DNAinfo/Ben Fractenberg
HELLS KITCHEN — A large fire broke out Monday in the basement of a tenement building used by a local church to serve the poor, fire officials said.
Smoke and flames billowed out of the basement of 422 W. 57th St. about 3:30 p.m. which serves as a soup kitchen and community meeting space for the Trinity Presbyterian Church, according to the FDNY.
Alexis Gervasinis, 24, who lives next door, said she was terrified as fire fighters evacuated residents of her building.
"I was seriously shaking," she said. Thick black smoke was pouring out of the building, Gervasinis said.
No one was injured in the blaze, a fire department spokeswoman said.
