NEW YORK — A fire ripped through vendor stalls at the Herald Square Holiday Market on Monday, charring the holiday spirit of more than a dozen small businesses and sending one firefighter to the hospital.
Parts of the 34th Street and 35th Street portions of the market were able to open normally Monday afternoon. UrbanSpace said it was working as quickly as possible to repair the damaged portion of 36th Street.
There is no clear timeline on when or if the affected stands will reopen. It is also unknown what started the fire as it left the scene a barren and blackened mess.
The injured firefighter is expected to be okay, officials said.
‘It was just completely gone’
Kelli Lipson, one of the many vendors who lost everything during the height of the shopping season, lamented the unfortunate situation.
“I was a little shocked when I saw that, to be honest,” Lipson said.
Lipson’s season ended when the fire razed her Spoonable Spirits booth.
“I originally thought I would see where I was set up, and some things in my stable would be burned, but unfortunately it was just completely gone,” Lipson said.
The only visible piece left was the charred remains of her refrigerator.
“I think it was hard to realize that this market is over for me,” Lipson said. “This is not how I saw my holiday season. This is not how many sellers saw it.”
“It is completely devastating for our suppliers”
Lipson’s stand was one of many destroyed on 36th Street.
“It’s completely devastating for our suppliers and for UrbanSpace,” said marketing director Linda Aguilerra. “It’s one of those things where we’re stronger together, so we’re really just trying to get through this for each other.”
Andrea Albayeros’ stand, a block away from 35th, survived the fire but was without power earlier Monday.
“I was just worried and hoping everything would work out,” Albayeros said.
