By Patrick Hedlund
DNAinfo News Editor
LOWER EAST SIDE — A group of seniors left without gas at their public housing complex since last month won't have to rely on hot plates to cook their Easter meals this year.
A pair of neighborhood organizations have teamed up with a Little Italy restaurant to serve Easter Sunday meals to 100 elderly residents of the Alfred E. Smith Houses who have gone without cooking gas at their building for the past three weeks.
Since Holy Week for Christians culminates on Easter Sunday, the Two Bridges Neighborhood Council and Hamilton-Madison House decided to reach out to Mulberry Street standby S.P.Q.R Restaurant to ask about purchasing meals for the seniors living at the 20 Catherine Slip building.
The restaurant responded by contributing the meals for free, based on its relationship with Two Bridges president Victor Papa.
"Easter Sunday is a real important family day for feasting," said Papa, who found out about the gas outage, which has affected 170 units in the building, only a couple of days ago.
"They have hot plates they can cook on, but that's not what an Easter meal that were accustomed to can be made on."
A corroded gas line at the property led Con Edison to shut off gas to the building, an NYC Housing Authority spokesperson said, noting that the agency expects the utility to be restored by the first week of May.
S.P.Q.R. banquet manager Mike Ahmed explained that the restaurant's owner didn't think twice about offering up the feast for free after hearing about the residents' predicament.
"It's out of his heart," he said. "God bless them, happy holiday."
Hamilton-Madison House, a nonprofit tenant advocacy group based on the Lower East Side, then volunteered to host and serve the meal inside it gymnasium at 50 Madison St.
Papa said Two Bridges' involvement helps remind him that less-political issues are just as important as the larger actions neighborhood groups undertake.
"If we lose sight of the basic needs of people, then were kidding ourselves," he said. "This gets us back to reality."
