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Queens Together founder Jonathan Forgash alongside Asian Taste 86 owner Rosalinda Lie. Photo via Queens Together. <\/p>\n
\t\t Search our comprehensive guide to things to do in Queens<\/a> for more local events \u2014 or submit your own<\/a>!<\/p>\n A pair of Queens restaurants are providing culturally-appropriate food relief to victims of the recent Dongan Avenue fire, which left three people dead and ten people injured.\n<\/p>\n Indonesian restaurant Asian Taste 86<\/a> and Eaterniti Burmese Street Food<\/a> will be providing food packages for victims of the fire for the next 14 days to offer support to families impacted by the four-alarm fire,<\/a> which ripped through 83-33 Dongan Ave. and two neighboring homes on Monday, Feb. 9.<\/p>\n The fire mainly impacted families from the Burmese and Indonesian communities in Elmhurst, including Rosalinda Lie, the owner of Asian Taste 86.\n<\/p>\n Queens Together<\/a>, a non-profit aiming to provide food relief while also supporting local restaurants, approached both Eaterniti and Asian Taste in the aftermath of the fire to provide culturally appropriate food for victims of the blaze. Both restaurants jumped at the opportunity.<\/p>\n Frank Win Htut, co-owner of Eaterniti, said it was an easy decision to join food relief efforts for victims of the recent fire because community is at the heart of everything the restaurant does.\n<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s the main motto of our business,\u201d Win Htut said. \u201cWe want to help out the community as needed.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Lie, meanwhile, had a personal connection to the victims after her own home was destroyed in the fire. She said her son was home alone when the blaze broke out, but luckily managed to escape the building. The fire, however, destroyed her home and her car.<\/p>\n Lie closed Asian Taste for three days after the fire, but has now reopened the restaurant, although she added that it is \u201cvery difficult\u201d to operate following the loss of her car.\n<\/p>\n \u201cWe need a car for the groceries,\u201d Lie said. \u201cIt\u2019s very, very tiring.\u201d Still, Lie did not hesitate when Queens Together founder Jonathan Forgash contacted her to see if she would be interested in providing food relief through Asian Taste.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s good for my friends, at least they can get food once a day,\u201d Lie said.\n<\/p>\n The food relief also provides an important financial incentive for participating restaurants, with Queens Together compensating both Eaterniti and Asian Taste for their efforts.\n<\/p>\n \u201cThis way, the restaurant can make some money from what they already do best,\u201d Forgash said. \u201cTheir neighbors could be fed a nice meal.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Forgash believes that food relief acts better than a fundraiser for restaurants by encouraging people to eat in their restaurants.\n<\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s give them some attention and promotion,\u201d Forgash added.\n<\/p>\n He asserted that the \u201cgoal\u201d of Queens Together is not simply to provide food relief to communities in need and financially compensate restaurants that participate, but to \u201cmake sure the community knows who those restaurants are.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe want people to know that they cared for their neighbors during the worst of times,\u201d Forgash said.\n<\/p>\n Meanwhile, a GoFundMe for Thet Aung Oo, who died Tuesday from burns suffered in the fire, has raised more than $50,000.\n<\/p>\n Aung Oo, known as Alex, suffered catastrophic burns as he attempted to rescue his mother from the blaze on Feb. 9. Alex did not know that his mother had already reached safety when he raced into the burning building.<\/p>\n The $52,531 raised in the online fundraiser \u2013 originally earmarked for Alex\u2019s medical expenses \u2013 will now go toward his funeral and to supporting his family as they rebuild their lives, GoFundMe organizer Alyssa Jensen said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe funds raised will now go toward his funeral expenses and to support his family as they rebuild their lives \u2014 including finding housing and replacing essential needs that were lost in the fire,\u201d Jensen said in a post on GoFundMe.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWe are deeply grateful for the love, prayers and generosity shown to Alex and his family. Your support carried them through the darkest moments, and it continues to mean more than words can express.\u201d<\/p>\n Miguelina Alcantara, 34, and her baby daughter, Emma, who was only 17 days old, also perished in the deadly blaze last week.<\/p>\n
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Dishes offered by Asian Taste 86 to victims of the recent Dongan Avenue fire. Photo via Queens Together.\n<\/p>\n