By Julie Shapiro
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
TRIBECA — Mayor Michael Bloomberg greeted dozens of homeless families at a festive Christmas Eve lunch in TriBeCa Friday afternoon.
For nearly half an hour, Bloomberg posed for photos with eager children and their grinning parents, making jokes and wishing everyone a Merry Christmas.
"This is a good time to stop in on somebody down the street that you’re not sure [is doing] well, just to say, 'I’m thinking about you,'" Bloomberg told reporters afterward. "It’s the symbolism of caring about people — that’s a lot more important than a gift."
Friday's event marked the 11th year that City Hall Restaurant on Duane Street has opened its doors to hundreds of homeless New Yorkers on Christmas Eve, said Henry Meer, the chef and owner.
The menu this year was black bean soup with cilantro crème fraiche, vanilla sweet potatoes, roasted turkey and cranberry sauce, plus red velvet cake for dessert. In between the tables, kids ran about underfoot and danced when Jay-Z's "Empire State of Mind" blasted over the speakers.
"It’s the right thing to do," Meer, 55, said as he watched a line of volunteers ferry plates to and from the kitchen. "The kids get to eat here just like the mayor eats here — on china. It’s important for somebody to say, 'I care.' And that’s what these volunteers do."
Bloomberg has stopped by the Christmas Eve lunch every year since he became mayor, Meer said.
As Bloomberg circulated through the room Friday, he paused to teach one young girl how to use a fork and knife to cut her turkey, and he joked with a group of middle-aged women that he likes to come to City Hall restaurant but worries about staying in shape.
"On TV he looks very businessman-ish," said one of the women, Sandra Moore, 56, from the Bronx. "But he’s a very approachable person. He smiles a lot."
Thavenif McClary, 55, an employment specialist at a Chinatown shelter, said the annual event means a lot to her clients.
"These families, some of them never have the opportunity to go into a restaurant like this," McClary said. "Especially this time of year, people feel depressed that they’re living in a shelter. This makes them feel special, like somebody cares."
