BY JULIA MORO
Astoria volunteers hosted
a free community cookout
on the 31st Avenue Open
Street on Saturday, Oct. 16,
to thank neighbors for donating
thousands of dollars
to various organizations.
During the pandemic,
Astoria resident Eli Goldman
started barbecuing on
Open Streets in his neighborhood
to raise money for
food pantries and progressive
causes. Goldman has
donated close to $90,000 to
the ACLU, NAACP, Astoria
Food Pantry, Astoria Mutual
Aid and more.
Goldman started barbecuing
off his balcony in
hopes of bringing some joy
to his neighborhood during
the height of the pandemic,
but never thought it would
turn into such a large movement.
“People seemed to get a
kick out of me barbecuing on
my patio,” Goldman said. “It
was boredom, working from
home during the pandemic
and a sense of hopelessness.
Things were just so crazy in
the beginning.”
Once Goldman started
getting some more attention
from his neighbors, he
moved his setup to the Open
Street in Astoria.
“It quickly snowballed
into a real thing,” Goldman
said. “People started to see
what I was doing and how
much money we were raising
for charity. There was
once or twice a month when
we would set up two smokers
and make as much food
as we could and feed anyone
regardless if they could pay
or not and instead of keeping
it for ourselves; we gave
it away.”
Goldman said that Saturday’s
event was meant to
thank the neighborhood for
helping him and his passion
grow so quickly over the
past year.
The street fair is the first
of its kind, said Goldman,
and before the event, he
didn’t know what to expect.
“We usually serve 150
TIMESLEDGER | Q 4 NS.COM |OCT. 22 - OCT. 28, 2021
people, but we have a lot
more restaurants involved,”
Goldman said. “It’s usually
just us.”
The event was located at
31st Avenue between 33rd
and 35th streets, and started
at 11:30 a.m., with music until
9 p.m.
There were five DJs and
a Brazilian drumline at 2:30
p.m. Free food from local
restaurants like Between
the Bagel, Cafe Boulis and
King Souvlaki was be available
from 1 to 5 p.m.
The entire event was free,
which Goldman said is a testament
to the organizers’ belief
of how people should be
treated.
“If you can’t afford it if
you’re having a bad day, you
forgot your wallet, you got
fired or your employment
ran out, as long as there is
food, you’re getting fed,”
Goldman said.
Goldman also said it was
really important to him to
feature Astoria restaurants
and artists at the event.
“We really wanted to
Eli Goldman barbecues to raise money for progressive causes.
show how vibrant this community
is,” Goldman said.
“Some street festivals aren’t
reflective of their neighborhood,
but these are Astoria
bars and restaurants. After
this event, you can still meet
Photo courtesy of Eli Goldman
these people just two blocks
away from you.”
For more information on
the event, visit their Instagram
page @tikkunbbq.
Donations can be made
on their GoFundMe page.
Astoria volunteers host street fair thanking
neighbors for donating close to $90,000
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