16
COURIER LIFE, MARCH 25-31, 2022
Banding together
Locals raise more than $20k for
victims of Cobble Hill gym fi re
Firefi ghters work to subdue a fi ve-alarm blaze at a newly-opened fi tness center in Cobble Hill on
March 14. Photo by Lloyd Mitchell
BY MEAGHAN MCGOLDRICK
Days after a fi re destroyed
10 apartments
and badly damaged a new
downtown Brooklyn fi tness
center, locals have
raised more than $20,000
for those impacted.
The blaze broke out at
98 Boerum Place around
10:30 am on March 14 and
quickly grew to a fi vealarm
inferno that raged
for three hours before being
knocked down by fi rst
responders.
The two-story building
at the corner of Boerum
Place and Pacifi c Street —
near the border of Cobble
Hill and Boerum Hill — is
currently home to a UFC Fit
on the fi rst fl oor, with the
second fl oor designated to
residential apartments. The
gym, formerly a New York
Sports Club, opened just
eight weeks ago, according
to social media posts.
At least a dozen non
life-threatening injuries
were reported by the New
York City Fire Department
following the fi re, but according
to Councilmember
Lincoln Restler, 18 in total
were hurt. Everyone inside
the building was safely and
successfully evacuated and
treated, the pol said, but
nine families lost everything.
“These Boerum Hill
neighbors have lived in
our community for many
years — some for decades,”
Restler wrote on one of two
GoFundMe pages for victims.
“While we are fortunate
that none of the 18
injuries were life-threatening,
many residents lost
everything they owned today.
The nine households
who have been living here
include two families with
kids, three dogs, two cats,
and a fi sh.”
As of March 18, the
pol’s page had brought in
more than $13,000 toward a
$25,000 goal.
“I am often inspired by
the compassion and generosity
of the Boerum Hill
neighborhood,” Restler
said. “While much of what
was lost today can never be
replaced, please give what
you can to help these families
get back on their feet.”
A similar GoFundMe,
spearheaded by Boerum
Hill Association President
Howard Kolins, has raised
close to $7,000 toward a
$15,000 goal.
“Victims appear to
be a complete loss,” Kolins
wrote on the online
fundraising page. “We are
working to identify all the
residents who now have
nothing. Your funds will
help them get immediate
supplies, assist with resources
to fi nd new housing
and will also give them
emotional support. Please
donate whatever you can
and show your concern for
your neighbors.”
At a press conference on
the scene, Acting Chief of
Department John Hodgens
said the fi re started somewhere
on the second fl oor
before quickly spreading.
“This was a very laborintensive
fi re where the
roof was used for some
type of tennis court with
a foam insulation” he said,
“and once that starts burning,
it’s diffi cult to extinguish.”
The cause of the fi re remains
under investigation
by the city’s fi re marshals.
UFC Fit did not respond
to a request for comment.
Victoria Schneps presents
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Misty Marris, Co-Managing
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Co-Managing partner of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani
and On-Air Legal Analyst
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