“Wind gusts today accelerate the brush fire risk.” This was the Good Friday and first day of Passover morning radio weather warning.

For several years I’ve wished high wind gust warnings stressed the danger to walkers whose balance is not stable, especially in a city with a great many elders. Not that we can gentle the wind, nor should the vulnerable remain homebound, but we can (if enough of us try) make the able-bodied aware of this danger and routinely—yes, even gladly—offer a helping hand.

Whatever happened to Boy Scouts helping old folks cross the street? And how to revive Hubert Humphrey’s core belief that “the impersonal hand of government can never replace the helping hand of a neighbor”? But we must demand that government make streets safer to cross!

Shouldn’t faith groups be on the vanguard of advancing this down-to-earth, “love one another” type of helpfulness? There’s a lesson from Deacon Susan, who gave me a helping hand to and from the Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church Easter service. The intergenerational talk we shared was mutually helpful.

Here’s praying that this kind of helpfulness in one’s own congregation becomes even more of a norm—and in civic groups, too.

Incidentally, this column couldn’t be a stronger advocate for the worth and growth of faith and civic endeavors, but they’re never above needing some candid critiques.

And this whole society needs some consciousness-raising about those wind gust warnings, which last Friday were personally poignant because a valued neighbor had just died from complications resulting from a wind-related fall. And yes, Larry was “up in years” and suffered other health problems, but had it not been for the fall, he likely had, to quote poet Robert Frost, “miles to go before he [slept].”

Ah, and those many miles already traveled were surely enabled by Larry and Georgette’s sickness-and-health, 55-year marriage. Of course, his family will miss him most profoundly, but his neighbors will miss him keenly for his continued concern for the apartment house that in 1972 was converted from rent control to coop status.

Larry was one of the key tenant organizers who managed to get the asking prices significantly lowered. Non-evict clauses did not exist, and Mary, a Holocaust survivor, and widowed Helen, age 80, were among those who most reluctantly moved because they either could not afford to buy or feared future unaffordable maintenance hikes.

An original board officer, Larry was the kind of person that co-op and condo dwellers always hope to elect, one with extensive and common-sense business smarts and a genuine concern for the common good, like keeping down costs without jeopardizing the building’s integrity. This, he believed, kept the proprietary lease’s promise that “the primary purpose of the corporation is to provide homes.”

Although long off the board, his continued interest included letters to tenants recommending board candidates. Whatever the outcome, old lion Larry would at meetings roar (civilly, of course) for or against board actions. He also offered ideas and praise.

Larry and his family were good neighbors—truly neighborly. And don’t we need that.

We won’t forget you, Larry, nor will the building staff for which you had the greatest respect and affection.

And now—whew!—to keep advancing all of the above not-impossible dreams, which can be done if enough of us share them. I hope you will.

dewingbetter@aol.com

Where To Eat In Manhattan On March 17

St. Patrick’s Day is one of my family’s favorite holidays! With a last name like Sullivan, how could it not be? Whether or not you intend to check out the parade–here are a few pubs in Manhattan where you can get some Irish grub that also welcome kids with special menus!  

Dublin6 – This fun restaurant and lounge in the West Village is open for dinner 7 days a week and brunch on the weekends. With Irish owners and an Irish chef, the Corned Beef and Cabbage and Beef & Guinness Pie is sure to please the most ascertaining Irish appetites.

Walkers - When we lived downtown, Walkers was OUR place for my husband to satisfy his Irish cravings on St. Patty’s day. The tables are covered with paper and the kids are welcomed with cups of crayons. This is a TRUE Irish bar so GET THERE EARLY if you want to avoid the over-served.

Jack Demsey’s - Adjacent to the Empire State building, Jack Demsey’s is a real Irish bar that features such authentic menu items (for the adults) as Bangers and Mash, Shepard’s Pie and Beef and Irish Stout Pie. With 12 tvs, you can be sure some Irish sports will be on. And we bet parade revelers will be sure to make this a stop.

To read more visit newyorkfamily.com.

The owners of Walker’s, Tribeca’s favorite neighborhood eatery at the corner of North Moore and Varick streets, are rolling out an Italian alternative to their American fare next door at the new pizzeria Girello (“Walker” in Italian, posing a potential confusion for the multilingual).

“This is a real departure for us,” said Gerard Walker, co-owner of the eponymous restaurant. “We’ve been the neighborhood regular for the last 30 years, so we decided it was time to become the neighborhood Neapolitan thin-crust pizza joint as well. We love the idea of evoking the same warmth with varying cuisines—that’s why we created Girello.”

Whereas Walker’s has all of the ambiance of a nostalgic American saloon, Girello has been decorated with a decidedly European feel—it looks like a simple, clean trattoria in a fading southern Italian town. “We had the option of expanding Walker’s into the space,” co-owner Scott Perez said, “but we thought it’d be fun to create the same sort of friendly environment using superior products, just different flavors.”

Walker and his partners, Perez and Martin Sheridan, first opened Walker’s three decades ago and have enjoyed steady, prosperous business there ever since. The secret to their success? “Err on the side of the customer,” Walker confided. “New York restaurant customers are the best in the world. If you treat them well and serve them quality food, they’ll return. Never ever take them for granted.”

Walker says it’s the customers who keep him in the business. “I have the opportunity every single day to make somebody’s night special. A customer I haven’t seen in a while will come in, and I’ll say, ‘Where ya been?’ And he’ll look at me like he can’t believe anybody would remember him. You make someone’s day like that. How many people get to show up to work and do that?”

Perez is quick to add that it’s not just the customers that keep Walker’s (and soon Girello) in business, it’s also the staff. “There’s such a joy and an instant gratification in working with people who understand how to treat customers well,” he said.  When the restaurant was the only spot in the neighborhood that remained open during Hurricane Irene, both men agreed it was the combined goodwill of the staff and customers that made the experience such an enriching one.

Girello may have missed the hurricane, but the new restaurant has not been without its own complications. The toughest aspect of opening the new joint? “Perfecting the dough,” Walker said. “For water, yeast and flour, there’s a lot that can go wrong before you get it right. We actually had emails from chefs all over the city writing in about ‘dough behaviors.’ Luckily, we mastered it. We mastered the dough.”

And dough there is in abundance. With nearly 30 toppings to choose from and the choice of either a margherita or white base, Girello is the controlling pizza-topper’s dream. When pressed for a favorite combination of flavors, both Perez and Walker are without answers. “Nah,” Perez said. “It’s all good. It all comes from the same dough, right?”

Also on offer are a handful of Italian and Italian-American sandwiches (including the New Orleans-style muffuletta), salads and appetizers; look out especially for the pancetta wrapped shrimp and the oven roasted P.E.I. mussels. And in true Walker’s style, Girello offers plenty of alcohol to wash down a meal—a selection of Italian wines and a more international choice of beer, including Peroni and Heineken, along with specialty brews like Victory Hop Devil IPA and Ommegang Witte.

“It’s all just been a lot of fun,” Walker said with a glow. “Opening Girello now has reminded me of what it felt like to open Walker’s all those years ago—makes me feel like a young man again. Maybe that’s what we mean when we say Walker’s is the sort of place that makes the old feel young and the young feel like they’ve been there forever. Judging by the way I feel, Girello is following that tradition.”

Girello, 16 N. Moore St. (betw. N. Moore & Varick Sts.), 212-941-0109; 11 a.m.–11 p.m.