating floors and walls, poor drainage, and faulty electrical and mechanical components. Tenants say they still do not know whether the building has been made safe enough for anything beyond a hurried grab-and-go visit.

City code enforcement has said Nob Hill had 58 code violations across the property, about 21 of them in Building 3, issued between April 2024 and February 2026. The city’s lawsuit over unresolved violations dates to April 16, 2025, underscoring how long the complex had been under scrutiny before the fire. Nob Hill’s majority owner has been identified as Patrick Nesbitt Jr. of Windsor Capital in California, and Mayor Sharon Owens publicly criticized the owners on March 1, saying responsibility for the complex’s decline rested with those who bought and oversaw it.

The Red Cross opened a shelter at Onondaga Community College on Feb. 28 for displaced residents, but many tenants have since been left to piece together temporary housing, salvage what they can and start over. The question now is whether the court deadline will help families recover from the fire, or simply close the case on a legal timetable.