Phil Nee
Article by Felicia Lin
Photo by AsianInNY.com
On December 11, 2012, seven comedians performed at the Village Pourhouse in New York City’s East Village to raise funds for the Rockaway Waterfront Alliance’s Hurricane Sandy relief efforts.
Felicia Lin
The event was my small way of doing something to help those in the areas hardest hit by Hurricane Sandy. When Hurricane Sandy hit in October, I was out of power for about five days. Living in the Chelsea district of Manhattan, I simply had to walk ten blocks north to get to a zone where there was power. During my days without power, I’d travel to the Upper Westside to work at a public work space with free wi-fi and electrical outlets and visit my yoga studio to get a hot shower. Then at night I’d take a bus home. When the bus reached 27th Street it plunged into complete and utter darkness. It was a bit unsettling to have to walk through these dark blocks to get home, but that was the closest I ever got to being in any sort danger in the aftermath of Sandy. Lucky for me, being without power and hot water turned out to be a really minor inconvenience since my power was restored within a week’s time.
Mark “The Doc” Hertzberg
So many people outside of Manhattan lost so much more and in the aftermath of the storm and I wanted to do something. I noticed many networking events and fundraisers popping up to raise money for the Red Cross, and I thought, I what can I do that’s a bit different? Hearing about all the hardship, devastation and loss that people experienced I thought, what people really need now is to laugh and forget their troubles. That’s where the idea to do a standup comedy show to raise money for Hurricane Sandy relief came from. I called it the “STANDUP to Sandy Comedy Show.” At first I didn’t know how I’d find enough comedians to do the show, but then I realized that I knew two established comedians who’d be able to help. So getting the lineup of standup comedians turned out to be the easy part!
ISMAEL MALDONADO
But then things fell through with the venue just days before the show (which was originally scheduled for November 15), and I found myself scrambling to find a new venue. I had seven comedians committed to performing and several people confirmed to attend! I ended up postponing the event and continued looking for a new venue. I certainly didn’t want all the effort I’d put into the event to be in vain. After considering several different venues, but coming up empty, I realized that I had a personal contact at the Village Pourhouse and booked it for the STANDUP to Sandy Comedy Show on December 11.
CHIP AMBROGIO
It is always so gratifying to able to tap into my network and resources to make events like the STANDUP to Sandy Comedy Show happen, but I really wouldn’t have been able to do it without the help of comedians Tim Davis and Air Tabigue. They not only generously performed but rounded up the following comedians who also performed at the show: Chip Ambrogio, Lisa Harmon, Mark “The Doc” Hertzberg, Ismael Maldonado, and Phil Nee. Special thanks also goes to my promotional partners: LUX Connections, WILLiFEST, and AsianInNY for supporting the event and giving free iPhone 4/4S covers to event attendees.
TIM DAVIS
If you weren’t able to attend the event, there is a video clip up on YouTube courtesy of WILLiFEST with highlights from the show here: http://youtu.be/bzcQ39WkPww
You can still donate to the Rockaway Waterfront Alliance directly via PayPal at their website: http://www.rwalliance.org/rwa/
LISA HARMON
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