Building housing Chinatown nonprofits ravaged by fire

A fire ravaged a Chinatown building that is home to several community nonprofits, injuring 10 people and likely destroying the entire collection of the Museum of Chinese in America, The New York Times reports. 

Museum officials fear for the collection of 85,000 items outlining the history of Chinese-Americans, such as restaurant menus, dresses, postcards, and other items that go as far back at the 19th century. About 3,500 pieces in its collection are digitized, but the worry is that water damage will have permanently ruined irreplaceable pieces, especially as museum employees may not be able to access them for weeks.

“We’ve reached out to many, many people – people at the Met, people at conservation places, recovery places, academics,” Nancy Yao Maasbach, the museum president, told Gothamist. “So everyone’s been saying, ‘let us know what we can do,’ but I’m just really nervous.”

Other nonprofits in the building include the United East Athletics Association, the Chen Dance Center, Chinatown Manpower Project and a senior center run by the Chinese-American Planning Council. All are seeking donations in the wake of the fire and many are attempting to accommodate their programming at other locations as recovery efforts begin to take effect.

“The City of New York and community leaders are working on helping all organizations find temporary space and facilities to continue on our activities,” Chung Hing Sin, chairman of the United East Athletics Association, wrote in a message to supporters. “However, from the obvious damage to the building, it will be a long road to full recovery.”