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A Mother’s Cry: ‘Four at One Time, What Do I Do?’ A Mother’s Cry: ‘Four at One Time, What Do I Do?’
(about 2 hours later)
The Stewarts were a big, tightknit Jamaican family that moved to New York City and stayed close. Thirteen of them lived in the same tan brick apartment house on Prospect Avenue in the Bronx, near the Bronx Zoo.The Stewarts were a big, tightknit Jamaican family that moved to New York City and stayed close. Thirteen of them lived in the same tan brick apartment house on Prospect Avenue in the Bronx, near the Bronx Zoo.
When a fire clawed through that building on Thursday evening, four members of the family died. On Friday morning, Ambrozia Stewart, who lost her youngest daughter and three granddaughters — Karen Stewart-Francis, 37; her children Kylie Francis, 2, and Kelly Francis, 7; and Shawntay Young, 19, their cousin — stood on the corner of East 187th Street and Prospect Avenue weeping into the frigid air. When a fire clawed through that building on Thursday evening, four members of the family died. On Friday morning, Ambrozia Stewart, who lost her youngest daughter and three granddaughters — Karen Stewart-Francis, 37; her children Kylie Francis, 2, and Kelly Francis, 7; and Shawntay Young, 19, their cousin — stood on the corner of East 187th Street and Prospect Avenue, weeping into the frigid air.
“I don’t know what to do and I don’t know how to feel. I need somebody to tell me what to feel,” Ms. Stewart said. “Where do I go from here? Four at one time — what do I do?”“I don’t know what to do and I don’t know how to feel. I need somebody to tell me what to feel,” Ms. Stewart said. “Where do I go from here? Four at one time — what do I do?”
City officials said the fire was caused by a 3-year-old boy who was playing with the knobs on the stove. His mother grabbed her two children and ran outside, leaving the door to their first-floor apartment open. The fire spun up the stairs, leaving 12 people dead.City officials said the fire was caused by a 3-year-old boy who was playing with the knobs on the stove. His mother grabbed her two children and ran outside, leaving the door to their first-floor apartment open. The fire spun up the stairs, leaving 12 people dead.
Ms. Stewart-Francis and her children had moved to their fifth-floor apartment from Manhattan about a year ago. Ms. Young lived in a basement apartment. Ms. Stewart-Francis’ husband, Holt Francis, was in a coma at Jacobi Medical Center on Friday. In addition to the Stewart family, the dead included Maria Batiz and her 8-month-old granddaughter. On a GoFundMe page asking for support, Christine Batiz said that while she was at work, Maria, her mother, was watching the girl, a tiny child with big brown eyes, still in diapers.
Shevan Stewart, another of Ambrozia Stewart’s children, stood outside the building Friday morning with her head on her mother’s shoulder, tears streaming down her cheeks. “She told me there was a fire in the building and she was trapped,” Christine wrote. “I never heard from her again. Later on, at around 1 a.m., I heard the news I never thought I would hear. I lost my angel baby and my best friend, my mother. The lady who birthed and would do anything for me is gone. I lost everything in a matter of minutes.”
Shevan said that her mother immigrated to the United States in the late 1980s, and 19 of her family members followed her in 2004. Other names of the dead have yet to be released.
Maria Rivera, 37, who lives in the building next door, said the Stewart family was a familiar sight around the neighborhood, and that their generosity extended beyond their unit. “They were always together,” she said. When the weather was nice, they would host barbecues and invite neighbors to join them. “Come, you want to eat?” was their refrain.
Ms. Stewart-Francis, her husband, Holt Francis, and their two children had moved to their fifth-floor apartment from Manhattan about a year ago. Mr. Francis was in a coma at Jacobi Medical Center on Friday because of injuries he sustained in the fire.
Ms. Young had lived in a basement apartment with her mother and stepfather. Kenyon George, 19, said he last saw her two days ago. She was his girlfriend of seven months and they were constantly in contact, talking over FaceTime, text and Snapchat, even when she was in Jamaica visiting family. Ms. Young had “a little attitude,” Mr. George recalled with a laugh, tears cutting across his cheeks, but it was impossible for him to stay angry with her for long. “It’s that smile, you know,” he said.
He said that he loved to cook for her, and she would sometimes ask him to teach her how. She graduated from Frederick Douglass Academy III high school, also in the Bronx, he said, and until recently had worked at a C-Town supermarket.
She was a mother figure to Mr. George’s 1-year-old son, and they would often fall asleep together. Once, he recalled, he went upstairs in his home to cook as she and his son watched TV. “I came back down, they were asleep, ‘Law and Order’ still playing,” he said. “What am I supposed to tell my son?”
Shevan Stewart, 44, another of Ambrozia’s daughters, said that her mother immigrated to the United States in the late 1980s, and that 19 of her family members followed her in 2004.
The family had just returned from visiting Jamaica last week.The family had just returned from visiting Jamaica last week.
Shevan, the family chef, said her relatives loved to gather in her first-floor apartment for a meal, where they would tell stories about her 102-year-old grandmother back home.Shevan, the family chef, said her relatives loved to gather in her first-floor apartment for a meal, where they would tell stories about her 102-year-old grandmother back home.
“I’m always cooking, and they’re always eating,” Shevan said.“I’m always cooking, and they’re always eating,” Shevan said.
On Thursday night, she was cooking curry chicken and rice for herself when Ms. Young climbed the stairs from her basement apartment. She poked her head in to ask what Shevan was making. The dish was her favorite. On Thursday night, Shevan was cooking curry chicken and rice for herself when Ms. Young climbed the stairs from her basement apartment. She poked her head in to ask what Shevan was making. The dish was her favorite.
“She said, ‘I’m gonna come back. I’m gonna go to the fifth floor to visit Auntie Karen,’” Shevan said.“She said, ‘I’m gonna come back. I’m gonna go to the fifth floor to visit Auntie Karen,’” Shevan said.
“I said ‘don’t stay long,’” Shevan recalled. “She said, ‘I’m gonna come back.’” “I said, ‘Don’t stay long,’” Shevan recalled. “She said, ‘I’m gonna come back.’”
“But she didn’t come back,” Shevan added, her voice breaking. “She didn’t come back.”“But she didn’t come back,” Shevan added, her voice breaking. “She didn’t come back.”