WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES DECEMBER 17, 2020 7
Fire Department units at the scene of a six-alarm inferno along Jamaica Avenue in Richmond Hill on Dec. 10, 2020. Photo via Twitter/@FDNY
Richmond Hill community leaders spearhead donation
campaign to help families displaced by six-alarm fi re
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
CMOHAMED@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
The Richmond Hill community is
coming together to help collect
and distribute donated items to
a dozen families displaced by a fire
that burned through multiple dwellings
on Jamaica Avenue on Dec. 10.
Assembly member-elect Jenifer
Rajkumar and the Richmond Hill-
South Ozone Park Lions Club created
a GoFundMe campaign to provide
relief to a total of 48 residents — 33
adults and 15 children — left without
a home or belongings in the
middle of a pandemic and before
the holidays.
To date, the campaign has raised a
total of $2,756. Romeo Hitlall, president
of the Lions Club, said their goal
is to reach $55,000 to give 11 families
$5,000 each.
“Most of them are still in hotels,
and the others are staying with
friends and family,” Hitlall said.
“All the donations that we collect,
monetary or anything else we get, is
going directly to the families. Right
now, we have a lot of stuff, and we’re
asking for people to donate through
the fund and that would be a great
help for us.”
More than 200 firefighters and
EMS members responded to the sixalarm
fire that broke out at around 1
a.m. at 109-25 Jamaica Ave. that took
nearly three hours to extinguish.
According to the FDNY, the flames
quickly spread to at least five other
buildings, damaging a doctor’s office,
barbershop and more.
Fortunately, there were no lives
lost in the incident and three firefighters
sustained minor injuries,
according to the FDNY. The families
and other residents had boarded a
bus to stay warm until the Red Cross
found them a place to stay.
The cause of the fire is not yet
known but is under investigation
by the FDNY marshals.
Following the incident, Rajkumar
and Hitlall convened a meeting of
south Queens’ all-star team of leaders
through zoom, and the group
immediately swung into action.
Rajkumar’s request for donated
items and the GoFundMe page was
shared widely. Her office was soon
flooded with calls by residents from
all over New York state. The callers
were interested in donating gift
cards, clothes, food and other items
of support. Rajkumar’s transition
office and Neir’s Tavern were established
as drop-off locations.
This past weekend, people from
around the city filled Neir’s Tavern,
located at 87-48 78th St. Woodhaven,
to near capacity with supplies of
food and clothing.
As a result, the owner of Neir’s,
Loycent Gordon, was forced to
find additional space at an Irish
pub, Geordies Joint, located at 79-19
Jamaica Ave.
“There’s a Christmas miracle you
have granted this weekend. Thank
you to all of you! And to Assembly
member-elect Jenifer Rajkumar for
helping to bring more resources
together for the 48 families,” Neirs
Tavern wrote on Twitter.
Using community networks and
social media, Rajkumar’s office was
able to track down several of the
victims and communicate with them
individually in Punjabi, Bengali and
Spanish to assess their needs.
Her office also serves as the primary
community liaison to the Red
Cross, which is temporarily housing
the victims.
Later this week, the afflicted families
will come to Rajkumar’s office
to pick up the donated supplies they
need. They will also be served meals
by local small businesses.
“We thank the community for its
excellent response to the relief effort
so far and encourage all to help
us make this a successful project for
the suffering victims,” Rajkumar’s
office said.
Photo via Twitter/Neir’s Tavern
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