Baldwin Civic Association, businesses thank Sani 2

Meals donated to essential workers

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The Baldwin Civic Association teamed up with the Long Island Bagel Cafe in Baldwin to deliver breakfast to workers at Sanitary District 2 on May 14 to recognize their efforts throughout the coronavirus pandemic.

“There has been quite a lot of justifiable recognition for the health care workers and first responders over the past two months,” Civic Association Vice President Steven Greenfield said. “We also wanted to express gratitude to unsung essential workers in our community.”

The civic group was searching for a way to say thank you to Sanitation Department workers who have been picking up the trash throughout the pandemic, Greenfield said, and the Bagel Cafe on Grand Avenue offered to make breakfast boxes for them.

The team delivered a hot breakfast to the essential employees at around 5 a.m. before they started their rounds. Julius Jones, managing partner at the Baldwin Bagel Cafe, and his team prepared about 20 individual bags of egg sandwiches and delivered them — with the help of chef Jose Sandovar — with hash browns, orange juice and coffee.

When Jones contacted the BCA, Greenfield said, “Our executive committee immediately thought of the hard-working crew at Sani 2.”

“We wanted to do something special for essential workers and the sanitation department, or anybody in the Baldwin area,” Jones said, adding that delivering bagels was the original plan, but he decided that egg sandwiches were heartier.

BCA President Darien Ward also assisted with the deliveries.

“Our community thanks the many essential workers not only at Sani 2, but also in the supermarkets and pharmacies, group homes and other stores that have provided needed supplies and services,” Ward said.

Sanitary District 2 General Supervisor Keith Eckels helped arrange the event.

“We appreciate people appreciating what we do at this time,” he said. “We may not be on the frontlines, but we are an essential force, and we were glad we were able to help in this time of need. The employees were very much appreciative of what the people are doing.”

The Bagel Cafe was one of several businesses that donated meals to sanitation workers in recent weeks, Eckels added. Delicious Moments Caterers, Bagel Boss, 3D’s Community Empowerment Center and a Baldwin Harbor resident also delivered food to Sani 2 as a token of appreciation.

About two weeks ago, Steve Sciortino, owner of Delicious Moments Caterers on Merrick Road in Baldwin, prepared and donated 100 bagels, with cream cheese, butter and jelly, to sanitation workers.

The hospitals “have a lot of food coming in,” Sciortino said, “and we felt there’s other essential workers who play an unrecognized part of keeping everything together, so that’s why we chose Sani 2. They’re out every day, regardless, picking up our trash, and I just felt they should be recognized also.”

Delicious Moments has also donated more than 400 meals to Mount Sinai South Nassau hospital and Mercy Medical Center, as well as to funeral homes in Oceanside and Rockville Centre.