8 THE QUEENS COURIER • JANUARY 30, 2020 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Astoria gym raises $46,000 after devastating fire
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
aacevedo@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
After a fire destroyed the
respected Sitan Muay Thai
Gym in Astoria on Jan. 17, its
owner and head coach Aziz
Nabih is left trying to find a
new space for the first time in
almost 30 years.
“I had been there for 27 years,
training kids and adults. People
that I trained are about 30 now.
I had a lot of good memories
there,” Nabih told QNS.
According to Nabih, one of
the tenants of the building,
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Photos courtesy of Aziz Nabih
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located on 2573 Steinway St.,
accidentally started the fire
when she lit up her Christmas
tree. “She was going to take it
out but wanted to light it up
one last time, and ended up
lighting up the whole building,”
Nabih said.
Sitan Gym was on the ground
floor, a dentist was on the second
and the tenant on the
third. Nabih said that although
no one got hurt, they did lose
everything.
The Thai boxing coach,
who is also one of the coaches
for Team USA’s Muay Thai
boxing, said that he didn’t
even think about starting a
GoFundMe and instead started
looking for a space immediately.
But thanks to his former
student, Rami Ibrahim, who
created a GoFundMe page to
“Rebuild Sitan Gym” that same
night, the gym has raised more
than $46,000 in less than two
weeks.
“At night someone just called
me and said, ‘Did you see the
GoFundMe?’ So all the credit
goes to him,” Nabih said.
Photo courtesy of Aziz Nabih
Nabih said the community
has been incredibly helpful,
with one gym on Steinway
Street and 34th Avenue even
offering their space for him to
use to train some of his students.
Another gear company
in Florida, Muay Thai Addict,
is selling items with a percentage
of the profits going to Sitan
Gym.
At an upcoming fight at
Broad Street Ballroom in
Manhattan, where one of his
fighters was supposed to compete
but won’t be able to make
it anymore, they’re also raising
funds for them.
“I didn’t want this to happen
but it feels nice to see
people helping, especially the
Muay Thai community,” Nabih
said. “Bad things happen but
it brings people together, and
makes you appreciate people
more. We were always there
for people too, so I guess now
it’s our turn.”
Although Nabih is grateful
for all the help the community
has given him, he’s realized
how expensive rent is in
Astoria. He said he’s looking
at a few spaces, but one space
in particular is $10,000, and
in order to replace the equipment
it’ll cost about $60,000
to $70,000.
Nabih also wants to emphasize
to other business owners
to have their business insurance
ready. His insurance
expired prior to the fire and he
forgot to renew it in time.
In the meantime, Nabih
is still training his students,
including two who will represent
Team USA in a Muay Thai
international competition.
“I’ll keep the faith,” he said.
“I’m a fighter so I’m gonna
fight back.”
The Sitan Muay Thai Gym was destroyed after a fi re broke out on Jan. 17.
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