Six years after city officials tore down a Shippan house the day after five people died in a fire there, lawmakers have revised the rules for demolishing damaged structures.
But some legislators say the amended law changes little. City officials agreed to review the demolition ordinance over the summer, when they settled a wrongful-death lawsuit brought by the father of Lily Badger, 9, and her twin sisters, Grace and Sarah, 7, who were killed on Christmas Day 2011 along with their grandparents, Pauline and Lomer Johnson.
Matthew Badger alleged that city officials destroyed the century-old Victorian house at 2267 Shippan Ave., owned by his former wife, Madonna Badger, and quickly carted away the debris to cover up inadequate inspections of a botched renovation.