Ridge residents dig deep to help Wounded Warrior

Thanks to the generosity of area residents and businesses, the effort to build a smart house for a Wounded Warrior is $20,000 closer to the finish line.

A cocktail party at Hunter’s Steak & Ale House, on Fourth Avenue at 94th Street, brought in that much and more for the Tunnel to Towers Foundation’s campaign to create an accessible home for SPC Bryan Dilberian, a graduate of Fort Hamilton High School who lost both legs and one arm after a roadside bomb exploded near him while he was serving with the U.S. Army in Afghanistan.

“You are sending a big message tonight to Bryan, his mother and his family,” Frank Siller, the chairperson of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, told the crowd. “Our responsibility, whether we served or didn’t serve, is to make sure to give Bryan the house he deserves. He paid a big price for his country.”

“It’s remarkable that all of you are here tonight,” remarked Colonel Michael Gould, the commander of Fort Hamilton. “We are so appreciative of the citizens of Bay Ridge and how you support the military and veterans. It’s an honor to serve here and be among so many friends. Bryan’s story is profound and it represents so many other stories of veterans who have given so much over the past 10 years.”

“There are thousands of them,” added Mary Jane Dilberian, Bryan’s mother, who spent time at Walter Reed Medical Center as her son began recovering from his grievous wounds. “You go from ward to ward to ward, and you see all these boys, and you just want to help them all.”

As for Bryan, she said, “I don’t know what his future holds but with everybody’s support, I know he is going to have a wonderful life. We are so very grateful.”

A standing-room-only crowd filled the restaurant, which charged nothing to hold the event in its space. All the food served was cooked and donated by Monsignor Jamie Gigantiello, who was the celebrity chef for the evening.

“Remember him, his family and all those who have given of themselves emotionally and physically,” Gigantiello said. “There are many young men and women on the front lines helping us preserve our freedoms that we at times take for granted.”

“This is Brooklyn at its best,” stressed Siller, “people coming together like this for a hometown hero.”

The effort to raise the $200,000-plus necessary to construct the home was kicked off on Valentine’s Day by students at Visitation Academy, who raised more than $4,000 for the cause through a bake sale.

The fundraising is ongoing. The Home Reporter and Brooklyn Spectator will be raising money for the effort to help Dilberian at the papers’ next big event, celebrating Top Women in Business, on June 21, from 6 to 9 p.m. at the New York Marriott at Brooklyn Bridge, 333 Adams Street, in Downtown Brooklyn.