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East Village Businesses Affected by Blast Gather to Offer Support

By Lisha Arino | April 9, 2015 3:05pm
 Representatives from more than a dozen small businesses affected by the East Village explosion, as well as business support groups, met at Cafe Mocha on Second Avenue on April 9, 2015.
Representatives from more than a dozen small businesses affected by the East Village explosion, as well as business support groups, met at Cafe Mocha on Second Avenue on April 9, 2015.
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DNAinfo/Lisha Arino

EAST VILLAGE — The Second Avenue blast might have destroyed or temporarily closed local businesses in the immediate area, but it didn’t rock the camaraderie between their owners.

Representatives from about a dozen small businesses directly affected by the March 26 gas explosion — like Sam’s Deli, B&H Dairy Kosher Restaurant and Via della Pace — gathered at Café Mocha, located diagonally from the blast site, to offer support and advice during an informal meeting Thursday morning.

“That was great. It's like everybody has the same problems, the same worries. Everybody is going to struggle to rebuild but I think it was a positive meeting,” said Omer Shorshi, co-owner of Pommes Frites, which was destroyed when the building at 123 Second Ave. collapsed.

The business owners took turns sharing their explosion stores and explaining their individual situations. They commiserated over insurance policies that wouldn’t cover their damages and expressed concern about their employees, who suddenly were out of work.

Representatives from groups like the Department of Small Business Services, the East Village Community Coalition, Made in the Lower East Side and the Neighborhood Preservation Center also attended the meeting and answered questions from the small business owners.

Jimmy Carbone, who owns Jimmy’s No. 43 and organized the meeting, said many of the business owners already knew each other, although they rarely met as a group.

“It’s kind of like disaster brings us together,” he said.

Many of the businesses in the room had been around for 10 years or more, Carbone added, creating a small business community within the area.

“Everyone thinks about New York City, old New York, [as] the old mom and pop stores,” Carbone said. “This is one of those last neighborhoods that has it.”