You are reading

Sunnyside benefit raises $10K for residents displaced by 5-alarm fire

Around 200 Sunnysiders attended a fundraiser on Friday to help their neighbors who were left temporarily homeless by a massive 5-alarm blaze just before Christmas. Photo by Paul Frangipane

Jan. 23, 2024 By Bill Parry

Around 200 people attended a fire relief benefit in Sunnyside last week, where they raised $10,000 to assist nearly 450 of their neighbors who were displaced by a 5-alarm inferno that destroyed their apartment complex just days before Christmas.

The fundraiser, organized by residents under the name Sunnyside Strong, was held on Jan. 19 at Sunnyside Community Services, which served as a base for the Red Cross to provide services to the families who lost their homes at 43-09 47th St. on Dec. 20.

The event benefited victims of a December fire at 43-09 47th Ave. Photo by Paul Frangipane

Community leader Ty Sullivan, who organized the event with a core group of friends, said the fundraiser showed that Sunnyside comes together at times of adversity.

Ty Sullivan speaks during the fundraising event at Sunnyside Community Services on Friday, Jan. 19, 2024. Photo by Paul Frangipane

“It’s just great to see the community come out and just see all these people,” Sullivan said. “It’s what makes this community amazing. People come together for the good and the bad and unfortunately, this was a bad situation but you see a lot of people come together for the greater good.”

Sullivan said the funds raised would be added to the GoFundMe account set up by Sunnyside Community Services that will close on Jan. 31. The funds will be distributed shortly afterward, according to SCS executive director Judy Zangwill. To date, the SCS fund has raised nearly $120,000. 

Sullivan had hoped that the event would have raised more but noted that many had already donated prior to the Jan. 19 event. He also said many of the displaced tenants had also set up their own GoFundMe pages soon after the blaze.

“We want to do everything we can to release the burden when something like this happens and we’re just happy that we have the ability to provide space,” Zangwill said. “This is a community that always rallies, unfortunately, we’ve had a few crises in this community during my time here and it always comes together and really just supported their neighbors in whatever way they could.”

In the aftermath of the devastation, Council Member Julie Won turned her district office into a distribution center for the displaced and coordinated volunteers to help them collect their belongings from their ruined apartments. Her office is now working with tenants, the landlord A&E Real Estate and all involved government agencies to make sure “there is no foul play or mistreatment” of the residents.

“Anything that tenants have issues with, we have their back and we are also making sure that they’re legally protected in any way that are under their rights,” Won said. “This event is called Sunnyside Strong and it’s a testament of that, it is an illustration of how strong our community is, since the first day of the fire and now that it’s coming up to the first month of the fire.”

Photo by Paul Frangipane

Won added that she is working with tenants and local landlords to get as many people as possible in local apartments, since A&E Real Estate is unable to offer units for its displaced tenants in western Queens. Won is also working to make sure the number of rent stabilized units in the building does not change after reconstruction. On Friday she thanked the organizers of the fundraiser, the musicians that performed and the restaurant and bars that provide food and drink, and all of the volunteers who have helped those in need since the fire.

Liftoff Brass performs during the fundraising event at Sunnyside Community Services. Photo by Paul Frangipane

“This community is really protective of each other, the community is really supportive of each other and first and foremost, everyone is family,” Won said. “If you’re from Sunnyside and you’ve been in this community, they will not let you down, no matter what happens.”


Additional reporting by Paul Frangipane.

email the author: news@queenspost.com
No comments yet

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.


The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Police seek woman who attacked 12-year-old boy and stole phone on Jamaica Avenue: NYPD

Police from the 102nd Precinct in Richmond Hill are still looking for a grown woman who allegedly slapped a young boy repeatedly on Jamaica Avenue before stealing his cell phone on Sunday, Dec. 8.

The stranger approached the 12-year-old victim near 126th Street on Jamaica Avenue at around 4:20 p.m. and began to argue with the youngster. The dispute escalated into violence when the assailant began slapping the child multiple times in his head and snatched his cell phone, police said. She was last seen running off, traveling westbound on Jamaica Avenue toward Bessemer Street.

Homeless men charged in deadly 7 train subway brawl in Woodside: DA

Three homeless men were arraigned in Queens Criminal Court on Tuesday and variously charged with felony robbery, attempted gang assault, and assault for allegedly stealing the belongings of a 69-year-old homeless man who was asleep on a Manhattan-bound 7 train in Woodside early Sunday morning.

The victim woke up and tried to regain his property. During the ensuing brawl, the victim fatally stabbed a 37-year-old assailant and slashed a second man. The victim has not been charged in the fatal stabbing. The investigation by the NYPD’s Queens Homicide Squad and members of the 108th Precinct in Long Island City remains ongoing.

Hunt for suspect after 20-minute groping spree targets four in Southeast Queens: NYPD

Police from the 113th Precinct in Jamaica are looking for a serial groper who targeted three teenage girls and a mother walking with her young son in Southeast Queens on the morning of Monday, Dec. 16.

The suspect struck within a brief 20-minute span, beginning with his first victim, a 16-year-old girl walking near 115th Avenue and 170th Street, just a block south of Archie Spigner Park. At approximately 8:20 a.m., the assailant approached her from behind, grabbed her rear end, and fled the scene, police said.