When the COVID-19 lockdown first impacted America, people were left scrambling. It was hard to make sense of our new world. So many buildings closed down and many did not know what would happen next.
Some folks lost their jobs, while others were forced to put together an at-home office setup that would allow them to work remotely. It was the most uncertain time period that we have ever lived through.
For many, it was not easy to adjust to the sudden isolation. Eli Goldman was among the many who got sent home and had to make sense of quarantine life. Instead of getting up and going to work every day, he was confined to his apartment. Instead of allowing himself to be swept up in feelings of depression and anxiety, he decided to try his best to make a better way.
The big “eureka” moment came for him when he was listening to some NPR. This is when he heard about the Italian residents who were looking out for their neighbors by lowering baskets of food from their balconies. Goldman saw no reason why he could not emulate these tactics.
To get started, Goldman decided to start lowering bread down to the street below. It was not long before he decided that it was time to do more, though. Things progressed from there and before long, his neighbors were dining on some of the most delicious BBQ that was available at the time. We envy those who got the chance to try some.
Goldman looks like the type of guy who knows his way around a grill. “I started decorating my balcony with funny cardboard signs, and began lowering bread, then BBQ, to anyone who wanted. I eventually went from my balcony to the middle of 31st Ave Open Street and then to some of the biggest and most well-known venues in and around Astoria using BBQ to enrich and support my neighborhood during the pandemic,” he said in an interview with Good Morning America.
He’s no longer lowering BBQ from the balcony but he’s still very passionate about assisting the community. The proceeds that he raised have been “paying for cab rides of the sick or elderly so they could vote, generating thousands in donations for food pantries, mutual aid groups, and nonprofits, supporting local businesses and their essential workers, and bringing together the community during a dark time.”
Check out the video below: