GoFundMe raising money for vendors impacted by Herald Square Holiday Market fire
MIDTOWN, Manhattan (WABC) -- A GoFundMe campaign has been set up for the vendors impacted by a fire that tore through the popular Herald Square Holiday Market a week ago, and while it can't replace the precious business that has been lost during the bustle of last-minute holiday shopping, it's helped.
The Herald Square market is full of lights, music and the smells of hot treats two days before Christmas.
You would never know there was a devastating fire here a week ago that wiped out more than a dozen vendors and shut down the market for a couple of days... unless you know.
"I'm glad that they're able to like kind of put it together because, you can kind of see them restore it the way it needs to be. And I'm glad that they're able to still open it," said Jayda Hakeem-Ali, who works nearby.
Benches and planters have been shifted in the middle to fill up the spaces, but those who got to know the vendors who have now been displaced, do notice their absence.
"It's really sad, because we're here for like a month. I actually made friends with a lot of vendors across from us, and it's sad to see them all gone," said Jon Lee of Matcha n' More.
"I mean, we became really close with the pizza guy pretty much getting his pizza every day. And it was, it was nice to see him and, and the rest of his staff was cool. So, it's a bummer," said Frankie Ortega of Grey's Fresh Mini Donut.
The FDNY determined the cause of the fire to be electrical and not suspicious.
"It's kind of like a freak accident that no one expected," Ortega said.
Some of the surviving vendors have heard from their old neighbors.
"A couple of them came by and they weren't doing too well. Their insurance is taking a long time," Lee said.
An online fundraiser has come up with thousands of dollars for those 18 vendors but it's this busy time that those who lost their booths can't get back. It's full of people looking for last-minute gifts, and snacks to keep them going, and warm them up.
"First time here, and I'm by far crazy for doing it, it's much colder than I expected," said Danny, who is visiting from Nashville.
"I recommend coming here for your little holiday shopping," said Brooklyn resident Ariel Leak. "If you did forget, this is your time to not forget."
The remaining vendors say bring on the foot traffic. They're here for another week and a half.
"We definitely need, like, some Christmas magic to happen over here," Lee said.
You can find a link to the GoFundMe page here.
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