Volunteers Distribute Hot Food To Neighbors Stranded By The Winter Storm

More than 100 volunteers, including members of Flatbush Shomrim, fanned out around Sheepshead Bay on Sunday to deliver hot meals to elderly and disabled neighbors trapped by this weekend’s record-breaking blizzard.

The effort was coordinated by City Councilman Chaim Deutsch, who reached out to the Masbia Soup Kitchen to prepare the food. The blizzard — one of the worst to ever hit New York City — blanketed Deutsch’s district with almost 27 inches of snow, the councilman said.

“This was the second to largest snow storm in New York City history,” Deutsch said. “We tried to to make sure that everyone gets through the storm.”

Volunteers got to work in the early morning, as soon as the travel ban was lifted, driving out to homes that requested the meals. They were able to deliver between 75 and 80 meals by the end of the day, Deutsch said. The food packages contained chicken, rice, sandwiches, vegetables, fruits and dessert and were made to last through lunch and dinner.

Volunteers from Deutsch’s office also shoveled out the driveways and entryways for a dozen homes, said the councilman.

There is still work to do in the neighborhood. Deutsch said bus stops need to be cleared so that riders don’t have to hike over a pile of snow to board the bus. He also advised residents to keep an eye out for blocked catch basins that could prevent melting snow from draining into the sewers. However, Deutsch reported that the city streets in his district have been cleared and there were no reported power outages during the storm. The Office of Emergency Management was also in southern Brooklyn during the storm to monitor potential flooding that was expected to occur at high tide.

“Considering this was the second largest snow storm recorded, I think the city did a phenomenal job,” he said.