Many Restaurants Still Closed, Others Offering Help Near Site of the EV Explosion

The saddest news today from the scene of the East Village explosion is that both people reported missing following the disaster have now been found dead in the rubble of the collapsed Sushi Park. One of those was Moises Ismael Locón Yac, a 27-year-old busboy at cheap sushi restaurant. According to the Times, Locón had moved here seven years ago from Guatemala to make money, and had planned to return there to reunite with his girlfriend later this year. The other victim was the 23-year-old Nicholas Figueroa, who, as previously reported, was on a date at Sushi Park.

Meanwhile, many businesses in the immediate area are still closed until further notice. Jimmy's No. 43 and Burp Castle, which were in the building immediately behind 121 2nd Avenue (the last to collapse) are waiting on the city's approval to reopen:

@michelledozois @annabreslaw thanks for checking in @JimmysNo43 @StandingsNYC @burpcastlele are all ok but our building is closed by city

— jimmy carbone (@jimmypotsandpan) March 30, 2015

Jimmy's reportedly suffered some water damage in the effort to douse the fire, though it's unclear to what extent. Owner Jimmy Carbone is currently asking people to support his beer bar by buying gift certificates, or donating larger sums of money to become a patron (which comes with benefits and access to special events down the road).

Except for Stage, which reopened its ancient lunch counter to diners (including Helen Mirren) just one day after the explosion, despite being behind police barricades, it looks like everything else on that block between 6th Street and 7th Street is still closed. That includes Bar Virage, San Loco, Paul's Da Burger Joint, Taqueria Diana, Ramen Misoya, and B&H Dairy. According to its Facebook page, B&H only just got in to survey the damage yesterday: