FDNY crews work to contain a massive Easter Sunday fire at 21-33 31st Ave. in Astoria. Photos by Ramy Mahmoud
April 22, 2025 By Shane O’Brien
Several online fundraisers have raised more than $90,000 for Astoria residents displaced by a four-alarm fire that ripped through two buildings on 31st Avenue on Easter Sunday.
The blaze ignited inside a three-story mixed-use building at 21-33 31st Ave. shortly before 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, April 20, before spreading to the adjacent two-story residential building at 21-31 31st. Ave.
More than 180 firefighters and at least 33 units rushed to the scene to battle the blaze, which was brought under control shortly before noon on Sunday.
Deputy Chief Assistant Mike Woods said residents in both buildings self-evacuated, with one resident and three firefighters suffering minor injuries.
Photos by Ramy Mahmoud
Both buildings suffered extensive damage, forcing families living in both families to seek temporary shelter.
Astoria residents have responded by donating substantial sums to two separate online fundraisers in aid of residents of both buildings.
One fundraiser, organized by Astoria resident Kaitlyn Kilpatrick, has raised more than $30,000 in just over 24 hours in aid of two families living in the corner building at 21-33 31st Ave. Kilpatrick said on crowdfunding website GoFundMe that the Yoshido and Fukumoto families lost nearly all of their belongings when the fire ripped through their building.
Photos by Ramy Mahmoud
Photos by Ramy Mahmoud
Kilpatrick, who did not respond to a request for comment, said both families had children of school age, adding that both families also lost “beloved pets” in the blaze.
Meanwhile, a separate fundraiser has raised over $15,000 in aid of another family living next door who also lost their home in the blaze.
Georgia Maldonado, who organized the second fundraiser, said her husband’s mother, sister and niece were living at the home at 21-31 31st Ave. when the fire broke out.
Maldonado said her husband’s grandfather had built the house over 100 years ago and said a fire was the family’s “worst nightmare.”
Photos by Ramy Mahmoud
Rosemarie Mondello, who owns the home, was at home with her daughter Jennifer Acosta and her granddaughter Madison Acosta when two neighbors knocked on the door to inform them that their house was on fire, Maldonado said.
She praised the two residents for helping the wheelchair-bound Mondello to safely leave the property and said the response from the local community has been “overwhelming” over the past two days.
The response has not been limited to GoFundMe, either. Maldonado said neighbors have been donating clothing, food, and technology to the family, while one person even donated a replacement wheelchair for Mondello after hers was lost in the fire.
“That was a huge relief,” Maldonado said. “It’s just been an outpouring of stuff and they don’t really know how to deal with it, because it’s more than they could ever expect.”
Maldonado said Mondello’s pain was added to that, as she grew up in the house and moved back to take care of her parents.
“She was going to stay there forever,” Maldonado said.
Mondello was diagnosed with a serious illness three months ago and requires surgery, Maldonado said.
“It’s a really bad time because she’s very sick. She has a tumor and she needs to get operated on,” Maldonado said. “Everything is just falling on her and the family, and this is just happening in the matter of about three months… how much worse can it get?”
A third fundraiser launched on behalf of the Yoshida family at 21-33 31st Ave. has raised just shy of $45,000.
“We are heartbroken to share that our dear friends, the Yoshida family, recently lost their home in a tragic fire,” the fundraiser organizers said on GoFundMe.
The organizers have not yet responded to a request for comment. However, in an update on GoFundMe, they said the Yoshida family is currently living in a hotel as a means of temporary housing.
“It’s been an incredibly emotional and overwhelming time, but your messages of love and support have brought them comfort and strength,” the fundraiser organizers said.
“The family is deeply grateful for the outpouring of kindness and generosity from everyone.”
