Help Danica and Nick rebuild after Brooklyn apartment fire

At 10:30 pm on January 25th, 2025, my partner Nick and I were at home watching a movie in our Williamsburg apartment when we noticed the apartment beginning to fill with smoke through an outlet on the dividing wall between our apartment and the neighboring building. We knew immediately that it was unsafe, and jumped up to turn off the breakers and call NYFD once realizing the neighboring building was on fire. We grabbed our jackets and keys as we ran out of the building, not knowing that we would be unable to return.

As we write this, it is two days after and we have received no information on the status of our building, other than it is unlikely that we will be able to salvage most (if any) of our belongings.

To be honest, we haven’t quite come to terms with everything we’ve lost. While we know most of these things are replaceable, we are tormented by the loss of personal mementos, family heirlooms, letters, and photos that are suddenly gone. Bodies of our creative work living in notebooks, sketchbooks, canvases and hard drives reduced to nothing - our stories from the last 30 years suddenly ash.

While the loss of our home and belongings is heartbreaking, we are completely overwhelmed by the generosity, support, and love from friends, family, strangers, and neighbors alike. On the night of the fire, a stranger on the street handed us all the cash in their wallet and offered us their couch to sleep on. The Red Cross has been diligent about our basic needs being covered. Friends and family have sent us love and have extended their hand in more ways than one.

Across the divide people are showing us their humanity, and we will choose to take this moment as a gift in the ashes - we are being presented the rare opportunity to see the goodness that lives in the core of our shared humanity despite all the differences our country has been at war over the last several years.

With so many people asking how to help, we’ve come to terms that we need to be open to receive help at this time, and get clear on what we’re asking for. We have to completely restart our lives - buying not only everything that fills a home - new furniture, clothing, toiletries, kitchen supplies, etc. - but everything we have been relying on creatively to sustain our lives.

We are documentary filmmakers and our home was also our creative workspace for our business, Perspective Studios. We lost film equipment such as cameras, microphones, lenses, memory cards, and gimbals as well as hard drives, headphones, monitors, computer accessories, etc. Thankfully Nick was thoughtful enough to grab each of our laptops and one camera as we were running out, but unfortunately that is the extent of what we have as creatives who rely on these devices to sustain a living.

Your donation will cover the costs of both of us restarting our lives. Everything from securing a new apartment, replacing what we each have lost, and maintaining our livelihoods until we can get back to taking on work. In addition, your donation will cover the costs of any legal fees, temporary housing, and food we have to upfront as we work on rebuilding from ground zero.

While we recognize our lives will never go back to “normal,” we have chosen not to be defeated. We are first and foremost grateful for our safety, and know that having each other is the most valuable thing of all. Together we have chosen to emerge from this stronger than before. And if we’re being honest, this strength has come from the support and foundation of our community who has really shown up for us during this time of personal tragedy.

As we rise from the ashes as the Phoenixes of 333 Graham Ave, we will use our abilities as artists to transform this whole experience - we will use our art to find the gift in the ashes. We are documentary filmmakers and writers who focus on human-centric storytelling to uncover our shared humanity that bridges gaps of misunderstanding. At this time, we’d like to intentionally move through the process of rebuilding our lives by accepting the invitations of as many friends, strangers, acquaintances, and neighbors who have simply said to us, “I’m here.” We would love to spend time with people across the spectrum of humanity and politics who have extended us their hand, documenting the beauty that unfortunately only tragedy seems to bring.

If you have the resources to donate to the rebuilding of our lives, then we appreciate it with immense gratitude. And if you don’t but have reached out to let us know you are here, we appreciate it just as much.

We will begin to document our journey, sharing our stories across our social media platforms that we will share with you through Go Fund Me. In the meantime, you can follow us on Instagram where we will share updates regularly through posts and stories. @[email redacted]