The blaze broke out around 12:30 a.m. Saturday in a building at South Jamaica Houses in the 100 block of 159th Street.
Firefighters arrived to find fire on the second floor of the 3-story NYCHA building.
The blaze was confined to a single apartment. Crews were able to declare the situation under control within half an hour.
A 35-year-old woman did not survive.
No other injuries were reported.
Fire investigators are working to determine what sparked the blaze.
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