One year since the pandemic forced New York to a screeching halt, generous members of the real estate and architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) community have rallied to speed local recovery by raising over $65,000 from 55 unique contributors in less than one month to support local restaurants, essential workers and New Yorkers struggling to put food on the table.
In December 2020, Bonnie Pfleiderer of Ryan Soames Engineering was inspired to give back to New York City health care workers by donating meals through Feed the Frontlines NYC in lieu of her company’s yearly holiday party, to support local restaurants. Ms. Pfleiderer, having felt that she could help the cause even more, organized and brought together her friends and top leaders within the New York City real estate and A/E/C industry to further Feed the Frontlines NYC’s mission during the second wave of the pandemic and at a critical time for New York City’s recovery. Together, they launched an executive committee called Friends of Feed the Frontlines on February 1, 2021. The committee surpassed their $50,000 goal in less than one month, securing over 3,600 restaurant meals for New Yorkers.
“We are completely humbled by the incredible donations that have poured in from all across our industry. I must thank our executive committee who didn’t hesitate and went above and beyond to complete the mission: our co-chair Meagan Bianco, Sarah Berman – The Berman Group, Joe Bolano – Colliers Project Leaders, Antonina Caruso – JRM Construction Management, Debra Cole – HLW International, Bridget Cunningham – Vornado Realty Trust, Morgan Gorospe – Corgan, Frances Graham – Newmark, Sofia Juperius – Paramount Group, Morgan Patterson – MASHstudios and Tony Pagano – MGI International. Because of your hard work, our efforts have helped so many people.”
Friends of Feed the Frontlines co-chair Bonnie Pfleiderer
Top donors including Reidy Contracting Group, LLC and Sciame Construction have each donated $5,000 to further the mission, pushing the committee well past its $50,000 goal. These companies faced losses and challenges of their own over this past year, but they graciously stepped up to support those who have sacrificed the most and who fought each day on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pat Reidy, President of Reidy Contracting Group said, “We are grateful to be part of the Feed the Frontlines initiative, which is doing such critical work for our city during such a challenging time. We are proud to come together with others in our industry to support such an important cause.”
Frank Sciame, CEO & Joseph Mizzi, President; Sciame Construction, LLC said, “When called on, we act. As a company with a 45-year history of building throughout NYC, we know what’s most important to New York and to New Yorkers. One of those things is to stand in partnership with our peers supporting great efforts such as Friends of Feed the Frontlines.”
Isabella Di Pietro, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Feed the Frontlines NYC, said, “We are so grateful to Friends of Feed the Frontlines and all the generous contributors from the real estate and AEC industries for supporting our work during this critical time. Their support means we can continue to help our hardest-hit restaurants, essential workers and community members weather the devastating impacts of this pandemic. We know this past year has been incredibly challenging across industries – so we are especially grateful to everyone who has stepped up to support our efforts.”
So far, Friends of Feed the Frontlines has raised enough to provide over 3,600 meals for essential workers and New Yorkers experiencing food insecurity. To date, Feed the Frontlines NYC has helped deliver 165,000 meals across New York City and brought 140 restaurant workers back on the job as a direct result of their efforts. From individual acts of generosity to collective efforts like Friends of Feed the Frontlines, this is a story of a chain reaction: community members inspiring one another to step up during these difficult times and creating hope for better days ahead.
About Feed the Frontlines NYC:
Feed the Frontlines NYC is a grassroots organization creating opportunities for local restaurants to deliver free, nourishing meals to essential workers and New Yorkers facing food insecurity. The organization was founded on March 19, 2020 in response to New York City’s first shut-down, which forced local restaurants to close their doors except for take-out and delivery as health care workers battled the virus in NYC hospitals. By empowering restaurants to feed their communities, Feed the Frontlines NYC helps small businesses keep their staff employed and weather the uncertainty of the pandemic. Feed the Frontlines NYC envisions a future in which local restaurants play a larger role in feeding their neighbors in need. They are New Yorkers feeding New Yorkers and putting New Yorkers back to work. www.feedthefrontlinesnyc.org
About Friends of Freed the Frontlines: As New York’s real estate community was reeling from pandemic shut-downs, founder of MGI Construction and long-time customer of Feed the Frontlines NYC’s founding restaurant, Tarallucci e Vino, jumped in to support the new organization, delivering thousands of meals alongside his wife Ivett Pagano for 60 consecutive days. Videos and photographs of smiling restaurant workers, health care heroes and families inspired Bonnie Pfleiderer of Ryan Soames Engineering to donate meals to the emergency room at Northwell Health in lieu of her company’s yearly holiday party. Together, co-chairs Bonnie Pfleiderer and Meagan Bianco, Sarah Berman – The Berman Group, Joe Bolano – Colliers Project Leaders, Antonina Caruso – JRM Construction Management, Debra Cole – HLW International, Bridget Cunningham – Vornado Realty Trust, Morgan Gorospe – Corgan, Frances Graham – Newmark, Sofia Juperius – Paramount Group, Morgan Patterson – MASHstudios and Tony Pagano – MGI International raised over $65,000 to directly support local restaurants while providing over 3,600 meals to New Yorkers on the frontlines of the pandemic and its economic fall-out. https://www.feedthefrontlinesnyc.org/friends-of-ftf-executive-committee
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