Joel Drizin, a manager of the complex, described the fire as “an incredibly tragic situation.” He said the building at 1700 Bedford Avenue, the site of the fire, had adequate heat. He said he had heard years ago that tenants were using stoves to keep warm. “Whenever that comes up we, obviously, tell them how dangerous it is,” he said.  In the courtyard, where old plastic bags sway on bare tree branches, an American flag flies at half-staff. Another flagpole nearby bears no flag. There is a broken bottle and a dirty diaper by a set of wooden benches. A few steps away along Bedford Avenue is a long, low-slung brick wall, “Ebbets Field” spelled out in large white letters.  One 15-year-old boy who lives at Ebbets Field Apartments says he is unfamiliar with the history of the place. Another boy, 12-year-old Ramon Ruiz, says he knows all about it: This is where Jackie Robinson played, he explained. Ramon has lived here all his life, and he said he read about the old ballpark in a book.  “No one talks about it,” he said.  Ebbets Field Apartments is a massive H-shaped complex of seven connected buildings, including the 25-story high-rise at 1700 Bedford Avenue. In a hardscrabble neighborhood of auto shops and fast food, and near Medgar Evers College, it is home to retired electricians, Vietnam veterans, black families from the South, recent African immigrants and the formerly homeless.  The average rent for studios and one-, two- and three-bedroom units ranges from $700 to $1,300. The complex was once part of the state’s Mitchell-Lama housing program, which encouraged the creation of middle-income housing by offering owners low-interest mortgages and tax abatements in return for caps on rents. The Ebbets Field complex left the program in 1987.  Brenda Scott’s grandmother used to come to the ballpark to watch the Dodgers. Now Ms. Scott walks the same ground her grandmother did. She has lived here since 1970. Her two children and her grandchildren live in the complex as well.  This is a landmark of black history, she said, where Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in the major leagues.  “I find it so ironic,” added Ms. Scott, a retired schoolteacher and the president of the Ebbets Field Residents’ Organization. “There was this black hero, and here it is later, there is a white hero who sacrificed his life for Ebbets Field and the people at Ebbets Field.”  The Brooklyn Dodgers held sway here from 1913 to 1957, before the team moved to Los Angeles. One day in February 1960, a wrecking ball began banging away at the walls. A small crowd gathered, and a brass band played “Auld Lang Syne.” When the development was completed in 1962, it was Brooklyn’s tallest apartment house.  A brochure from 1962 referred to three-bedroom units as “triples,” and studios as “bunts.” In 1963, the advertised monthly rent for triples was $112 to $153.  Several current residents described problems over the years, ranging from poor maintenance to rats to broken intercoms. Ms. Scott said it was common for some tenants to augment their heat by using the stove, as the woman in Apartment 14M did.  Mr. Drizin said that the management had made improvements over the years, including refurbishing the lobbies, and that it was working with the borough president’s office to have a more prominent tribute to the Dodgers. The plans call for a Jackie Robinson exhibit and statue, and a playground in the shape of a baseball diamond, he said.  Ms. Scott said she would like to see a memorial dedicated to Lieutenant Martinson, as well. “This is where he took his last breath,” she said. “To me, he’s up there with Jackie Robinson.”  Rosalyn Davis, 59, a tenant for 21 years, said it was a shame that the building’s link to the past was not celebrated more frequently. “No one really talks about it that much, because it’s a long way from it,” she said.  Around the corner, there is one unlikely place that still honors the past: a McDonald’s, displaying framed black-and-white photos and paintings of Dodgers heroes like Jackie Robinson, Gil Hodges and Chuck Dressen.  A version of this article appears in print on , on Page 123 of the New York edition with the headline: Where Once Brooklyn Triumphed, a Tragic Scene. Order Reprints| Today's Paper|Subscribe
It has been 50 years since the Brooklyn Dodgers played their last game at Ebbets Field. And for residents of the Ebbets Field Apartments, that can seem like ancient history.