BOROUGH PARK – A deli shop owner who opened his center – and basement – 15 years ago to provide shelter for the homeless said that the COVID-19 pandemic had not prevented him from doing what he believed God wanted him to do.
“I have seven other people out there right now,” Arcangel deli Grocery owner The Tablet, The Tablet, Arcangel Deli Grocery, told The Tablet recently.
Arc-ngel says he has established a mastery to sleep in the basement so homeless men can spend the night.He also feeds them, gives them eggs for breakfast and sandwiches for lunch and dinner.
He’s been doing this for 15 years, now he should take precautions because of COVID-19.
“They’ll have to wear gloves. No mask, no gloves, no staying here,” he said.
Borough Park has recently noticed a slight accumulation of COVID cases, according to Mayor Bill de Blasio.Sunset Park, the neighboring district of Borough Park, recently recorded a maximum COVID case rate (6.9%) which is almost seven times higher than the city average.
New York has stepped up COVID verification at Sunset Park and Borough Park.Both communities have been selected for the Trace Corps Test program, where verification sites are located in many locations, tracking citizens to identify the cause of the increase, and citizens obtain automatic calls urging them to be reviewed.
Arc-ngel declared the most productive of his wisdom that his basement had remained as a COVID-19-free zone.The precautions he takes helped him get the virus, he said.
“The neighborhood, it has it, here, not COVID. Not a single person,” he said.
Arcangel, who is a Catholic, is an immigrant from the Dominican Republic who attends Mass at St. Catherine’s Church in Alexandria, Borough Park, arrived in New York in the 1990s for a task and was given a job at the winery.finally bought the position and became the owner.
He feels he is painting God’s paintings through the homeless.During the interview with La Tabla, he raised a cross.” I love him,” he said, referring to Jesus.
The socket can accommodate up to 10 at a time.
According to the New York City Department of Homeless Services, 54,601 homeless people lived in shelters as of August 26: 36,138 adults and 18,463 children.
The exact number of homeless people living on the streets is more difficult to determine.The city performs an annual count in January, called Homeless Population Estimation (HOPE), in which volunteers take to the streets to count the homeless., which took office on January 27, had 3,857 homeless people.
Arc-ngel told The Tablet that a series of encounters with a homeless man 15 years ago was the catalyst that led him to open his basement.
A boy Arcangel saw on the street started entering the grocery store and stayed there for long periods of time, the boy had no position to go.Soon, more and more men entered the deli after seeing him type Arcangel.Finally, one of the men asked Arcangel if he could spend the night.Arc-ngel agreed and that the beginning of it all.
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The makeshift shelter has a small table, chairs, a television, a hot plate, and a small hose to use as a shower. The men sleep on pallet beds and in sleeping bags.
The basement has a separate front so men can enter and pass without going through the grocery store.Anyone who stays there is loose to leave the day, but will have to return before 10 p.m.M., when the deli closes.
Juan, an immigrant from Guatemala who has been staying in the basement lately, says Archangel is “a glorious man.”
John, who asked for his last call to be published, said he had become homeless after not being able to find work.
“I started drinking. I started living on the street. It’s dangerous,” he said.”To stay here and feel safe, that’s all.”
He quickly noted that he is not the only user to help homeless people.
Borough Park is primarily an Orthodox Jewish network and Arcangel says yeshiva and scholars have given milk and bread to his refuge.In addition, it receives food donations from parishioners at the local church.
“When I was homeless, you offered me refuge,” the Lord said.
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