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Deli Destroyed by East Village Explosion Cancels Online Fundraiser

By Lisha Arino | April 14, 2015 3:11pm
 Officials search through rubble the day after an explosion leveled an apartment building on Second Avenue and East 7th Street on March 27, 2015.
Officials search through rubble the day after an explosion leveled an apartment building on Second Avenue and East 7th Street on March 27, 2015.
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DNAinfo/Ben Fractenberg

EAST VILLAGE — A family-owned store destroyed by the Second Avenue gas explosion has disbanded its online fundraiser, just days after setting it up and refunded the few hundred dollars donated, because they felt bad asking for financial help.

“I feel guilty getting someone else’s money,” said Roop Bring, who opened Sam’s Deli at 123 Second Ave. in 1997.

The explosion leveled three buildings and killed two people on March 26, including the one that housed Sam's Deli. Bring and an employee were able to escape unharmed, he said, but nothing was left of the shop.

“My business is totally destroyed,” Bring said.

Last week, Roop and his son, Chasmandeep Roop, set up a YouCaring online fundraiser to help the business recover. They aimed to raise $10,000 and had received more than $450 Monday, according to the website.

 Sam's Deli, which opened at 123 Second Ave. in 1997, set up an online fundraiser to help it recover its losses from the East Village gas explosion on March 26.
Sam's Deli, which opened at 123 Second Ave. in 1997, set up an online fundraiser to help it recover its losses from the East Village gas explosion on March 26.
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YouCaring/Help Roop (Vick) with Sam's Deli Recovery in Gas Explosion!

But asking the public for donations made him feel uneasy, so Bring asked his son to shut down the page and refund those who had already given money, he said Tuesday after a business recovery meeting set up by the city.

“That’s just the way [I am],” he said.

Neighboring businesses and individuals who were displaced also set up similar donation sites in the weeks following the explosion.

Those who lost their homes asked for money to help them replace clothing and other items in the incident, while businesses generally asked for donations to help them stay afloat and reopen.

Clothing store ENZ’s has collected more than $9,000 through a YouCaring page set up shortly after the explosion and B&H Dairy Kosher Restaurant has exceeded its $20,000 goal after launching its own online fundraising campaign last week.

Pomme Frites — a popular eatery mourned by the community after it was also destroyed in the blast — has also been collecting donations on its website, although its method does not show how much has been contributed so far.

The page set up for Sam’s Deli said the local convenience store had business insurance “but the total coverage is nowhere near enough to cover the cost of damages or replace income.”

Bring said the insurance company, Tower Insurance, wanted him to itemize the hundreds of items in his 1,600-square-foot store.

“It’s not easy in a business like ours to write down everything,” he said.

He insurance company wanted him to provide the receipts of the items he had purchased for the store, but all the paper was destroyed in the fire that tore through the building after the explosion.

Staff at the insurance company could not immediately comment about the case. 

Roop and his son, who has helped out at the store, said they were still figuring out their next steps.