LOCAL NEWS
Council member Carlina Rivera, Mayor Eric Adams, and Manhattan Borough President Mark
Levine at Veselka.
‘Soup’-er support
‘Eat Borscht, stand with Ukraine:’ Mayor
dines at Veselka in Little Ukraine
BY DEAN MOSES
Mayor Eric Adams endeavored
to show support
to Ukrainian New
Yorkers on March 7 amidst the
Eastern European country’s
worsening crisis.
As Russian and Ukrainian
dignitaries met for a third round
of negotiations, New York
City’s mayor attempted to show
solidarity by dining in Little
Ukraine’s Veselka. Third-generation
owner Jason Birchard welcomed
Adams with open under
the Ukrainian fl ag, which was
prominently displayed in the
restaurant window.
Sitting alongside Manhattan
Borough President Mark
Levine and Councilwoman
Carlina Rivera, the mayor
ordered what he said was a
vegan Borscht – a traditional
Ukrainian soup made with
red beetroots.
“We at Veselka have started
a campaign that all of our
Borscht sales are going to help
The Mayor sampled some
vegan fare at Veselka.
the Ukrainian relief efforts. We
have raised in the two weeks
since the war began $25,000.
People ask how they can help
with physical items. We have a
small list of items on our website.
We’ve been making daily
runs to our local Ukrainian
Orthodox Church on Seventh
Street, and we’re very thankful
and grateful for everybody’s love
and support,” Birchard said,
adding that their donation campaign
is dubbed, “Eat Borscht,
PHOTOS BY DEAN MOSES
Stand with Ukraine.”
After eating inside the establishment,
Adams shared that
he was moved by the history
of Veselka due to photographs
of Birchard’s grandfather lining
the walls. Growing it from
a small stand to a famed East
Village restaurant, Adams
commended the Birchard family
for giving back amidst an
international crisis.
“We are here to say support
Ukraine in a real way and sitting
down and sharing a meal
with you is so important,”
Adams said.
With March 7 being the
fi rst maskless Monday under
the Adams administration, he
hopes laxed guidelines will
also help further Veselka’s
charitable cause and in turn,
garner more aid for the embattled
sovereign country.
“This really personifi es why
these shops are not just locations
where people put a sign
on a building. It’s the life that
they are living,” Adams said.
Adams makes the
rounds mask-free
in East Village
BY DEAN MOSES
Mayor Eric Adams
toured the East Village
on March 7
where he spoke with restaurant
owners following his
decision to lift COVID-19
safety protocols, which took
effect that day.
On March 4, Adams announced
that eateries will no
longer be required to observe
vaccine cards in order to allow
New Yorkers to dine in
their establishments, a decision
that came after infection
rates hit a record low.
With the mandates now lifted,
Adams worked his way
through the East Village on
March 7, speaking with local
business owners.
Beginning his tour on 1st
Avenue and 7th Street, the
mayor met with Ma La Project
owner Emily Kang who
said she was excited for the
meeting.
“We defi nitely feel very
honored and we’re feeling the
love from the government,”
Kang said, also touching on
the lifted mandates. “Yeah,
we’re very excited about that.
I think the customers are
gonna feel relieved and that
makes our staff feel much
easier as well. And we feel
safe at this point. So, we’re
happy about that.”
Next the mayor set his
sights on La Palapa, but on
his way to the Lower Manhattan
restaurant Adams
stopped to say hello to almost
every passing New Yorker,
including briefl y commandeering
a cyclist’s bike and
even aiding a delivery man by
lugging boxes from the back
of a truck.
It is clear Adams is having
a good time as mayor;
however, he is also facing a
polarizing step in his administration
by choosing to lift
the mandates.
“Many businesses were
closing because they were
not getting the clientele
inside. Many of them felt
that the mask mandate impeded
PHOTO BY DEAN MOSES
Ma La Project owner Emily
Kang speaks with Mayor
Eric Adams.
business,” Mayor
Adams said.
When asked if he is concerned
that lifting the mandates
in food establishments
might have the opposite effect,
that some New Yorkers
may not want to eat meals
beside those who are unvaccinated,
the mayor said he
believes he has a solution.
“So, here’s the win, because
of a great City Council,
we have outdoor dining, we
feel like Paris now. Paris feels
like New York. So, if you’re
not ready to come indoors,
you could do it outdoors,”
Adams said.
The mayor also visited
the Dallas BBQ and met its
general manager, Ata Rahman,
who despite welcoming
the mayor with open
arms, he also noticeably kept
his mask on.
“It’s my personal choice,
I feel like I want to wear a
mask as long as I can. Of
course, the city and state are
researching, and the infection
rate is down so if they
take it off, I am very happy,
no problem,” Rahman said.
During his tour, amNewYork
Metro also asked the
mayor if he feels like lifting
the mandates now following
so many anti-mandate
protests is sending the right
message. He responded by
saying he is not a mayor who
is against protests, adding
that he has even protested
himself in the past.
6 March 10, 2022 Schneps Media