F. Hills group helps the needy celebrate Passover
City Council speaker joined Masbia as they prepared Seder meals for Queens residents
BY MARK HALLUM
For seniors on a fixed
income in Forest Hills and
the surrounding areas,
preparing a Seder meal
during Passover can be
a challenge.
This year, however,
Alexander Rappaport’s
annual effort to meet this
need has become part of a
massive block chain effort
between the city, other
organizations and the food
pantry he has operated for
decades in the community.
The refrigeration units
within Masbia’s basement
were loaded up with tilapia,
horseradish and apples for
the drive to supply meal
kits when City Council
Speaker Corey Johnson
and City Councilwoman
Karen Koslowitz.
“The reason why Masbia
is so important is that
they get their clients good,
healthy meals and they do
it with compassion, care
and dignity… This is really
a center of community,”
Johnson said. “The City
Council has a really big
food initiative where we find
CityHarvest and we fund a
lot of the major groups that
provide a lot of the food you
see here today.”
Masbia received funding
from the city through the
Emergency Food Assistance
Program which received a
$7 million increase from
the council over last year,
according to Johnson.
Koslowitz said she has
lived in Forest Hills since
1962 when the neighborhood
was primarily Jewish, but
things have changed.
While the Jewish
community is still remains
at about 55 percent, many
other cultures primarily
from Asia are moving in.
“People think of Forest
Hills as rich, and there are
rich people living in Forest
Hills, but there are also poor
people,” Koslowitz said.
This, however, does not
mean Masbia is falling
Council Speaker Corey Johnson and Councilwoman Karen Koslowitz
prepare seder meals for donation. Photo: Mark Hallum/QNS
out of relevance as they
turn no one away in
search of a meal, according to
the organization’s
founder, Rappaport.
Rapaport asked that
people donate money
through rather than bring
it into the food pantry so
they can get food through
one single supplier and
give clients a consistent
set of meals.
Donations are being
received through
Masbia’s website in
what they are calling
their #CharosetDrive.
Naomi Nachman, a
Jewish chef originally from
Australia, spoke about
the importance of each
Seder ingredient including
the dishes used during
Passover while Johnson and
Koslowitz help grind apples
and prepare horseradish.
“People have all kind of
Seder plates, from artistic
ones to simple ones…
Each one is symbolic,”
Nachman said.
Masbia lost their
old location on Queens
Boulevard after conf lict with
the landlord who Koslowitz
said wanted to build housing
while Rappaport claims
property owners often have
reservations against renting
to food pantries.
They are now located
at 105-47 64th Road in
Forest Hills.
Reach reporter Mark
Hallum by e-mail at
mhallum@schnepsmedia.
com or by phone at (718)
260–4564.
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TIMESLEDGER,QNS.COM APR. 26-MAY 2, 2019 13
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