Eerie

This morning we awoke to news that there was a major fire in an abandoned building complex in Greenpoint, Brooklyn along the East River. It was a major fire and the smoke billowing into the sky could be seen from miles away. As I commuted into the city, I could see it hanging just above the Lower Manhattan skyline and drifting South towards Staten Island.

There was just a tinge of deja vu, as I'd seen that kind of smoke before. On and after 9/11. Even though I knew that this was a run of the mill fire at an abandoned building, albeit a very large one that required the use of fireboats to fight the flames, the memory of the smoke hanging over Lower Manhattan on 9/11 still sticks with me.

Gothamist has more, plus photos of the building location before the fire.

UPDATE:
The fire is still burning as I write. The NYT notes that this is the largest fire in the City in more than a decade (excepting the 9/11 attacks).

UPDATE:
The fire is still going, and up to a 10th Alarm. It will take hours before the fire is completely knocked down and hot spots are dealt with, and that doesn't count the time spent investigating the cause. There's some speculation at Gothamist that this might have been deliberately set to demolish the building to make way for new development. It's way too early to know what caused this huge conflagration, but the fire department considers it suspicious and will investigate.