Los Angeles fire victims benefit concert held at Amityville Music Hall

Nearly 3,000 miles from the devastation of the Southern California wildfires, New Hyde Park native Mike Fishkin felt the need to help after temporarily leaving Los Angeles.

That led to a benefit concert Sunday at the Amityville Music Hall. Roughly 20 people attended the "Riffs 4 Recovery" concert, which was presented by the internet-based Idobi Radio. All proceeds from the show are going to Project HOPE, an organization that has been helping in California by distributing hygiene kits, masks and water, among other assistance.

“It was super important for me to do this concert on Long Island because I’m originally from here, and I have so much roots in the Long Island music scene here,” said Fishkin, who is host of the "Gone Fishkin" show on Idobi Radio.

The concert hopes to be a balm in the aftermath of the deadly blazes. At least 27 people have died in the Palisades and Eaton fires. More than 80,000 people have been asked to evacuate their homes, and more than 12,000 structures have been turned to ruin.

Fishkin fled his Los Angeles apartment after the fires took hold on Jan.7. His apartment was OK, but he was concerned about the long-term impacts of the poor air quality. His father, Stu, was a first responder during 9/11 and died of a cancer related to the disaster, so he didn’t want to chance it.

“It was just a very precautionary measure, because it was one of those things where it was like, this won’t affect me in a week, won’t affect me in two weeks. It’s like, 10 years down the line, I’m gonna be like, ‘Why do I feel like this?’ ” he said.

But even from afar, Fishkin, who is also vice president of events and marketing for Idobi Radio, wanted to help Los Angeles by putting his skill set and love of music to use. He reached out to friends who worked at the music hall, who wanted to do something to help those impacted by the fires but didn’t have a plan solidified. He also spoke to musicians he knew to be part of Sunday's show. Fishkin is also working on other events to help the victims of the fires, including an Idobi Radio livestream and a benefits concert in Los Angeles.

But Sunday’s show was a way to get his native Long Island to be of assistance to his new home in Los Angeles.

Concert attendee Jessica Fisher said the concert was for “a really good cause.”

“I mean, the California wildfires are terrible, and I’ve got a bunch of friends out there, and when I heard that they were raising money for it, I was like, I have to go,” said Fisher, who lives in Queens.

Inside, several acts performed in an acoustic setting, including The Dangerous Summer and Garret Elias. One band performed a song with lyrics saying: “I know you don’t believe you’ll be all right, but I believe in you.”

With AP

By Tiffany Cusaac-Smith

tiffany.cusaac-smith@newsday.com@T_Cusaac

Education: Howard University 

Tiffany Cusaac-Smith came to Newsday in 2023 after being a race and history reporter at USA TODAY, where she wrote enterprise and spot articles examining how the past shapes the present. Previously, she worked as the race and justice reporter at the USA TODAY Network of New York, covering issues such as criminal justice reform, housing, environmental justice, health care and politics. At The Journal News/lohud.com in Westchester County, she covered Yonkers, the state's third-largest city. She also worked at The Associated Press in Atlanta.

Honors and Awards: Criminal justice reporting fellowship with the National Press Foundation;  New York News Publishers Association award for distinguished investigative reporting;  Contributed reporting for Best of Gannett honor; Member of Table Stakes, a program funded by the Knight-Lenfest Local News Transformation Fund and managed by the American Press Institute to transform local news.