East Village residents fumed Wednesday after they say a community refrigerator, an invaluable lifeline to the surrounding homeless and migrant population, was vandalized.
The community fridge and pantry stand on East 9th Street and Avenue B, weather-beaten and showing slight signs of wood rot, yet have functioned for years since the COVID-19 pandemic to aid local residents in need.
Yet on Wednesday, residents discovered graffiti marring the painted exterior, and the door to the pantry portion, where food and clothing is stored, completely ripped of its hinges.
“The door was on yesterday. I don’t understand why somebody would do that. Everybody needs this. Were they stupid or drunk?” Jenny Sanchez asked.
A local senior, Sanchez says she comes by and stocks the shelves and the refrigerator at least once a week, citing the need of many residents. Within seconds of arriving Wednesday, a man thanked her for her donation and scooped up some canned goods from the pantry.
“It’s very important. There’s a lot of people that don’t have any food. I have seen people come with their children and come pick up clothes here with their children for their children,” Sanchez said.
The Loisaida fridge, as it is known, like many of its contemporaries, popped up in the area during the pandemic when the unhoused were particularly suffering. However, while many of the other fridges have failed to last through the years due to costs and complaints from residents, this fridge has managed to withstand the passage of time and sees a rotation of donations from neighbors and businesses.
For many, the vandalism found Wednesday was that much more heartbreaking.
The fridge stands just blocks from Assembly Member Harvey Epstein’s office. The lawmaker told amNewYork Metro he found the incident disturbing.
“Community fridges allow New Yorkers to help their neighbors facing food insecurity,” Epstein said. “I was deeply disturbed to hear about the recent act of violence against lower-income members of our community that the community fridge serves. It provides critical aid to our neighbors.”
Those who help keep the fridge running say they are looking to focus on the good it still continues to provide.
“It’s not great to see it vandalized. I think I always try to remember when I see these kinds of things that this place is so busy, there are so many people who come and use it, and nothing bad happens,” said Alex Lawrence, executive director of Trinity’s Services and Food for the Homeless, which helps provide the power to keep the fridge running. “These are the actions of one individual, and not the community. This is not representative of who we are, or the people who use it, or the people who contribute to it. It really is just a couple people who are acting outside of that that have done this. So that’s my cold comfort.”
