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Natalie Musumeci
Brooklyn Daily
This Hurricane Sandy fund-raiser got some Cash — and $14,248!
Hundreds of big-hearted Brooklynites filled the Bell House last Wednesday when Grammy-winning singer-songwriter and country music icon Rosanne Cash headlined a relief show benefitting the storm-battered community of Red Hook.
The money raised goes to Restore Red Hook, an organization that aims to help small businesses in the waterfront community get back on their feet after Sandy’s floodwaters inundated them, destroying equipment and inventory.
Planners of the benefit extravaganza — which featured performances by John Pinamonti, Jesse Lenat, the Brotherhood of the Jug Band Blues, the Whiskey Spitters, Alex Battles and the Whiskey Rebellion and comedian Lizz Winstead — say putting the show together was the least they could do.
“The event was absolutely gorgeous. I’m happy to do anything I can to help,” said Jalopy Theatre owner and event organizer Lynette Wiley. “We are just trying to restore what was lost. We are getting closer, but there is still a long way to go.”
It will take an estimated $2 million for more than 40 Red Hook restaurants, bars, vintage shops, and corner bodegas to reopen their doors, said Wiley.
A powerful four-minute video documenting how the storm crippled the livelihoods of neighborhood business owners and residents was also screened at the benefit, said Wiley.
“It brought tears to some eyes,” she said. “It’s hard to watch the struggle on the faces of your loved ones and neighbors in this tight-knit community where everyone is so close.”
Restore Red Hook has raised more than $169,000 as of Monday.
To make a donation or learn more information visit www.RestoreRedHook.org.