Yanks team up with Harlem housing complex

As the COVID-19 pandemic hit New York City especially hard beginning in March 2020, the elderly was a particularly vulnerable group. With the adverse health effects of the virus disproportionally affecting them, senior citizens had to take the utmost caution and stay indoors in order to protect themselves.

But remaining socially distanced did not prevent them from recognizing the toll the pandemic was taking on their community -- at least not for the leaders of the West 135th Street Apartments Tenant Association in Harlem. A group of women at the federally subsided housing complex noticed that food insecurity was posing an urgent threat to their neighbors, who reside across 10 buildings with nearly 200 units in total. So they decided to do something about it.

The Yankees’ annual HOPE Week continued on Wednesday, as general manager Brian Cashman and former Yanks pitcher and current YES Network broadcaster David Cone made a midday visit to the complex. They delivered 250 meals prepared and packaged by Yankee Stadium dining provider Legends, with the help of Yankees players (pitcher Michael King, pitcher Lucas Luetge, catcher Gary Sánchez and quality control and catching coach Tanner Swanson) and additional support from Ace Endico and Lobel’s.

“It means a lot to be here to make sure the Yankees brand can highlight the 135th Street Tenant Association that has stepped up so big time for their community -- especially during a pandemic when people had less than anything -- to provide the most basic need for human survival, which is food,” Cashman said. “It’s a pleasure and an honor to be here to partner with them today to provide food for the community and to honor them for rising to the occasion when people needed it the most. Because we need more of that every day and those stories have to be told.”

The meals helped further an effort that began last April, when these women partnered with the National Action Network to provide free lunches for the residents in need at their housing complex. Despite the fact that the organization was 10 blocks away and many of their neighbors were between the ages of 65-89 and therefore unable to go in person, the members of the association took it upon themselves to make the trek six days a week and pick up the 200-meal allotment.

After a month of that arrangement, the organization was able to deliver the meals directly to the complex. And with more reinforcements from World Central Kitchen, at the height of the pandemic the association was distributing up to 600 meals a day, aiding those at local shelters and at the YMCA across the street as well.

“In the middle of a pandemic, when people were struggling, people were dying, people were having trouble feeding themselves,” Cone said, “and you got a group of ladies who banded together just out of love, out of care for their community, trying to make a difference. Not only are they making a difference, they’re making a huge difference that’s now gonna get bigger and better through HOPE Week.”

A heat advisory for New York County (Manhattan) on Wednesday afternoon did not stop members of the association from providing for those in need. Positioned on the sidewalk under a large canopy they pooled their money to purchase last summer, the group and its volunteers handed out the cooked meals from the Yankees, including chicken, rice, salad and ice cold water, in brown paper bags to the residents outside the complex.

It was a change of pace for the group, which has only been able to distribute food sparingly since October. When a similar shortage arose last July, the members of the association garnered the attention of local TV station NY1 to help tell their story. The segment raised enough awareness and funds to keep them up and running for another three months. It’s their hope that HOPE Week will spark more interest in their work once again.

“Food insecurity, we all know the word, but I don’t think everyone understands the feeling. We know the feeling and we didn’t like that, so we had to do something,” said tenant association president June Moses. “I’m proud of my people. I’m standing right here looking at them because they just haven’t stopped moving. I’m very proud of them. They’re the batteries in my back; I couldn’t do this if it weren’t for them. They believe in this.”

Later Wednesday evening, the leaders of the association joined the Yankees as guests during batting practice, and Moses threw out the ceremonial first pitch ahead of the club’s game against the Angels. But perhaps most important for their mission, the association was presented with a $10,000 check from the New York Yankees Foundation to help their operation continue to grow and build upon how much it has already been able to accomplish.

“Sometimes it’s not the mountains of money, it’s the heart that you put in, and there’s no price for the hearts here,” Moses said. “And when I tell people I live with the best people, this is where the resources are, I truly mean that. I mean that with all of my heart. And now y’all are giving my people the opportunity to be seen, y’all held space for them to shine, and I appreciate y’all for that.”