On October 13, 1981 (12 days prior to the El Dorado fire that took the lives of eleven people), an arson fire decimated the building at 67 Park Ave and its adjoining buildings 65 and 69 Park Ave. Two children, Modesto Echevarria (7) and his brother Javier Galicia (2) were killed in the fire. All the families that resided there were permanently displaced.

Newspapers claimed that residents had detailed that several attempts were made to burn the building as they reported having themselves extinguished fires that had been found in the halls. The fire was proven to be arson as investigators sourced the fire to a couch in a hallway that was soaked with accelerant. It took nearly two days to discover the bodies of the children that died. The site was rebuilt to be one long condominium building that still resides today.