Vladeck Houses, earlier today.
This was the scene outside the Vladeck public housing complex on Henry Street about an hour ago. The Henry Street Settlement had some hot dogs and hamburgers left over from a recent community day, so staff fried them up and offered a hot lunch to local residents. Today we caught up with David Garza, who’s executive director at Henry Street, one of the neighborhood’s largest social service providers.
The organization serves thousands of seniors at local community centers and operates several senior housing facilities. Garza said 83 families were evacuated from the Urban Family center, a shelter near FDR Drive. People were also evacuated from Helen’s House, a facility on Henry Street for single moms and kids under the age of eight.
A “Meals on Wheels” program Henry Street operates with University Settlement and the the Chinese Planning Council had 14 trucks on the street Sunday and Monday. Garza said the organizations are making plans to continue serving more than one-thousand seniors across the LES. Today Henry Street staff was delivering food to elderly residents living in high floors of the Vladeck Houses.
Garza said there has been considerable damage to Henry Street buildings. The basement of the Urban Family Center was flooded; repairs there are expected to cost several hundred thousand dollars.
