Fire Destroys Grand Street Studio of ‘Jewish Moments’ Radio Host Nachum Segal
Photo: Kristen Bearse
The Lower East Side studio of Jewish radio personality Nachum Segal went up in flames Sunday.
The workspace, located on the second floor of 551 Grand Street, was destroyed in the fire. Published reports indicate that the cause may have been electrical.
For the last twenty years until its destruction on Sunday, the space had been headquarters for the eponymous Nachum Segal Network, where Segal hosted the popular local radio show, “Jewish Moments in the Morning.” Nicknamed as “JM in the AM,” the show was previously broadcast on Jersey City’s WFMU until 2016, but now streams on Segal’s own platforms.
Equipment and memorabilia burned up. However, Segal reportedly salvaged a 20-volume scrapbook showcasing his career and the network’s growth over the years was salvaged in the fire. “We lost mostly everything,” he told the Forward. “All the equipment is destroyed and a lot of the memorabilia is going to be missed, but that multi-volume scrapbook is really important to me and I’m glad it survived.”
Support for Segal is strong, though, especially as he promises to return. A crowdfunding campaign via Causematch already reached nearly $100k as of this morning, with the money earmarked toward rebuilding and replacing what was lost.
“I look forward to using the funds to build and rebuild a really beautiful, state of the art studio,” he told the publication. “One that is befitting the mission that we’re on, one that we can take great pride in.”
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