BY BEN VERDE
Four residents of a Fort
Greene homeless shelter are
suing the city for $2 Million
— each — for allegedly serving
them rancid chicken
salad, according to an attorney
representing the victims.
The residents say they
fell violently ill after eating
chicken salad served at
the Auburn Place shelter
on Oct. 24. The meal had expired
a month before, but
someone had slapped more
recent expiration date on
the packaging, according to
one plaintiff.
“Even today I still have
symptoms of food poisoning
in my stomach,” said Kenneth
Gilmore, a resident of
the shelter who is named in
the complaint. “I feel terribly
bad.”
The victims are also suing
Sally Sherman Foods,
which made the salad and
Whitsons Food Services,
which delivered it. The attorney
COURIER LIFE, N 12 OVEMBER 15-21, 2019
representing the
residents, Sanford Rubinstein,
has recommended the
Brooklyn District Attorney
open a criminal investigation
into the shelter operators,
which he says are
liable for reckless endangerment.
The residents claim
employees of the shelter
laughed at them while they
violently vomited.
“The staff is there basically
making jokes about
the situation,” said Pierre
Landro, a plaintiff in the
lawsuit. “I said ‘I’m glad
you that you guys find this
hilarious, while there’s people
outside sick.’”
This is not the first time
the Fort Greene shelter has
come under fire. The district
attorney convicted a
former employee of the shelter
of forcible touching and
sexual abuse for groping
residents of the shelter on
multiple occasions.
The Department of Homeless
Services has stopped
accepting food from Sally
Sherman pending review, according
to a spokesperson.
“We are not accepting
food from Sally Sherman
until further notice,” said
Arianna Fishmann. “We
sincerely apologize for the
occurrence and will hold
the vendor that provides
food at this location fully accountable.”
All four of the plaintiffs
are still residents of the
shelter, where they say the
Shelter residents Maurice Caballero, Rose Rodriguez, Pierre Landro and
Kenneth Gilmore claim they were fed expired chicken salad at a Fort
Greene homeless shelter. Photo by Ben Verde
very act of eating has become
a source of constant
anxiety.
“When I even attempt to
go into the cafeteria now I
get panic attacks — I feel as
though this will continue,”
said Gilmore. “If we did not
discover it, it would still be
going on.”
FOWL FEAST
Fort Greene shelter residents sue city for
$8 million over rancid chicken salad
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