After a tragic fire in Whitestone on Christmas Day destroyed the Reynoso family’s home on 147th Street, the local community came together in an outpouring of support for their neighbors, collecting over $50,000 in funds and gift cards.
The family’s home became engulfed with flames on Dec. 25 around 4:30 p.m., requiring 33 units and 188 firefighters and EMS personnel to respond, according to previous reporting by QNS. The fire took over an hour to extinguish, as firefighters finally got it under control around 6 p.m.
The Reynoso family — consisting of Christina Reynoso, her father, and her two children aged 13 and 5 — are all safe with no injuries and currently staying with a relative in the Whitestone area.
Local businesses, including 57’s All American Grill in Flushing, and community organizations, such as the We Love Whitestone civic association, have donated funds, gift cards and essentials such as clothing and home supplies to help the family rebuild their lives. The family’s local school, P.S. 193, as well as Kiddie Academy in Whitestone, have rallied in support of the family and helped collect donations.
“It can happen to any of us,” said neighbor Grace Agostino, a Whitestone resident and publisher of Macaroni KID for Bayside-Northeast Queens. “We need to help them move forward. No donation is too small — even a like, comment or share to really help amplify the story.”
Liz Serrano, a close friend of Christina, recalled the moment she found out about the fire that ravaged the Reynoso family’s home. She said a friend of hers recognized the address after receiving a notification on the Citizen app, which provides notifications of 911 calls in real time. Serrano began calling Christina, but her calls kept going to voicemail. “I immediately got scared,” she said.
Serrano called Christina’s boyfriend, who was with the family during the fire, and said Christina was hysterically crying. “She couldn’t speak,” she said. “It was just terrible.”
Luckily, the community quickly organized donations to support the Reynoso family. Lucas Russo, a friend of Christina’s 13-year-old son, Ayden Reynoso, started a GoFundMe immediately after learning of the fire. As of Jan. 2, the fundraiser has collected over $48,000, and they are still collecting donations here.
“Ayden is my dear friend, and seeing his family go through this has been incredibly hard,” Lucas wrote on GoFundMe. “They are now left to rebuild their lives from scratch, without even the basic necessities. The emotional and financial toll is immense, and they need our help to get through this difficult time.”
Serrano said while she was not directly impacted by the fire, it’s been tough for her to watch her friend go through such a difficult time. She said she’s been doing all she can to support Christina and do whatever it takes to make things easier for the family.
“She’s an awesome person, and to see something so tragic happening to her was very sad for me, as well,” Serrano said. “I try to be a good friend and get as much help for her as I can.”
She has been reposting links and other information on her own social media account, trying to reach as many people as possible to collect more donations. As a result of everyone’s effort, Serrano said, the family received a flood of donations, including clothing and other emergency items that are providing immediate relief.
Teresa Reid, the events coordinator for the Bayside Little League, said she and her husband, Jonathan Reid, sprung into action after learning of the fire via Councilwoman Vickie Paladino’s account on X. While Reid said she doesn’t personally know the family, she understands how difficult it must be for Christina because she herself is a mother of young children.
“It’s so heartbreaking,” Reid said. “I mean, on Christmas Day, the kids woke up and Santa came. That’s everything that’s gone.”
That’s when Jonathan called his father, Bob Reid, who is the president of the little league, and asked about writing a check to the family to be used for anything they might need. Bob consulted with the little league board, Reid said, which unanimously agreed to donate funds to the family.
However, Reid took it a step further and suggested the little league host a donation drive to collect gift cards for the family to be used for immediate needs, such as food and toiletries, since they don’t have access to a kitchen to cook their own meals.
Members of the little league and the Whitestone community dropped off their donations at the little league’s storage unit on Dec. 30, collecting over $1,000 in gift cards from local businesses and individuals. Reid said she is also awaiting donations from a few families who are away for the holidays and gave funds alternatively, which she will use to purchase one large gift card.
Reid said she hopes the gift cards will help the family feel as though they can buy new personal belongings so they can feel they are reclaiming parts of their lives. “You know, you want your own stuff too,” she said. “The kids need their own new things to kind of feel like they’re coming back and rebuilding their lives.”
Grace Agostino said she learned of the fire because one of her sons is a volunteer firefighter and received a notification of a fire on 147th Street, which Agostino and her three children used to live on. “I couldn’t imagine this happening in my own house,” she said. “We would literally be homeless.”
Agostino said she first donated funds on GoFundMe, which she continues to promote on her own social media accounts, before she went shopping for Christina’s 5-year-old daughter the day after Christmas.
“I have a daughter, and I thought I had all these clothes in my basement,” Agostino explained. “You know, when something devastating happens, it’s not enough. You feel compelled to save these people and do whatever you can.”
She said she also visited Duck Donuts in College Point and Taco Azul in Whitestone, which both donated gift cards to support the family. As a member of Macaroni KID, Agostino also promised any business that donates at least $100 in gift cards free advertising space on the publisher’s website and social channels for the month of January.
“It’s just been a wonderful community outpouring,” Agostino said. “It just goes to show that when New Yorkers are pulled together through something so tragic, we really come through for each other. It’s very important.”
She stressed that not everyone has to donate $100 to help, and even just $5 from many donors adds up. “There’s power in numbers, right?” she said.
Reid, Agostino and Serrano credited Councilwoman Vickie Paladino for her efforts resharing the GoFundMe link and spreading the word of the little league’s donation drive. They emphasized the importance of Paladino’s involvement in the community as one of the biggest factors in raising the amount of funds and donations as they did.
“Once again, District 19 has delivered exceptional results,” Paladino wrote on her X account, sharing a photo of the family smiling together on Dec. 29. “The family is deeply grateful.”
Community donors said it will take a long time for the Reynoso family to rebuild, and it could be years before they can return home. That is why, Agostino said, it’s important for the community to keep up the effort. “The momentum and community outpouring was just so touching,” Agostino said. “I’m like, we have to keep going and essentially try our best to make these people whole.”
“Anything that we can do to help people in the community is what Bayside Little League is all about,” Reid added. “We love being able to help them in the small amount that we could.”
As of now, Serrano said the family would most benefit from gift card donations to restaurants and other food services such as UberEats since they don’t currently have access to a kitchen. Anyone interested in donating a gift card can email Reid at TeresaMonte821@gmail.com.
