Posted on Aug 5, 2023
Fire devastated this NYC Chinatown bookshop — community has rushed to its aid
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https://www.npr.org/2023/08/05/ [login to see] /bookstore-fire-asian-american
On July 4, Lucy Yu was working at her bookstore, Yu & Me Books, in Manhattan's Chinatown, when she began to smell smoke. She thought it must be from fireworks.
"My neighbor came running through the smoke into the store," Yu recalled one recent afternoon, standing in her darkened storefront. "She was like, 'You have to get out of the building, there's a fire.' " One of the building's tenants, Frank Yee, later died; Manhattan's Chinatown has had a string of deadly or devastating fires in recent months – four people died in a blaze at an e-bike shop, and multiple people were displaced after a fire in the building of the Fu Hao Gift Shop.
"I think I'm trying to find space in my brain to grieve, but even allowing a little bit of the floodgates of grief to open is a lot to handle," Yu said.
On July 4, Lucy Yu was working at her bookstore, Yu & Me Books, in Manhattan's Chinatown, when she began to smell smoke. She thought it must be from fireworks.
"My neighbor came running through the smoke into the store," Yu recalled one recent afternoon, standing in her darkened storefront. "She was like, 'You have to get out of the building, there's a fire.' " One of the building's tenants, Frank Yee, later died; Manhattan's Chinatown has had a string of deadly or devastating fires in recent months – four people died in a blaze at an e-bike shop, and multiple people were displaced after a fire in the building of the Fu Hao Gift Shop.
"I think I'm trying to find space in my brain to grieve, but even allowing a little bit of the floodgates of grief to open is a lot to handle," Yu said.
Fire devastated this NYC Chinatown bookshop — community has rushed to its aid
Posted from npr.org
New York City
Manhattan
Reading
Community
Posted 10 mo ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel good day Brother William, always informational and of the most interesting. Thanks for sharing, have a blessed day!
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
...""Feeling that joy of being able to come together in this space that's not even Yu & Me Books makes me realize that home is people and a place," Yu said. "And the extensions of home are so much bigger than I give it credit for."
Yu said it's hard to put into words, but she's realizing that it's "not that hard" or complicated to foster this sense of community; it's just about welcoming people to come as they are. "When we talk about creating community and we talk about creating space for diversity within a diaspora, that's actually so easy," she said. "It's just kindness at the core of it."
As Yu rebuilds Yu & Me Books in the aftermath of the fire, she's discovering that home and community are only expanding."
...""Feeling that joy of being able to come together in this space that's not even Yu & Me Books makes me realize that home is people and a place," Yu said. "And the extensions of home are so much bigger than I give it credit for."
Yu said it's hard to put into words, but she's realizing that it's "not that hard" or complicated to foster this sense of community; it's just about welcoming people to come as they are. "When we talk about creating community and we talk about creating space for diversity within a diaspora, that's actually so easy," she said. "It's just kindness at the core of it."
As Yu rebuilds Yu & Me Books in the aftermath of the fire, she's discovering that home and community are only expanding."
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I grew up in NYC and we went to Chinatown at least once a month...so sorry to see this but glad the community is helping them
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