CHELSEA — A neighborhood restaurant and hotel pitched in to provide free rooms and meals to residents affected by Saturday's explosion on West 23rd Street, as the block remained closed most of Monday for the ongoing investigation into the bombing that injured 29 people.
On Tuesday morning, West 23rd Street had partially reopened to cars and some pedestrians on the south side, allowing passersby to finally see pockmarks the bomb's shrapnel left in nearby buildings and windows.
Following police activity, W 23rd St btwn 6th/7th Aves reopened to vehicular traffic. North side W 23rd St closed to pedestrians
— NYCEM - Notify NYC (@NotifyNYC) September 20, 2016
Earlier, only emergency responders were allowed onto the block as well as residents with proof that they live there, who had to be accompanied by a police escort.
The explosion rocked Selis Manor, a home for more than 180 blind youths, adults and seniors at 135 W. 23rd St., which sits steps away from the blast site, resident Alma Police said at a press conference Monday morning.
She was watching television around 8:30 p.m. when the bomb went off.
“All of a sudden, I heard this boom,” she recalled.
Since the explosion, the American Red Cross and Malibu Diner, which is down the block from Selis Manor, have supplied more than 180 meals to the home's residents, as their cafeteria was damaged by the blast, Rep. Carolyn Maloney said at the press conference.
The Standard High Line Hotel, meanwhile, has been providing shelter and free meals to residents of the block who haven’t been able to return to their apartments due to the damage and subsequent investigations, she said.
“We’re really just so impressed with this Chelsea community,” Red Cross CEO Josh Lockwood said at the press conference. “So many people have risen up to support their fellow New Yorkers, and that includes volunteers.”
On Monday morning, media outlets had set up a roped-off encampment partway down the block to report live from the scene, and several news vehicles lined Seventh Avenue between West 22th and West 24th streets.
E, F and 1 train service to stops near West 23rd Street had resumed after being shut down over the weekend.
Maloney noted that the stained-glass windows at St. Vincent de Paul Church at 123 W. 23rd St. had been partially destroyed by the blast.
