Fire-damaged Via Della Pace unsure about reopening on 7th Street; Cafe Mocha in bad shape

[Photos yesterday by Steven]

A day after the three-alarm fire tore through 48 E. Seventh St. at Second Avenue, residents and business owners faced the grim task of assessing the damage.

The owners of Via Della Pace on Seventh Street posted this message on Instagram about their very uncertain future:

We are deeply saddened that our restaurant, Via Della Pace, was involved in a fire yesterday. Everything was completely destroyed, and we were unable to salvage our precious items. We are holding onto the good memories of serving our wonderful clients and will always remember the fun times we shared over a good meal.

As of now, we are unsure whether we will continue with our restaurant business. We will keep you updated, and we are so thankful for your support and love.

The rustic Italian cafe opened in 2001.

Meanwhile, on the corner, Cafe Mocha, which opened in 2008, looks to be in bad shape with extensive water damage...









[Updated 5 p.m.] The restaurant, with a sidewalk cafe that draws a crowd in warm-weather months, posted this update to its website:

Due to a fire above Cafe Mocha we will be temporarily closed while we assess the severe damages. For our neighbors and customers, we appreciate your loyalty all these years. We remain hopeful that we will reopen to continue serving our friends and families.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. Five firefighters were treated for minor injuries. None of the residents were said to be injured. One tenant of the building said on an EVG Facebook post that "all tenants and animals are safe and sound."

After the fire: Double Down, Kelly's and Discovery Wines closed; grocery open

Things seem oddly normal tonight on Avenue A below Second Street...a few hours back, of course, some 180 firefighters were on the scene battling the blaze at 240 Houston and Avenue A...

On the east side of A between Second Street and Houston...the storefronts that were directly impacted by the fire... the Double Down looks open, but the sign on the door says otherwise... [Updated: Double Down was already closed for renovations before the fire.]



Kelly's and Discovery Wines are shuttered...



And, the one place that I thought would be closed, was open... Houston Deli & Grocery on the corner... According to the manager, "We were very lucky," he said. "But I don't know for how long. At any minute, water could come through the ceiling."




Meanwhile, at the entrance to 240 Houston, fire and Red Cross officials were on hand to help any displaced residents...



Previously on EV Grieve:
More on the fire at 240 Houston

Report of a fire at 85 First Ave.

[Photo by Bobby Williams]

The FDNY came out in force around 1:30 to respond to a fire at 85 First Ave. just north of East Fifth Street (at the location of the former wine shop Tinto Fino).

MAN ALL HANDS 85 1 AVE,

— FDNY (@FDNY) January 17, 2015

The FDNY had things under control in about 10 minutes…

MAN ALL HANDS 85 1 AVE, 1 FRL AWNING, UNDER CONTROL

— FDNY (@FDNY) January 17, 2015

[Photo by Bobby Williams]

No word on the cause or the extent of the damage. There weren't any reports of injuries. And the fire didn't seem to have any impact on Three of Cups next door… which remained open.

This is the second reported fire along this stretch of First Avenue this past week. There was a basement fire at 133 E. Fourth Street at First Avenue on Tuesday morning.

Report of a fire at 104 Avenue B

[Photo by Mike H. on 9th Street]

The FDNY is responding to a report of a fire at 104 Avenue B between Sixth Street and Seventh Street ... (the building one south of where Vazac's/7B/the Horseshoe Bar is...)


[Reader submitted]

Fire on Ave B, right near 7B (but doesn't look like 7B building) cc @evgrieve @chelsa 🔥🚒 pic.twitter.com/X4WRvFPhYJ

— Dennis Crowley (@dens) August 24, 2016

No word on the cause or the extent at this moment. The fire, which appears contained to the roof, did not make it to the @FDNYalert... One witness said that the smell of smoke is strong for several blocks.

Updated... via the comments: "according to neighbors who eye witnessed the event, an air conditioner caught on fire. firemen had to ascend through the adjacent building and douse the flames from the roof."

A report of a small fire at Dua Kafe on 14th Street

Updated the location of the fire. And an update via Dua: "We should be opening up again very soon (the plan is tomorrow!) since the damage was relatively minimal outside of the bathroom space."

On Wednesday night around 10:30, there was a report of a fire in the bathroom at Dua Kafe, 520 E. 14th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B. (Thanks to EVG reader Russell K. for the top photo.) 

The FDNY reported an "under control" from the scene in less than 15 minutes. (Dua has a posted closing time of 10 p.m.)

EVG contributor Stacie Joy stopped by yesterday... fortunately there was little evidence of any fire, including smoke or water damage. 

Workers at a neighboring business said that there was a small electrical fire in the back and "everything should be fine again soon." 

In the meantime, there are there is a "closed for renovation" sign up at the restaurant specializing in Albanian cuisine (read a Times review of the space here) ...

Marking the 100th Anniversary Of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire

[Photo by EV Grieve reader T]

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City on March 25, 1911, was the largest industrial disaster in the history of the city of New York, causing the death of 146 garment workers who either died from the fire or jumped to their deaths.

Here's a chalk memorial of a young victim from the 1911 fire on St Mark's Place near Avenue A.

CNN has more on the fire here. NY1 said they'd have updates on the anniversary throughout the day.

[Updated]: Fire on Avenue B

Several residents have reported a major FDNY presence on Avenue B ... one reader said that there's a fire in a building on the west side of the Avenue between East Third Street and East Fourth Street... More details as they become available.

[Photo via The Late Adopter]

Updated 10:40 —

Per @lauramanney

"8 trucks, 27 firefighters, 1 flaming laundry basket rescued on avenue B"

Updated 10:52 p.m. —

Per @JeanaCosta

"Big fire (now out) on Avenue B. I counted 13 fire trucks + ambulances down there."

Updated 11:01 p.m. —

Unconfirmed reports that the fire started at one of the two laundromats between Third and Fourth...

Fire, jump with me

Photos by Stacie Joy

Thursday evening saw the return of a fire-jumping event in an East Village community garden, the first since 2019. 

This year's edition, produced by More Gardens, took place at El Jardin del Paraiso on Fifth Street between Avenue C and Avenue D.

Here's some background:

More Gardens' Chaharshanbeh Suri NYC is a festival rooted in community, sharing, equity, and reverence for the earth through ritual fire jumping, art, music, food, and culture that began in the lands of West and Central Asia.

This fire celebration nourishes our spirits, strengthens our connection to each other, and affirms our belonging by embracing our diverse nationalities, languages, faiths, class, genders, races, and sexual identities. We make gathering joyful through art, music, food, culture, and intergenerational sharing. We hold each other to tend the flames of love, justice, solidarity, and goodness across the planet and right here in the community green spaces of NYC.

The fire team included Joules Magus ... with representatives from the FDNY present for safety. 

An estimated 200 people took part in the jumping ceremony. EVG contributor Stacie Joy was on hand for part of the festivities ...

Updated: East 1st Street resident found dead after fire

MAN ALL HANDS 31 E 1 ST, MULTIPLE DWELLING FIRE IN THE BASEMENT,

— FDNY (@FDNY) December 10, 2014

Emergency responders found a woman dead after an early-morning fire tore through her basement apartment at 31 E. First St.

The FDNY responded after 3 a.m. to the building just east of Second Avenue.

The Daily News reports that the cause of the fire was not immediately clear. Authorities have not released the woman's name yet. An investigation continues.

Updated 10:07 a.m.

DNAinfo has more details here.

Updated 2:43 p.m.

DNAinfo reports that the victim is Evelyn Dahab, 33, an author and part-owner of Lucey's Lounge in Gowanus.

"She was bigger than life and too young to die," said her grieving father, Richard, who visited the apartment Wednesday afternoon.

[Image via Facebook]

According to DNAinfo, "she planned to leave her apartment come Dec. 31 because of 'a painful legal dispute' with her building's management company, Big Apple Management."

Updated 7:21 p.m.

Per NY1:

Investigators say the fire was accidental, caused by a power strip plugged in with many appliances.

[Updated] Report of a fire at 80 E. 3rd St.

FDNYalerts MAN 2-ALARM 80 E 3 ST, MULTIPLE DWELLING FIRE IN THE SHAFT BETWEEN BUILDINGS,

— FDNYalerts (@FDNYAlerts) December 16, 2017

The address is between First Avenue and Second Avenue...

Fire in East Village pic.twitter.com/bkPOcgIKBF

— Nick Shippers (@nickshippers) December 16, 2017

Updated 12/16
NY1 reports one person was injured. (The report described it as non-life threatening.)

FDNY officials said the fire started in a shaft on the third floor of the five-story building. No word on a cause yet.

Updated 9 a.m.

A look at the building now...





Updated 10:45

An EVG reader who lives in the building shared these photos of the apartment where the fire started...



The resident of this unit has apparently lived in the building for a very long time...



The reader lives in the back of the building ... and that apartment only suffered minor water damage. People living in the front needed to leave. Those apartments have extensive water damage.

Remembering the victims of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire 108 years later

Tomorrow marks the 108th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire ... ahead of that, volunteers were out today taking part in the chalking project (organized by Street Pictures), writing the name and age of the victims in front of the buildings where they lived on the Lower East Side.


[EVG reader photo from 2nd Avenue]

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City on March 25, 1911, was the largest industrial disaster in the city's history ... causing the death of 146 garment workers (mostly young women) who either died from the fire or jumped to their deaths.

The Triangle Waist Company was located on the northwest corner of Greene Street and Washington Place just east of Washington Square Park.

Find more information on ceremonies tomorrow at The Remember the Triangle Fire Coalition website.

At fire-damaged Middle Collegiate Church, it's moving day for the historic New York Liberty Bell

On Dec. 5, a fire destroyed the southeast corner of Second Avenue and Seventh Street, including the neighboring Middle Collegiate Church.

As previously reported, the fire spared the steeple and its historic contents — the New York Liberty Bell, which dates to the early 1700s. 

And yesterday morning, workers removed the bell from the belfry to transport it to the New York Historical Society, where it will be part of an exhibit on the resiliency of NYC for the 20th anniversary of 9/11.

EVG contributor Stacie Joy was there to capture the delicate operation to move the bell to its temporary new home on Central Park West...

Before the bell left Second Avenue, the Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis from Middle Collegiate Church rang it 19 times in honor of Juneteenth ... and for a celebration of liberty...

Today, we saved the New Liberty Bell from our belfry, and I rang it 19 times for freedom.

Make no mistake: We aren’t liberated yet. But damn it, we’ll be free ✊🏾❤️ pic.twitter.com/oYLusCllDZ

— Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis (@RevJacquiLewis) June 16, 2021

Those involved also wanted to give a shout-out to the crews from the DOB, Triton Construction and Gramercy for their professionalism in ensuring a safe transfer of the bell ...

And some history of the bell via the Times:

It is about 25 years older than the cracked Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, according to a 1959 New York Times article.

Cast in Amsterdam in 1729, the bell was rung in 1735 to celebrate freedom of the press after John Peter Zenger, a German journalist, was acquitted of charges of seditious libel. He had published criticism of British tax collectors, according to the Times article.

It also was rung on the day that Representative John Lewis died in July and a week after the presidential election to celebrate "that love and justice" prevailed... 

The bell will be housed in the New York Historical Society lobby until the church is rebuilt. Find out how you can help support the rebuild at this link.

The FDNY previously said that faulty wiring at 48 E. Seventh St. was to blame for the six-alarm fire. An FDNY spokesperson told 1010 WINS that the fire has been deemed "non-suspicious."