A community refrigerator designed for needy families was discovered vandalized and left in poor condition outside the state office of Queens State Senator Jessica Ramos on New Year’s Day, arriving at a time when the pandemic left more residents unsafe to feed.
“It really hurts someone to do that,” Ramos said with teary eyes to Gothamist / WNYC.
After Ramos posted photos of the remains of the refrigerator on Twitter on Saturday – with fresh food and freezer doors open – a wave of support has emerged, with $ 6,000 in donations already generated within hours.
The community refrigerator in front of our district office was vandalized and destroyed last night. Many of our neighbors depend on the generosity of other neighbors to overcome these difficult times. Now that lifeline is gone. I’m heartbroken. pic.twitter.com/NACU1M5hI5
– Jessica Ramos (@jessicaramos) January 2, 2021
Since July, the General Electric refrigerator – its surface repainted by a local artist named Khan – has been installed in front of Ramos’s district office on Junction Boulevard in East Elmhurst, and made available to thousands of residents in search of eggs, fruits and vegetables free and powdered milk for babies to feed their families.
To keep the refrigerator well-stocked, Ramos relied on donations to keep it full, which he usually empties in a matter of hours. Ramos’s office borders the community of Corona, home to undocumented immigrants excluded from any federal government assistance.
“They are not eligible for unemployment insurance, they have not received a stimulus check, they are not going to receive a new stimulus check. And so, for many families, this is literally all they have, ”said Ramos. “That’s how they save cents to save on rent every month.”
Community refrigerators have become commonplace across the city as the pandemic has caused massive layoffs, increasing food insecurity across the city. Currently, about 1.5 million New Yorkers cannot afford to buy food. A recent report by the Robin Hood Foundation revealed that 32% of adults surveyed in September and October 2020 reported using a food pantry last year, an increase of more than 250% compared to January and February 2020.
And yet, although these refrigerators serve as a lifeline, they have been the targets of vandalism in the past. In Far Rockaway, a community refrigerator created by Rockaway Mutual Aid on 91st Street on the beach was found destroyed during the summer.
It is not yet clear who vandalized the refrigerator outside Ramos’ office. Ramos is asking the police to take images from surveillance cameras to help identify any culprits responsible for the vandalism.
“Whoever has done this, I imagine they will have bad karma,” said Ramos.
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