The Church of the Nativity is distributing clothes and other items to displaced residents today

Story and photos by Stacie Joy

Today from noon to 4:30 pm., parishioners from the Church of the Nativity, 44 Second Ave. between East Second Street and East Third Street, will be distributing donations to displaced residents from last week's explosion.

I stopped by last night to see what was needed and how the community could help.

There were many tables and bags loaded with towels, sheets, bedding, clothing (men’s, women’s and kid’s, even some baby stuff), toiletries, food (nonperishable), and home goods all being sorted, folded and prepared to be distributed to those residents who lost everything in the recent fire and collapse. (All leftover items will go to the Catholic Worker, as the Red Cross and GOLES are no longer accepting donations.)


[Parishioner Benjamin Rodriguez]





Parishioner and event organizer Mercedes Sanchez explained that there will be people on site today to assist in both Spanish and English, but that they could use a few more volunteers between noon and 4 p.m. (She asks that you email her here if you can lend a hand.)

One of the church’s parishioners, Mildred Guy, lost her home of more than 45 years in the blast. She was at work at The Neighborhood School at the time.

She described a tight-knit group of tenants, with only eight units in her building at 45 E. Seventh St. The residents bonded at her apartment after Superstorm Sandy when they used her landline, the last one in the building, to communicate with loved ones.



She expressed concern over how her fellow tenants are coping with the disastrous events, though she was feeling blessed that she survived, thinking about how much worse it could have been had the explosion occurred when more people were at home.

She told me about the difficulties she and others are having with filling out forms, as HPD (Housing Preservation and Development) and DHCR (Division of Housing and Community Renewal) are requiring paperwork that few people can produce after the devastating fire.

When asked what her most pressing need was, she indicated housing — long-term housing. The apartments she was shown away from the neighborhood far exceeded her previous rent, and the units were much smaller. Her family has lived in the East Village since she moved here from Puerto Rico as a child. At 62, she said she was too young to qualify for senior assistance (SCREE), which becomes available at age 65.

She is currently staying in a hotel provided to her by the Red Cross, and explained that her son, his wife, and their baby only recently moved out of the apartment to start a new job in Albany.

While still processing her own grief, she spoke about gratitude, condolences, and how she is trying to remain busy and active so she doesn’t have to think too much about all that’s lost.

Mildred's son, Branden, established a GoFundMe page to help her with expenses.