By Carla Zanoni
DNAinfo Reporter
INWOOOD — Dozens of people gathered to support John and Kristen Galvin after the Inwood couple lost their home and dog Murphy during a fire earlier this month, raising thousands of dollars at a benefit Friday night that featured live music performances.
Friends, family and strangers chipped in more than $4,000 for the couple, whose apartment wasn't covered by insurance, adding to a pot of more than $9,116 raised online and in person. One neighbor handed the Galvins $1,000 in cash.
"You don’t get to usually say this, but I have the best friends in the world," John Galvin said at the benefit.
The Galvins were the hardest hit in the Dec. 9 fire, and had no insurance to protect them against the damage they sustained. Their upstairs neighbors, Tom Cicero and Darren Nimtich, also lost their family pet Kelly when their apartment was gutted by the flames, but Nimtich and Cicero said they would not accept any donations from the public as their fire damage was covered by renter’s insurance.
The rest of the 16 apartments in the west wing of the building were largely spared the brunt of the fire damage, and tenants of those apartments are currently waiting to learn when they can return.
The owner of Starlight Dry Cleaning, on the commercial floor of the building also said his smoke and water damage was covered by insurance and had reopened on Friday.
The event took place at the Liffy II Bar at 5009 Broadway with food catered by John's Doo-Wop Deli, two Inwood old time establishments that donated the space and cuisine for the cause.
As the night went on guests donated money for raffle items donated by friends, which included an iPod shuffle package, an array of DVDS and books, that lined a table near the stage where live performances by The Bailey Project, Lonesome Tom, Andy Mackle and Kristina Cascone entertained crowds.
"It was truly a group effort of people who wanted to help out," said Jackie Ferguson Hartey, one of many friends who organized the event.
Fire officials said the fire at 510 W. 218th Street was most likely caused by an electrical malfunction. A sophisticated marijuana lab was also discovered in the building during the rescue operations, according to 34th Precinct Capt. Jose Navarro. The lab was not related to the cause of the fire, said fire officials.
Although most of the people at the event Friday night were friends of the family, John Galvin said he did not recognize at least ten percent of the people who had attended and was overcome by their generosity.
One woman who stopped by the event to drop money in a donation basket, but did not want to be identified, said she had come after hearing that the couple's dog had died in the fire.
"I imagine they will be OK, but it hurts to think of how much they must be hurting after a loss like that," she said.
The Galvins said the outpouring of emotional support, even more than the financial support, has helped them through the tough aftermath of the fire.
"We really don’t know what to say," the Galvins said in an email Sunday night. "It is really amazing how people care about friends, but even more amazing how much strangers care."
