mobanmarketNEW YORK CITY — A potluck and community lunch stretching down a Chelsea block saw its biggest turnout this past weekend, more than 1,000 residents attending the third-annual event.
For Maryam Banikarim, a Chelsea resident and co-founder of NYCNext, the idea of for “Longest Table” can be traced back to shortly after the pandemic.
The community lunch is held on a car-free Open Street on West 21st Street between Ninth and 10th avenues.
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Banikarim said the purpose of the event is to connect neighbors with each other in real life.
“The goal is to spend time together [in real life] not on our phones for two hours,”Banikarim said.
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Last year, organizers conducted a study and found that 60 percent of attendees were local to Chelsea and about 40 percent were from different neighborhoods.
The influx of new attendees continued this year, according to Banikarim.
“What’s amazing is all the different foods that show up — people go to town,” she said.
Featured in this year’s potluck include baked goods, Lithuanian and Turkish dishes, to Chinese and Indian food as well as hero sandwiches.
Highlights of the event included performances from a number of Broadway singers who performed the song “Lean On Me.”
“It’s totally a spontaneous moment of joy for two hours, for me, it’s so amazing to connect with other people and be there for each other,” Banikarim said.
Focus On Public Spaces In the City
Lisa Orman, co-executive director of Open Plans, a nonprofit organization that advocates for more car-free streets, said the event “is the most wonderful way to showcase our work, and that is people enjoying public spaces and prioritizing people over cars.”
Orman along with 14 others from the organization acted as “table captains,” who help host tables and set up for the event.
“The organizers did a wonderful job of bringing everyone together, and we’re just grateful we were able to participate,” she said.
“It was really fun, we ended up sharing food and drinks with most of our table. The spirit of the event is so positive, and it is a beautiful piece of New York City.”
Impact Of “Longest Table”
Jerry Brandehoff, who co-founded the event with Banikarim three years ago, said in the beginning they had no idea what they were doing but held on to hope that the idea would catch on.
When around 500 people showed up the first year, the organizers knew they had something special and have continued to build on it. Last year, about 700 people attended.
“I think people come back because they want to partake in and celebrate a sense of community in this incredible city we call home. The energy on the day is contagious, and you see old friends and make new ones,” Brandehoff told Patch. “It’s really special.”
Brandehoff said some of his favorite dishes over the years include an olive oil cake to celebrate Italy that a friend had brought and a 5-foot-long sub that his friend, Gerald, has brought the last two years.
“I’ve heard many people say it’s their favorite day in New York and one of the best things they’ve participated in. I think it really fosters a sense of community and helps build lasting relationships,” Brandehoff added.
Neighbor Ellie Ahmadi said she was a guest at a table last year and thought it was a clever idea and wanted to get involved.
“In today’s environment, there seems to be an increasing disconnect and division. Face-to-face interactions allow us to see each other as individuals,” she said. “An event like this brings us out of our homes, we put away our phones and maybe for one day we forget about our differences and notice how much we have in common.
Ahmadi brought homemade organic hummus to the event and said her table was “amazing” with homemade focaccia, several warm and cold dishes, and baked goods to try.
“By the end of the event, as I was walking the block, several tables offered me food since there was so much left over.”
What Does The Future Hold
The Longest Table event has been replicated in Harlem, Midtown, Kansas City, Mo., California and even Paris, France by using an online toolkit Banikarim created.
“When we started, we wanted to have hundreds of events across the city on the same day, but we have moved on to having a potluck for 7,000 people across the Brooklyn Bridge,” Banikarim said.
Brandehoff took a step further, saying, “How cool would it be if we could do a national version, bringing hundreds of thousands of folks into the streets of their towns to celebrate together.”
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