Yu & Me Books GoFundMe: Fundraiser raises over $200,000 for NYC store that caught fire

Yu & Me Books, one of the Asian-American bookstores in New York City, suffered significant damage after a fire broke out on the floor above the bookstore on July 4. A fundraiser on GoFundMe was organized by Lucy Yu on July 7 with a set goal of $150,000. Within 13 hours, the fundraiser raised more than $200,000, exceeding the goal amount.

On July 6, the bookstore took to Instagram to share the unfortunate news and said that they were actively working to fix everything they could, but they would remain closed for now.

It was stated on the fundraiser page that the bookstore lost much of the equipment that helps in their day-to-day business and the majority of their inventory due to significant water damage and smoke.

The sudden fire compelled Yu & Me Books to cease their business operations and postpone all their events for some time now. They also devastatingly shared that the store needs a complete remodeling that could take a year.

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Yu & Me Books to remain closed for at least about a year

The bookstore further explained on the GoFundMe page that closing the store for almost an entire year will be catastrophic for their small business. They said that the insurance money would take around eight months to come while they still have bills and taxes due.

The management said they want to make sure that their staff are paid and continue to have access to their health insurance. Yu & Me Books claimed to celebrate community and make everyone who visits their space feel cared for and supported.

Lucy Yu, the owner of the bookstore, was praised by the Yu & Me staff on the fundraiser page for being extremely dedicated to the business and the people involved in it. She is said to always prioritize the staff, authors, customers, and the community of NYC Chinatown as a whole.

The message on the GoFundMe page was written by Yu & Me staff. They stated that they were hoping to cover a number of expenses with the donations.

The expenses include insurance deductibles, staff wages, accounting fees, new furniture, utilities, temporary space operating or pop-up costs, replacing all the damaged inventory, pending or existing payments for the destroyed inventory, and raising an emergency fund for 2023.

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Two people were injured in the fire above Yu & Me Books in NYC

According to an Asian-American outlet, AsAmNews, the New York City Fire Department received a call at approximately 2 pm about a fire on 42 Mulberry Street’s second floor. The fire spread to where Yu & Me Books is located on Mulberry Street’s ground level.

Though the firefighters were able to bring the fire under control within an hour, a tenant was critically injured and was taken to the New York-Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital for treatment. Other than that, one firefighter also sustained minor injuries.

Joe Chan, a local resident who lives a block away from the location, said that he knew the tenant, Frank, who was injured. Chan added that Frank is in his 70s, and they both used to walk their dogs together in the neighborhood.

However, Frank’s bulldog could not make it out of the fire. Joe Chan also shared a live video of the fire department trying to extinguish the fire on Facebook.

After the fire was put out, members of the NYC Chinatown community gathered at the bookstore to help in retrieving and putting as many books into plastic bags as possible. Yu & Me Books also had quite a busy summer schedule packed with events that had to be canceled.