Partial Miracle on 35th Street: Most Herald Holiday Market Shops Able to Reopen only Four Days After Devastating Fire
Twenty businesses were back after an electrical fire on December 9 forced them to close all the stalls at the northern end of the market at Herald Square near Macy’s. A few could not reopen, but those that did are hoping owners hope for a Christmas rush of customers.
| 20 Dec 2024 | 06:58
Amanda Mosley (far right) from South Carolina said she comes to New York City for the holidays every year and this year brought her mother Susan and niece Harper. (
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Sixty firefighters had responded to the blaze at Herald Holiday Market that erupted around 4 a.m. and was brought under control by 5 a.m. One firefighter who was injured was treated and released the same day. (
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Paola Saenz, from Columbia, said she was devastated by the news of the fire on Dec. 9. Now that she’s able to reopen she’s hoping for a rush of customers leading up to Christmas in the shops in the Herald Holiday Market just outside of Macy’s (
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Many of the shoppers on the northern end of the Herald Holiday Market said they did not even realize there had been a fire there last week. (
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It may not be as famous as the classic movie Miracle on 34th Street but the reopening of many of the outdoors shops in the Herald Holiday Market on 35th St. only four days after an electrical fire forced them all to close was its own Christmas miracle.
Unfortunately, some of the shops that had experienced the worst of the blaze were not able to reopen.
But many of the shop owners were back. “The fire was Monday [Dec. 9] and they had it up and running on again on Thursday,” said Scott, who was manning the All Heart Bakery Company on Dec. 20 while his girlfriend took a break.
Some customers who came from far and wide did not even realize that the shops were forced close when an early morning fire ignited much of the inventory of the small shops that line the block between 35th St. and 36th St. a stone’s throw from the Macy’s Department store.
“Really?” said Annette from Mexico who came to New York with her daughter Sophia, as she walked the market on Dec. 20. “It’s real such a nice place to get that Christmas feeling,” she said.
Susan Johnson, Harper Johnson and Amanda Mosley were from South Carolina and said they had seen the news about the Herald Market fire on their local news show back home.
It was a first time visit to New York for Harper and her granddaughter daughter Susan. “I come every year,” said Amanda Mosley, who was the daughter of Susan. “This year, I brought my mother and my niece.”
Paola Saenz, who hails from Columbia was running a jewelry store and also runs shops at the Bryant Park outdoor mall and Columbus Circle.
“Twenty businesses lost everything,” said Saenz, of the fire that erupted around 4 a.m. About 60 firefighters and EMS personnel responded to the blaze, which was extinguished by 5 a.m. “It was very emotional,” she said she when she heard the news. “The feeling I had it was like a tragedy,” she said.
Firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze before it leaped 35th St. One firefighter, who initially was thought to be seriously hurt when he was transported to Bellevue was “treated and released the same day,” said FDNY spokesman Jim Long.
Saenz is hoping for a big Christmas rush. “We’re back in business, but this is the first year for these shops, and business was a little slow. We hope it picks up in the last few days before Christmas. But it’s good be back.”
Fire officials determined that the fire was accidental, started by an electrical short.
Urbanspace, the entity that runs the market, had started a GoFundMe drive for the businesses that were impacted. As of Dec. 20, it had raised just under $10,000.