By JUDY RATTNER
Although Leonora Kotzavekiaris of Greek Town Restaurant , at 90 N. Village Ave. said it wasn't much, she opened up her restaurant's kitchen at 2:45 a.m. one day last week, firing up her oven to roast four 22-pound birds that were provided by Island Harvest. The turkeys were served on Nov. 16 at the soup kitchen in Far Rockaway.
And for the fifth time, Jay DeBono, of DeBono's Caterers and Delicatessen, at 13 N. Village Ave. rolled up his sleeves and helped with the Veterans Stand-Down. He and his staff cooked 25 turkeys that were served, with all the trimmings, to about 200 Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Coast Guard veterans in need of supportive services, including those who are homeless, in last Monday's Veteran's Stand-Down at the New York State Armory in Freeport.
"We've been involved in the stand downs they hold in November and July every year for the last five years," DeBono said. "At the event the veterans have their V.A. benefits checked over - they are offered health screenings, job opportunities, legal advice, hair cuts, showers and brand new clothes, and we feed them - that's my end. We have double duty that day, they need quite a few volunteers to help the veterans through the different stations they visit. Between the vets and the volunteeers, we feed about 400 people. We start off the day with a breakfast of coffee and bagels and rolls for the volunteers. Most of that is donated from A & S Bagels through my salesman, Malcolm Parisi. And then we serve the turkeys along with mashed potatoes, string beans, candied yams, carrots, gravy and cranberry sauce - all the traditional fare - that we prepare." DeBono said the only thing he doesn't cook for the meal is the stuffing. That's done by The Women Pioneers Club whose members arrive the morning of the stand down to prepare the stuffing - with ingredients provided by DeBono.
Anne DeBono said that she and her husband received coupons, collected by Island Harvest, for free turkeys from King Kullen. After speaking with the manager of that supermarket on Sunrise Highway in Rockville Centre, she was able to load up her truck with the frozen turkeys days earlier than the redemption date on the coupons, in order to bring them to her deli's kitchen to thaw before cooking. Because there were so many, six of the turkeys were cooked simultaneously in the kitchen of Dario's restaurant right next door, around 6 a.m., well before the restaurant started to prepare food for the day.
Pat Yngstrom, Deputy Director of Veteran's Services for Nassau County, said, "Jay closes down half of his operation to cook 25 turkeys for us. Without Jay, we couldn't run our Thanksgiving stand-down. He's been someone I couldn't do without." Yngstrom said that along with DeBono, he relies on Veteran's Counselor Michael Kilbride and Luke Griffith, a senior at C.W. Post University who has been interning in the Nassau County Veterans Service Agency.
Yngstrom estimates that in Nassau County alone, there are 4,000 homeless veterans, a number he said is drastically higher than Sen. Chuck Schumer's estimate of 1,000, because he uses a different definition. At the stand-down Yngstrom said, agencies come to offer help. "We have the V.A. plus 30 other organizations, including the Department of Mental Health, Drug and Alcohol, Physically Challenged, Senior Citizens, Medicaid, Social Services and the United Veterans Beacon House for recovering veterans. All of the agencies help any veteran in need of services," he said.
"It's of great importance, we have so many veterans out there who are in need of help," said DeBono. "This is a very important mission. Both my family and my wife's family had plenty of veterans from World War II and Vietnam. They came home in good shape and we feel very fortunate, so we want to help those who are not as fortunate.
'I just wish people would see what's out there and take part," DeBono added. "We help veterans twice a year and it's not enough. What I would like to see is a facility where we could do this every month. If they could fit out the armory in Freeport properly, with refrigeration and cooking facilities, that would be wonderful. It's in our face - with men and women coming home now from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq - we just have to stand up and do the right thing. It's got to be done."
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