Familiar relationships, unfamiliar needs
When the pandemic changed daily life in 2020, the Gramercy Park Block Association drew on the relationships behind Neighbors Helping Neighbors. Its November 24 appeal described several forms of practical help already underway: supporting elderly neighbors in quarantine, providing meals for essential workers, helping local small businesses and supplying computers for children learning remotely.
These needs reached across generations. A neighbor unable to leave home and a child unable to join an online class required different kinds of support, but both could benefit from a local organization able to connect people and resources.
Protective equipment for people on duty
The same letter reported delivery of 2,800 face shields to essential workers and first responders. This was an extension of the Block Association’s longstanding relationships with local emergency-service personnel, adapted to a new emergency.
Learning continued beyond the classroom
Computers became part of the neighborhood’s educational support as children moved to remote learning. Later Project LIFT accounts also recalled the Block Association’s help with laptops for students during the pandemic. This sits alongside the older book and backpack drives, with the equipment changing to meet the circumstances.
Care for shared places continued
The December 8 safety letter reported installation of 46 lights around the Park perimeter, managed by the Block Association under the Trustees’ direct supervision. It also described regular conversations with NYPD Neighborhood Coordination Officers. Read the lighting project’s story.
Inside Gramercy Park, the Trustees oversaw gardening, lawn care and recovery from Tropical Storm Isaias during the same year.
Spring · Help began within individual buildings
In March and April, the Block Association encouraged residents to ask building staff which neighbors might need groceries, a check-in or other assistance. The letters also described the nightly applause for healthcare workers, first responders and essential workers from windows, rooftops and doorsteps.
The April 23 newsletter thanked Warshaw Hardware for keeping useful supplies available when larger stores could not always provide them. A photograph brought together Carl, Megan and Edward Warshaw with Raymond Santiago, superintendent of 34 Gramercy Park East. The account recognized the local businesses and building staff whose everyday work supported the wider response.
Sources
Adapted from the Block Association’s distributed newsletters “Our Community Needs You,” November 24, 2020, and “Keeping the Community Safe,” December 8, 2020.