Long Islanders step up to help survivors of Bronx fire

Two Mineola residents arrived this week in the Bronx with an empty van, just three blocks away from the burned out 19-story building where a fire took the lives of 17 residents, including eight children, injuring and displacing dozens of others.

There, at a local aid organization, Aida and Eddie Pagán filled up their vehicle with donations to those who had lost their homes, family members and friends. They then drove to sites where the clothing and other items would be sorted and distributed.

"Last night, we came thinking we were just going to drop off some donations," said Aida, who runs a family architectural firm with her husband in Mineola. But, she said, they ended up working for several more hours and doing four runs back and forth.

They are some of the Long Islanders who are bringing relief to survivors of one of the city's deadliest fires, in the form of their time, emotional support, and items such as toiletries, food, and clothing.

Some of the displaced are immigrants from West Africa and the Dominican Republic and Aida, who is half Ecuadorian and Dominican, said she and her husband want to be available to "offer resources, hope and encouragement to other immigrant families" and let them know "they’re not alone, that they have a community. A community that comes from everywhere."

Among the organizations receiving donations are the Gambian Youth Organization, a nonprofit community group, at the East 181st Street site where the Pagáns picked up bags of clothing ready for transport.

Jaharai Sillah, a GYO organizer, said people have even come from New Jersey to drop off supplies. "It’s been good to know the community stands with one another and we are here for each other," Sillah said, but "we are in a devastating situation. Many people lost their homes and many people are going to be struggling for quite some time and we’re just trying our best as a community to come together to help them right now."

Jose Gonzalez of Jibaritos With Troops, a nonprofit based in Bay Shore dedicated to helping people in need, arrived Wednesday with his partner to a hotel where at least a dozen families are housed following the fire.

Gonzalez, of Bay Shore, came with donated bins of snacks, water, and bags of clothing inside a minivan and said: "We have a lot of stuff and we want to continue to help."

In Bay Shore on Wednesday, Ricardo Rodriguez, of Brentwood, donated supplies to Jibaritos With Troops, saying he wanted to help because the Bronx fire "could happen to anyone."

"The generosity of the community getting together on Long Island to help a community so far away in the Bronx really does pull some strings on my heart for sure," he said.

It's not the first time the Long Island volunteers have donated their time and energy to people who need help.

Four years ago, Aida and Eddie Pagán formed a group to help feed the homeless in New York City and help residents displaced due to fires. In April, following a fire in Queens that displaced over 90 families, the Pagáns collected nearly $9,000 in donations to pay for items such as furniture, clothing and Metrocards.

Eddie Pagán said he understands the importance of receiving assistance from others. When he was a child, he and his family lost their apartment due to a fire on Fourth of July weekend and relied on strangers for help.

"That coupled with the fact that we’re available to serve our neighbors, our friends, strangers, families in need," said Pagán, is why the couple gives of themselves. "We just do the best that we can."

Gonzalez said the nonprofit started in 2017 providing help to residents of Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. "From that day to this second right now, we don’t stop," said Gonzalez outside the hotel.

Carmen Figuera, who was at the hotel to get clothes for a displaced friend, picked up socks and sweaters from Gonzalez. "I love that everybody is coming out giving clothes," she said. "I appreciate that."

The volunteers say they will keep coming to help survivors of the Bronx fire. "As long as they need us," Aida Pagán said.

With James Carbone