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
Monday, Dec. 7 at 6 p.m.: Mom and Pop Storefronts: Online Curator Talk with Karla and James Murray. James and Karla Murray, acclaimed photographers and authors of "Store Front: The Disappearing Face of New York" will discuss and show the work created by the participants of their 2020 Mom and Pop Storefronts workshop. In partnership with the East Village Community Coalition, James and Karla taught participants how to use photography and oral history to raise public awareness, build community and encourage advocacy.Thursday, Dec. 10 at 1 p.m.: Virtual Walking Tour: Artists, Writers, Musicians of Tompkins Square. Please join us for a fun online walking tour hosted by library manager Corinne Neary and local photographer Michael Paul.Thursday, Dec. 10 at 6 p.m.: Online Book Discussion. Village Preservation will host an online discussion with author Miranda Martinez, and her book, "Power at the Roots: Community Gardens, Gentrification, and the Puerto Ricans of the Lower East Side."Saturday, Dec. 12 at 3 p.m.: Online Discussion with an Artist: Delphine le Goff. Among many other projects, le Goff has recently started sketching East Village buildings and businesses. She will show some of her work, discuss her process and inspirations, and answer questions.
Happening now! Demolition of East Village building after massive fire. @evgrieve pic.twitter.com/8xdGK8OG8a
— Gili Getz 🔥 (@giligetz) December 6, 2020
Let's share our used books to help us get through this pandemic together. Leave your donations, and take home some others. Reading is a safe survival tactic!
"It was very scary, and the ladies were running in their slippers, in their bathrobes, in their pajamas. They were sleeping," she said, adding that she's not sure what will happen if the building is deemed unsafe. "These ladies have gone through a lot," she said. "They don't need to go through this, too."Diana McHugh, director of communications for the association, told CBS News that everyone is OK, but women had to leave behind personal belongings, including phones and clothes.
The women, who were soaking wet from standing in the rain this morning after being evacuated, have been temporarily relocated to a nearby family shelter in Alphabet City.Residents at the family shelter provided the women with food, blankets and dryers for their clothes. McHugh said, however, that the association is expecting high costs because of the fire."We'll be OK, but it will certainly have an impact on us, especially mid-pandemic. This has already been a very difficult time for our residents, just from a safety perspective and a mental health perspective."
We await news on the structural integrity and the extent of smoke damage to our beloved Hopper Home. pic.twitter.com/FUZX1iryau
— Women's Prison Association (WPA) (@WPA_NYC) December 5, 2020
We are also in awe of the neighbors who poured in with clothing. We thankfully and respectfully decline any more – as you can see, you have taken great care of us in this way! 🙏 pic.twitter.com/xKvzP3Hf7C
— Women's Prison Association (WPA) (@WPA_NYC) December 5, 2020
Today, the East Village community is devastated and heartbroken at learning of the six-alarm fire that damaged or destroyed at least three buildings along 2nd Avenue between East 7th and East 6th Streets.
Two of the buildings — Middle Collegiate Church, which appears to have been devastated, and the Women's Prison Association (WPA)'s Hopper House, which received smoke damage and other possible effects — are pillars of our community. We do not know the cause of the fire, which remains under active investigation.
We hold the firefighters who were injured in the blaze in our thoughts, and I want to thank all the first responders who risked their lives to extinguish this fire. While I am thankful that no deaths have been reported, my heart is so very broken for the victims of this tragedy, who have been generational leaders in our community for social justice and equality.My office is working closely with the FDNY, OEM, NYPD, DOB, and all other relevant agencies as they continue to assess the damage to 47 E. 7th St. (which was vacated earlier this year), Middle Collegiate Church, and the Hopper House. I promise that we will ensure this incident is investigated thoroughly.
We are also working to ensure that the 22 women who were residing at the Hopper House, and had to evacuate to WPA’s nearby family shelter, are provided with stable housing options and support. Donations to Middle Collegiate Church and WPA can be made at www.middlechurch.org/donate and www.wpaonline.org/donate, respectively.Middle Collegiate Church is one of the great, landmark institutions of our community, having served the New York City for almost 400 years and for over a century providing the East Village with spiritual and physical resources. They've taken care of so many during our City's darkest moments, from 9/11, to Superstorm Sandy, to the 2nd Avenue Explosion.And the Women’s Prison Association has provided housing, employment, and assistance for justice involved women for generations. The damage this fire has caused goes far beyond the structural effects alone.But we know that our East Village community is strong and we will be there beside them every step of this recovery, however we can. As we begin this difficult work, I am inspired by the words of Middle Collegiate Church's Rev. Jacqui Lewis — someone who I’ve considered a close friend and adviser for many years — when she said this morning that "no fire can stop Revolutionary Love." I will take that spirit into my heart in the coming days and weeks as we continue our response and recovery.
Here's a statement from FDNY Assistant Chief John Hodgens on this morning's fire on the southeast corner of Second Avenue and Seventh Street:
"Our units arrived in three minutes, very fast response time. Upon arrival we had heavy fire showing from the corner building on East 7th Street. We quickly transmitted additional alarms to get more help here. We knew this was going to be a big operation. Fire had extended into the church on 2nd Avenue and also into another building on 7th Street. We had all of our units in position and we were quickly able to contain it to that area. We have four minor injuries to Firefighters at this time. We are going to be operating here for a while. The fire is under investigation by our marshals."
As for a cause... the fire in the same building on Feb. 10 was electrical. And this? Unrelated...
Top photo by StevenPer FDNY Fire Marshals: Cause of the 3-alarm fire on 2/10 at 48 East 7th Street in Manhattan was accidental, electrical, building wiring. The current 6-alarm fire at the same location is unrelated. FDNY operations continue and Fire Marshals are on the scene. pic.twitter.com/0FI5KwGPBr
— FDNY (@FDNY) December 5, 2020
And from the Church's account...We are devastated and crushed that our beloved physical sanctuary at Middle Collegiate Church has burned.
— Rev. Jacqui Lewis, PhD (@RevJacquiLewis) December 5, 2020
And yet no fire can stop Revolutionary Love. pic.twitter.com/R8D3NVjAiY
For anyone interested in making a donation, here's a link.Thanks to everyone for your support. It means so very much in our overwhelming grief.
— Middle Church (@middlechurch) December 5, 2020
The Church is not a building, but buildings matter. This is home.
We’ll have more to say in the days to come, but here’s the link for anyone looking to donate.https://t.co/Rtb3odKP9d
