Sunday, January 2, 2022
Street and sidewalk barriers removed from outside the fire-damaged Middle Collegiate Church on 2nd Avenue
Thursday, November 16, 2023
Demoliton of the fire-damaged Middle Church façade starts on Monday
While this is a moment of communal grief, it will also clear the way for Middle to build a new sanctuary as the community continues to rise. The gathering will embody an ethos that has always defined New York: Resiliency that rebuilds from tragedy by reshaping the neighborhood in ways that honor the past but chart a bold new future.
Sunday, March 18, 2018
Report: 7th Street resident dies in early-morning apartment fire
FDNYalerts MAN ALL HANDS 244 E 7 ST, MULTIPLE DWELLING FIRE ON FIRST FLR,
— FDNYalerts (@FDNYAlerts) March 18, 2018
An early-morning fire at 244 E. Seventh St. between Avenue C and Avenue D reportedly left one man dead and three other people injured.
According to the Daily News, the fire started on the first floor of the six-story walk up around 6:10 a.m.
Per the News:
The fire was confined to the rear apartment, where the victim was found dead in a cluttered rear bedroom...
Fire Marshals are investigating the cause of the deadly blaze.
Updated 12:25 p.m.
amNew York reports that the victim was 71 years old.
Updated 3/19
NY1 reported that the victim was Barry Allen. There wasn't a smoke alarm in the apartment where the fire started, and the alarm in the hallway was not working, the FDNY said.
Thursday, September 22, 2016
After the fire: Getting Caracas Arepa Bar back in business 'may take some time'
[Photo by EVG reader Joaquin]
As we first reported yesterday morning, a fire broke out at Caracas Arepa Bar, 93 E. Seventh St. just east of First Avenue.
No one was injured during the fire. (The FDNY has yet to determine the cause.)
EVG readers who saw the scorched space yesterday said that it looks in bad shape.
Here's a description of the damage from co-owner Maribel Araujovia via Grub Street:
While the street-facing front of Caracas was spared, half of the restaurant — including the kitchen, bathroom, refrigeration, part of the office, and the back half of the basement — essentially “burned down,” Araujo says. Walls are ruined, the basement was flooded with a foot and a half of water, and there is currently no electricity or gas.
Arujo was more blunt with Gothamist: "The restaurant is pretty fucked up."
The damage was contained to the restaurant.
As several EVG commenters noted, the FDNY was on the scene about 2:30 a.m. after residents reported smoke.
Per Gothamist:
Tenants on the second floor, who live directly above the restaurant, smelled smoke early this morning and the fire department was dispatched to the address around 2:30 a.m. The FDNY performed some kind of investigation but didn't find anything at the time, neighbors tell Araujo. The fire department was called again at 7:25 a.m. when the same neighbors awoke to find their apartment filled with more smoke.
While dealing with the temporary loss of her business, Araujo also has questions as to why the fire wasn't discovered earlier, which could have prevented things from getting quite so bad.
For now, the smaller Caracas space is open next door for counter service and to-go orders ... here are the signs that greet customers...
There's isn't any timeline on the restaurant's return. It likely won't be anytime soon, though.
To Grub Street:
“It’s not just a little thing we can fix quickly, put drywall up, and keep going,” Araujo says. Getting back to business will take some time: Leases and inventory need to be looked at, and conversations need to be had with lawyers and insurers. “Maybe we’ll relocate, maybe we’ll try to rebuild this one. At this point, I’m not sure.”
There's also a location in Williamsburg. The Venezuelan restaurant has been open on Seventh Street since 2003.
And here's their message to patrons ...
Saturday, May 22, 2021
Report of a 5-alarm fire at 163 Bleecker St.
Photos via the Citizen app show extensive damage to the retail tenant there — Uncle Ted's Modern Chinese Cuisine. The Citizen app also reported that a firefighter sustained minor injuries.Manhattan 5-Alarm Box 0358, 163 BLEECKER ST, Other Commercial Building Fire, FLR 1, Under Control
— FDNYalerts (@FDNYAlerts) May 22, 2021
Friday, December 3, 2021
Marking the 1-year anniversary of the fire that destroyed Middle Collegiate Church
The congregation will be making a pilgrimage from our temporary home at Calvary Episcopal Church at 21st Street and Park Avenue South to the ruins of our sanctuary on the one-year anniversary of the fire. We'll be starting the walk at 11:45 a.m. uptown, and should get to Middle Collegiate around 12:15.People are welcome to join us for that but for an easier way to show support, we're just inviting folks at any point during that day to stop by and leave an offering by the construction fence — a flower, a candle, an old photo of the building, whatever they’d like.We thought it would be beautiful if congregants saw other people's offerings when they arrived, and if we continued to collect expressions of love throughout the day.
Monday, November 20, 2023
Demolition underway on the fire-damaged Middle Church façade
Friday, November 3, 2023
Workers prepping to remove the remains of the fire-damaged façade at Middle Collegiate Church
Monday, August 9, 2021
Former tenants of the fire-destroyed 48 E. 7th St. want to hear from landlord Faith Popcorn
Said Rivera: "I stand with Cooper Square Committee and the tenants of 48 E. Seventh St. to say enough is enough, and that their landlord Faith Plotkin must stop hiding and come to the table with real answers about the future of their homes. These tenants have been struggling for over a year ... They've been waiting, amidst COVID-19, in flux ... and even basic questions about the building itself remain unanswered. They don't deserve this, and we won't rest until they receive the housing justice they deserve."TY to @CooperSq for welcoming me to rally today with the displaced tenants of 48 E 7th Street in demanding accountability from their landlord.
— Carlina Rivera 利華娜 (@CarlinaRivera) July 28, 2021
We need Albany to pass stronger housing rights legislation for all NYers. I'll stand with tenants - my neighbors - until it's done. pic.twitter.com/jLagri1wuA
Monday, December 7, 2020
EVG Etc.: 2nd Avenue fire headlines
Hopefully we will learn more about the fate of the structure in the hours/days ahead.Happening now! Assessment of the @middlechurch facade structure and possibility of saving it. @evgrieve pic.twitter.com/hmJe5FlW9n
— Gili Getz 🔥 (@giligetz) December 6, 2020
For some people watching the fire on the SE corner of 2nd Avenue & 7th Street this morning, there were unpleasant flashbacks to March 26, 2015, when the gas explosion wiped out the NW corner. 2 men died there that day.
— evgrieve (@evgrieve) December 5, 2020
[Photos by @NYPDSpecialops & Jonathan Jones] pic.twitter.com/16TujGbp6R
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Update on last night's fire at Mono + Mono
The restaurant just updated its Facebook page:
Our big thanks to @FDNY. The fire that broke out last night at @MonoMonoNYC was quickly put out and everyone is safe. There was some water damage, so we'll be closed for a few days to make repairs. We'll be back stronger than ever! Stay tuned.
Updated 7 p.m.
DNAinfo has more on the fire...
• Fire not considered suspicious, per authorities
• Most of the restaurant's extensive collective of jazz LPs were thought to be OK
• "The heat from the blaze was so intense that it knocked out windows to the Hells Angels' East 3rd Street headquarters, which sits directly behind the restaurant.
The biker gang was having a loud barbecue in their backyard when the fire broke out, according to neighbors."
Friday, March 15, 2019
The FDNY honors fire marshal Christopher T. Zanetis in plaque ceremony on 2nd Street
[Photo by Stacie Joy]
Today the FDNY and city honored Christopher "Tripp" Zanetis with a plaque dedication ceremony at Engine Company 28, Ladder 11 on Second Street between Avenue B and Avenue C.
[Photo by Stacie Joy]
Zanetis was a fire marshal and U.S. Air Force Major who was killed in a helicopter crash in Western Iraq one year ago today. He was 37. Zanetis was on leave from the department, where he had been a marshal in the Bureau of Fire Investigation.
After graduating from NYU, he was appointed as a firefighter in 2004, and was assigned to the station house on Second Street. He was promoted to fire marshal in 2013.
The way he lived his life will continue to inspire us all -#FDNY Chief of Department John Sudnik remembers FDNY Fire Marshal and @USAirForce Captain Christopher “Tripp” Zanetis pic.twitter.com/Q8Q2sYtXkA
— FDNY (@FDNY) March 15, 2019
[Via the FDNY]
H/T Salim!
Previously on EV Grieve:
The FDNY remembers fire marshal Christopher T. Zanetis on 2nd Street
Saturday, April 28, 2018
FDNY: Wiring blamed for last Saturday's fire on 9th Street
[Photo from this morning]
A quick follow-up to last Saturday's two-alarm fire at 218 E. Ninth St. between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.
The FDNY called the fire accidental, citing building wiring...
Per #FDNY Fire Marshals: Cause of 4/21 2-alarm fire at 218 E 9 St. Manhattan was accidental, electrical, building wiring. Smoke alarm present and operational
— FDNY (@FDNY) April 23, 2018
A fire official said the building is now "unlivable." The address houses Yakiniku West, the Japanese steakhouse, and three apartments. Previous reports said that five adults and one child were displaced. No one was injured.
Here's more via The Villager:
Two families were said to occupy the upper floors but were not there when the Red Cross arrived, according to spokesperson Michael de Vulpillieres. The Villager spoke briefly to the owner of Yakiniku West on Sunday evening, shortly after he emerged from the building’s blackened first floor with several associates. Asked when his restaurant would open, he said, “in two months,” and abruptly walked away, declining to give his name.
Monday, November 15, 2021
Shoring up the fire-damaged Middle Collegiate Church on 2nd Avenue
Monday, December 24, 2018
Report of a fire at 647 E. 11th St.
There was a report of a fire last night at 647 E. 11th St. at Avenue C.
The FDNY Twitter feed ID'd the fire in the ground-floor restaurant, which is Fiaschetteria Pistoia.
MAN ALL HANDS 647 E 11 ST, MIXED OCCUPANCY FIRE ON 1ST FLR RESTAURANT,
— FDNYalerts (@FDNYAlerts) December 24, 2018
EVG regular Jose Garcia shared the photos in this post at 10:30 p.m.
The FDNY declared the situation under control at 11:30...
MAN ALL HANDS 647 E 11 ST, MIXED OCCUPANCY FIRE ON 1ST FLR RESTAURANT, UNDER CONTROL
— FDNYalerts (@FDNYAlerts) December 24, 2018
Jose reported a heavy FDNY response to the scene, which you can see in this aerial view...
Something is happening on Avenue C.@evgrieve #EastVillage pic.twitter.com/MVXWEvmz3m
— Evan Kapitansky (@evan_kapitansky) December 24, 2018
There isn't any word at the moment regarding injuries or the extent of the damage or the cause of the fire.
Updated 12/24
A sign on the door notes a January return...
[Photo by Stacie Joy]
Friday, May 17, 2024
After a fire upstairs, a gutted TabeTomo hopes to reopen on Avenue A in August
Thursday, March 14, 2019
Tree Bistro is returning after October fire
Tree Bistro has not been open since the six-alarm fire this past Oct. 3 at neighboring 188 First Ave. between 11th Street and 12th Street.
That fire wiped out Tree Bistro's backyard garden ... and caused other damage inside the restaurant.
Now EVG regular Lola Sáenz reports that the space is under renovation, and will reopen later this spring.
Uogashi, the Japanese restaurant in the retail space at 188 First Ave., didn't fare as well, and is not expected to return. The Uogashi website, now offline, had listed "permanently closed" under their hours of operation.
Officials said they believe the fire, which injured 17 people, including 14 firefighters, began inside Uogashi. An exact cause has not been made public.
Meanwhile, Fiaschetteria Pistoia returned to service on March 6 after a late December fire badly damaged its space on 11th Street near Avenue C ... while the storefront housing Yakiniku West at 218 E. Ninth St. between Second Avenue and Third Avenue is under renovation. The Japanese restaurant's Facebook page states that they plan to reopen some time this year after a fire in the building last April.
Monday, March 2, 2020
Another fire at 204 E. 13th St.
There was another fire reported at 204 E. 13th St. between Second Avenue and Third Avenue. Early Saturday morning, the FDNY responded to a blaze on the third floor at the address...
MAN ALL HANDS 204 E 13 ST, MULTIPLE DWELLING FIRE ON 3RD FLR,
— FDNYalerts (@FDNYAlerts) February 29, 2020
No word on the extent of the damage to the 4-story building (see top photo via a reader) or a cause.
This is the second time in 15 months that a fire broke out at No. 204. Renovations were apparently still in progress in the building following an early morning fire during Thanksgiving weekend 2018.
That fire caused extensive water damage to Bruno Pizza, the retail tenant on the ground floor in the building owned by Steve Croman. Last July, owner Demian Repucci decided that the damage was too much to overcome, and he decided to move on from the business.
Soothr, a Thai noodle bar, was expected to open soon in the space. The most recent apartment rental via Streeteasy is from last May, when a two-bedroom unit on the third floor was listed — then removed — for $5,073.
H/T Jodi!
Sunday, August 17, 2014
[Updated] Fire this morning at 92 St. Mark's Place
The FDNY responded to a fire this morning just before 8 at 92 St. Mark's Place east of First Avenue.
MAN ALL HANDS 92 ST MARKS PL, MULTIPLE DWELLING FIRE 1ST FLR,
— FDNY (@FDNY) August 17, 2014
Firefighters smashed the windows and cut away the window guards of the ground-floor apartment as they quickly had the situation under control.
We saw one soot-covered resident, a male in his late 20s or early 30s, wearing only shirts sit down next door on the steps to Physical Graffitea. A next-door neighbor brought him a blanket. Paramedics brought another woman out of the building and treated her on the scene for smoke inhalation, according to witnesses.
First Avenue was temporarily closed to northbound traffic at East Seventh Street. At this point, we do not know the cause of the fire or the extent of the damage. As far as we know right now, there were not any serious injuries.
Updated Aug. 18, 6 a.m.
The Post reports that the FDNY reduced two unconscious women from the fire. They are both "hospitalized in serious condition with smoke inhalation."
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, "but sources said investigators are focusing on the theory that smoking may have caused the couch to burst into flames."
Here's No. 92 early last evening...
Top photos via @evgrieve