Photo by Steven
A two-alarm fire destroyed the Essex Card Shop late yesterday afternoon at 47 Avenue A between Third Street and Fourth Street. (The cause is under investigation.)
Saba Aslam, the daughter of owner Muhammad Aslam, launched a crowdfunding campaign for the family-owned business. (Her uncle Jay Patel is the manager and her sister Mehnaz Noreen is retail sales manager.)
Per the campaign:
This fundraiser can really help this small business pick themselves up again and recover from this. Every single corner of this store is burned, damaged, and destroyed. I am 27 years old now, and I have seen this store as a part of my family ever since I was a little girl. Let us all please come together as a loving community, and help this small business rise from its ashes!Find the campaign here.
Here's a look inside the storefront last night before workers board it up... photos by Stacie Joy...
19 comments:
Oh, no! Essex Card Shop is one of my go-to sources for everything, including Cranes papers and informals.
I will definitely contribute to help them restart and restock.
I've donated and will continue to share; this was devastating news yesterday to learn where all the smoke was coming from!
I'm happy to see the community pulling together, though.
I am sorry to hear of this. 2022 is off to a tragic start here in the city. Thankfully, no one was injured or lost their life. I can't give too much, but if they open a go fund me or another fund, I, as a nearby resident will donate some money to help. My very best to this family. I patronized this spot numerous times throughout the years and found it such a unique place. Devastating.
I felt guilty for not being able to give much, but looking at all the contributions so far, the majority are under $50. It just shows how loved Mr Aslam is by this community. Similar to other losses in the neighborhood, those who don't have much to give themselves are the ones to step up and help when needed. It's heartbreaking to see this business destroyed, but also heartwarming to know there are so many caring people out there.
I hope the neighboring businesses and upstairs residents are all ok.
Has anyone talked to the residents above? Are all the people and pets okay? There was so much smoke and heat rising up.
Love them and glad to see money being raised.
They obviously have insurance though right? Why is such a high gofundme requested?
Genuinely asking because sometimes that confuses me.
I know there are hidden costs and emotional toll but insurance should cover this.
Thank God the folks from the store are safe. I've shopped here before and am sending good thoughts to this family business. I also donated to the fundraiser and am heartened to see so many people doing so as well.
I can't speak for them, but with the store totally destroyed, I doubt they'll be able to reopen for months. Insurance probably covers the inventory/fixtures at replacement cost, but what about the total loss of income during closure? My understanding (and more knowledgeable people can correct me here) is that insurance for that kind of loss is limited and expensive and a mom-and-pop may not even carry it (or much of it).
This morning on Channel 4 News it was reported that everyone in the building was okay, and that the fire was pretty much confined to the storefront, although no word yet on what might have started it. They also said that store reps said "they will rebuild". Donating to help make it happen. And yes, insurance does not cover the cost of everything, hence the need for a fundraiser.
I live in the building. The smell of smoke is significant throughout the halls. Residents in the direct line of smoke certainly have smoke damage but don’t know the extent because we have had no updates. When all this was going down, our super was nowhere to be found, no one from building management was on site and we never got an official all-clear to re-enter the building last night. I was home when the fire started and only was alerted to it by the Citizen app. Halls were filled with smoke and it was scary evacuating.
How scary! Glad that you are safe, though. I hope you get better info going forward.
Thank you for the thoughtful response, Sarah!
What halls were filled with smoke? I live there as well and was alerted early to the situation but other than the smell of smoke which was strong, there was no visible smoke from what I could see I side of the building. Stop the drama. Stop finding fault. Everyone knew to get out from early on
Insurance is probably not going to cover renovation or payroll or even demolition. It will also take some time for them to get a check from the insurance company meanwhile they have rent and other expenses that they will need to continue to pay therefore the crowdfunding
After what happened in the Bronx this week, let's just be glad that everyone is okay. Property can be replaced. People can't.
I live there also, but recognize our neighbors may have had different experiences than I did, and acknowledge how scared and confused they may have felt during the fire.
Not everyone evacuated; fire rises, and some weren't notified that the fire hadn't spread to other floors, if it had, they might've felt it's safer to wait until FDNY said it was safe to leave.
Thanks for the update. My heart goes out to all the residents affected. This was scary and could have been so much worse.
wow reached the 50 k so fast! now 100 k? do they have insurance? i did donate
I live in the building, and my experience was without drama. Just to counter to "super was nowhere to be found" I called the super as soon as I smelled smoke... he was out of town but answered immediately, and then called me back when he knew what was going on. The smell was strong and yes, there was smoke in the halls. The firemen were present almost immediately and were going through the halls knocking on doors... I peeked out and they told me to stay inside and close the door. Apparently there were 100+ firefighters on the scene. All seemed to be handled well.
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