Lending a helping hand to the true heroes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Tuesday, April 21, the New York Friars Club and broadcaster Larry King teamed up with local favorite eatery L&B Spumoni Gardens, 2725 86th St. and delivered 150 meals to frontline healthcare workers at Maimonides Medical Center, 4802 10th Ave.
Packaged meals of lasagna and spaghetti and meatballs were donated by the Friars Club.
In addition, the Task Force of the Diocese of Brooklyn also delivered 100,000 surgical masks to hospital staff.
King, a Brooklyn native who has held the top post at the Friars Club since 2013, discussed the importance of giving back to essential workers that are attempting to save lives while putting their own on the line.
“My heart will always be in New York and, on behalf of my fellow Friars, we wanted to express our enormous gratitude to the men and women who are on the front lines, at great personal risk to themselves, to care for and support their fellow New Yorkers battling this terrible disease,” he said. “As a Brooklyn boy, I can tell you there’s nothing better than a nice hot meal from Spumoni’s and I hope all of the healthcare workers enjoy it – they earned it. I also want to express how touched I am by the volunteers at the Diocese of Brooklyn for stepping up to the plate to help make this delivery happen.”
They were picked up at the restaurant by members of the Emergency Task Force of the Diocese of Brooklyn and delivered to the hospital’s emergency department.
Dr. Lawrence Hainesm, a senior emergency room physician at Maimonides, stated how important these efforts of kindness are to the staff.
“Our medical staff is working all day, every day, in extremely challenging conditions,”he said. “Many days, our doctors and nurses barely have a minute to think about feeding ourselves because the demands on us are so great. Gestures such as a hot, delicious meal in the middle of a shift go a long way towards providing needed sustenance and a psychological boost to know that so many fellow New Yorkers are thinking of us.”
He also thanked the Friars Club, L&B and the Emergency Task Force of the Diocese of Brooklyn for, “making our day a little brighter.”
Chef at L&B Spumoni Gardens Larry Kern explained how the act of goodwill came to fruition.
“When Larry King called on behalf of the Friars Club and asked if we could work together on delivering meals to the medical workers who are helping keep our fellow New Yorkers safe during this crisis, we were thrilled to help,” he said. “We hope everyone enjoyed it and they continue to have our full support.”
“It's heartwarming to see one of the world's most beloved Jewish personalities come together with the Friars Club and reach out to an Italian restaurant to then have the food delivered by The Arch Dioceses of Brooklyn, to a Jewish Hospital, “added Chairman of the Emergency Task Force of the Diocese of Brooklyn Vincent LeVein.
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