Businesses on the Lower East Side held a fundraiser Wednesday to help their East Village counterparts still recovering from the deadly building explosion in March.
Restaurants and stores are donating goods and services to drum up financial support for affected shops.
Two people were killed in the blast, and three buildings were destroyed.
Several businesses had to close for a long time for repairs and are having a hard time getting back on their feet. At least two businesses in the area still have not been able to reopen.
"We had to pull down all the walls and rebuild and put in a new floor. We had mold coming up. But I almost feel guilty complaining because my neighbors lost everything," said Mariann Marlowe, owner of Endz Boutique.
"We have six businesses that were abolished," said Susan Stetzer of Community Board 3. "We have most of the businesses have three-day interruption insurance, so they don't start getting insurance until after three days. May of them did not have access for three days. So it's going to be really tough on them."
Organizers said they're planning more events like this, including a business crawl on Friday.