Renowned Chef Daniel Boulud drops off a gourmet meal and jokes with a resident of Stuyvesant Town. The visit highlighted the Citymeals-on-Wheels program which helps to get food to homebound and elderly.

Downtown Getting Back to Business
The Downtown Alliance has made it their mission to mold and maintain Lower Manhattan as a world-leading central business district of today. The devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy pushed this organization to launch the Back to Business Small Business Grant Program that is now able to provide grant distribution for the first time. “Small businesses have been instrumental in the success of Lower Manhattan as a premier destination to live, work and visit, and so it has been vitally important to come to their aid during this period,” said Liz Berger, the president of Downtown Alliance.

As a result, small businesses located in Flood Zone A below Chambers Street, including a nail salon, dry cleaners and wine shop, have been awarded $266,000 in grants and $120,000 in deferred grants. These businesses were the first to apply on the first-come, first-serve basis, and were certainly not the last. The period for small businesses to submit a grant application ended Dec. 13, but all applications received after will be held and processed if funds are still available.

Contributors to the grant fund include Goldman Sachs, Trinity Church, Citibank, the Durst Organization, Howard Hughes Corp., AT&T New York and Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation, CB Richard Ellis, the FiDi Association, Platinum Properties and real estate brokerage firm Cushman & Wakefield.

Sen. Squadron Presses for State Gun Control
New York state Sen. Daniel Squadron has strongly advocated for gun restriction legislation throughout his time in Albany. In light of the unimaginable tragedy in Newtown, Conn., other politicians are now joining the fight. Squadron announced last week that the special legislation session he had called in October to pass essential gun control laws may soon be taking place. After thanking Gov. Cuomo and fellow colleagues pushing the cause, Squadron said in a statement, “A package of common-sense measures—including my bill to crack down on assault weapons, as well as critical background checks and limits on guns sales, and the vital crime-solving tool of microstamping—would create the basic protections we need to truly save lives.” He added that the military-style weapon used in the Newtown attack would be banned if his assault weapons bill were passed.

In a statement issued in October, Squadron had called for stronger legislation before another murder could be committed with an assault weapon. “There is simply no reason for a civilian to carry these types of high-powered weapon,” he said. “Before another drop of blood is spilled and another innocent life is lost, New York’s Legislature must do our job and pass these bills.”

An Early Christmas Feast
Last week, New York chef Daniel Boulud and chefs from his finest restaurants teamed up with Citymeals-on-Wheels to make sure the elderly confined to their homes could taste a bit of gourmet comfort this holiday season. On Dec. 20, elderly residents of Stuyvesant Town affected by Hurricane Sandy opened their doors, and mouths, to meals of expertly prepared shepherd’s pie, beef ravioli with carrot confit, coq au vin with pasta, braised lamb with polenta and cassoulet Toulousain.

The meals—300 in total—were prepared by Boulud and his team, who volunteered to help make Christmas extra-special this year. Joining Chef Boulud was William Cox, Bar Boulud; Aaron Chambers, Boulud Sud; Gavin Kaysen, Café Boulud; Eddy Leroux, Daniel; Jean Baptiste Alexandre, DB Bistro; Eli Collins, DBGB; Beth Shapiro, executive director of Citymeals-on-Wheels; and Robert Grimes, Citymeals-on-Wheels board member.

“As a professional chef, I have the privilege of cooking for food-loving guests every night, but Citymeals provides the opportunity to share my passion with those who are less fortunate,” Boulud said.

Citymeals-on-Wheels will continue to provide nourishment and companionship through the weekend and on Christmas Day, supplying over 7,455 meals and 14,694 “Season’s Greetings” boxes to elderly residents throughout the city when many senior centers are closed.

Compiled by Jessica Mastronardi

German-American Steuben Parade
The 55th annual Steuben Parade will hit the Upper East Side on Saturday, Sept. 15, at 12 noon, traveling up Fifth Avenue from 68th to 86th streets. The parade marks the finale of a week of German-American heritage festivities around the city. Other events include a pub crawl of German watering holes in Manhattan on Sept. 8, a Kinderfest for kids on Sept. 13, and a three-course dinner and lecture about Baron von Steuben at the historic Fraunces Tavern downtown. The day before the parade, there will be a welcome ceremony and gala, and after the parade, Oktoberfest kicks off in Central Park at the Summerstage Area, near the East 72nd Street entrance, with exclusively German beers on tap, musical acts and a traditional “strong man” contest. Zion St. Mark’s Church, at 339 East 84th St., will also be holding a fundraiser after the parade, with beer, bratwurst, German potato salad, sauerkraut and their famous butter cake, for a $5 fee. Visit www.germanparadenyc.org.

Madison Ave. Support Charity
A group of restaurants on Madison Avenue is teaming up with Citymeals-on-Wheels to offer discounts to diners that will also benefit the organization that delivers meals to homebound elderly throughout the city. Sponsored by the Madison Avenue Business Improvement District, the event will allow people to donate $64 in exchange for a “Take Two” restaurant pass, which can be redeemed for two-for-one cocktails or desserts for the entire month of September at participating restaurants. Each donation supports an Emergency Food Package with 77 non-perishable food items, and 100 percent of the proceeds will go toward the delivery of meals to the 16,500 homebound elderly New Yorkers who rely on Citymeals. Participating restaurants include Café Boulud, The Carlyle Restaurant, Serafina Osteria and Bistro Chat Noir, among many others. To purchase a pass, visit citymeals.org/TakeTwo.

Bike riders power their way up 122nd Street during the 2012 Grant’s Tomb Criterium bicycle race on March 10.

CHARITY RACE FOR 4-YEAR-OLD WITH RARE DISEASE

Hundreds of Upper West Siders came out last Sunday to support 4-year-old Rafaella “Rafi” Lily Kopelan, running a 5K in her honor through Riverside Park. Kopelan was diagnosed with a rare genetic connective tissue disorder called epidermolysis bullosa (EB), a disease that makes it difficult for skin to produce collagen, leading to skin separation, painful blisters and open wounds.

Young people with the disease are known as butterfly children because their skin is so fragile, much like the wings of a butterfly. Kopelan is only the eighth child in the world to undergo a clinical trial stem cell transplant to treat her EB, which has allowed her body to produce the necessary protein she was unable to produce before the procedure.

At Sunday’s event, State Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal presented Kopelan with a resolution proclaiming March 11 Butterfly Children Awareness Day.

“I decided to sponsor this resolution after learning about Rafi’s courage and the strength of her parents, Jackie and Brett, who have become incredible advocates on a crusade for a cure,” Rosenthal said.

“We are so happy and proud to live among such a supportive group of people,” said Jackie Kopelan, her mother. “Rafi’s Run would never have been so successful had it not been for places like Montclare Children’s School [which Kopelan attends], the first place that made her feel like everyone else. It is our hope that events like Rafi’s Run will raise enough awareness to eventually end epidermolysis bullosa, the worst disease you never heard of.”

LOCAL STATE SENATOR EYEING CONGRESS

State Sen. Adriano Espaillat, who represents portions of the Upper West Side as well as upper Manhattan and a section of the Bronx, has announced the formation of an exploratory committee for a congressional campaign. Espaillat had been rumored to be considering a run for the national seat if a district emerged with a heavily Latino population; he has been a vocal proponent for the creation of just such a district.

“This is a historic opportunity for the state of New York to send a clear and unmistakable message that the growth of the Latino community demands that our government reflect our diversity,” Espaillat said in a statement.

He said he was not announcing which district he would run for, even though federal judge Roanne Mann’s recently released maps would place Espaillat’s Washington Heights district in Rep. Charlie Rangel’s redrawn 13th congressional district.

Blacks and Latinos in Albany are pushing back against the maps, criticizing them for not accurately representing the diversity of New York City. “While it’s premature to target one particular district, given the fact that final district lines have not been settled, launching this exploratory committee is an important step in making sure we are ready when the final district lines are established,” Espaillat said.

Espaillat served in the state Assembly for 14 years, becoming the first Dominican-American to be elected to a state legislature, before winning his seat in the state Senate.

UWS WINE SHOP FIGHTS STATE BILL

WIGS, or Wine in Grocery Stores, may not be on the legislative agenda this year, but many liquor stores across New York still have reason to complain about Albany. City & State reports that Upper West Side wine shop Pour has been urging customers to rally against a budget amendment that would end the practice of warehousing liquor in other states before distributing to local stores and restaurants.

Wine sellers claim the amendment, proposed by State Sen. George Maziarz and Assemblyman Joe Lentol, is an attempt to drive them out of business by the state’s two biggest liquor distributors, Southern Wine & Spirits and Empire Merchants, who already have their storage facilities within state lines.

“Imagine a landscape with only the two largest wholesalers remaining to work with, when today there are in excess of 50,” read an email Pour sent to its customers. “Selections would become painfully limited. Prices would most certainly rise. Service would plummet.”

A spokeswoman for Lentol said the intent of the bill was to level the playing field for New York and its neighboring states, but that the assemblyman would take another look at the data before making a final decision.

BREWER HOLDS FRESH FOOD FORUM

City Council Member Gale Brewer hosted a meeting this Monday with a number of Upper West Side interests to discuss how to get more fresh, local food into homes, organizations and senior centers. One of the major participants was GrowNYC, a nonprofit that works with many of the city’s greenmarkets, and representatives from other groups like Citymeals-on-Wheels, City Harvest, local food banks and senior centers made up the about 40 people who had a productive conversation about where fresh food is most needed and how to get it there, Brewer said.

Some possibilities that emerged from the meeting included delivering bags of produce to drop-off points for seniors to purchase at low cost, about $7, as well as setting up cooking and nutrition classes in the community, organizing bus trips to and tours of farmer’s markets, and getting more locally sourced food to senior center kitchens. “We asked, ‘How do you get affordable fresh food to the neighborhoods?’ and we’re going to be the first to do that,” Brewer said. One of the next steps for the initiative is to work with the city and the Department for the Aging to expand the possible reach of the nascent fresh food programs.