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A community refrigerator created for families in need was found vandalized and left in disrepair outside the district office of Queens State Senator Jessica Ramos on New Years Day, as the pandemic hit left more residents food insecure.
“It really hurts someone to do this,” teary-eyed Ramos told Gothamist / WNYC.
After Ramos posted photos of the fridge leftovers to Twitter on Saturday – his fresh food and freezer doors torn apart – a surge of support has occurred, with $ 6,000 in donations already generated in a matter of hours.
The community fridge outside our district office was vandalized and destroyed last night. Many of our neighbors depend on the generosity of other neighbors to get through these difficult times. Now that lifeline is gone. My heart is broken. pic.twitter.com/NACU1M5hI5
– Jessica Ramos (@jessicaramos) January 2, 2021
Since July, the General Electric refrigerator – the surface of which was repainted by local artist named Khan – has been installed outside the Ramos district office on Junction Boulevard in East Elmhurst, and made available to thousands residents looking for free eggs, fruits and vegetables, and infant formula. to feed their families.
To keep the refrigerator well stocked, Ramos depended on donations to keep the refrigerator full, which often empties within hours. Ramos’s office borders the community of Corona, which is home to undocumented immigrants excluded from federal government assistance.
“They don’t qualify for UI, they didn’t get a stimulus check, they won’t get a new stimulus check. And so for many families, that’s literally all. they have, ”Ramos said. “That’s how they pinch pennies to save for rent every month.”
Community refrigerators have become common throughout the city as the pandemic has led to massive layoffs, increasing food insecurity throughout the city. Currently, about 1.5 million New Yorkers cannot afford food. A recent report from the Robin Hood Foundation found that 32% of adults surveyed in September and October 2020 said they had used a pantry in the past year, an increase of over 250% from January and February 2020.
And yet, although these refrigerators serve as a lifeline, they have been the target of vandalism in the past. In Far Rockaway, a community refrigerator created by Rockaway Mutual Aid on 91st Street beach last, was found destroyed over the summer.
It is still unclear who vandalized the refrigerator outside Ramos’ office. Ramos asks police to extract footage from surveillance cameras to help identify any culprits responsible for the vandalism.
“Whoever did this, I imagine he will have bad karma,” Ramos said.
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