NY Woman Admits Trying To Set Occupied Apartment Building Ablaze: DA

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY — A woman charged with trying to set a local apartment complex on fire has pleaded guilty to an arson count.

Niya Edelman, 28, of Poughkeepsie, entered the plea to second-degree attempted arson during a proceeding in Dutchess County Court.

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Dutchess County District Attorney Anthony Parisi said the incident put innocent lives at risk.

“When Ms. Edelman attempted to set fire to an occupied apartment building, she created the potential for catastrophic loss of life, devastating injuries, and the destruction of homes and neighborhoods,” Parisi said.

In entering the guilty plea, Edelman admitted to trying to set the apartment building at 65 South Hamilton St. on fire around midnight on April 27, 2026.

According to prosecutors, Edelman took several pieces of mail out of the mailbox, put the mail in a door jamb, and then lit the mail on fire with a lighter.

The burning mail fell to the floor, and Edelman added more mail to the fire. The blaze caused damage to the wall and door of the vestibule area of the building, prosecutors said.

“At the time of the incident, the defendant knew there were numerous residents of the building in their apartments,” the district attorney’s office said, in announcing the guilty plea.

Edelman is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 1, when she faces six years in prison and five years of post-release supervision.