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The old redbrick Bowery Mission. Growing up on the Bowery, it’s existence has been ubiquitous. Since I was a kid, I’ve been donating toys and clothes there. Even did volunteer work on Thanksgiving mornings when it was just Pops and I with no big family to celebrate with, and no turkey to carve at home (we usually opted for Japanese). We sat at a table with the universal family of New Yorkers from all walks of life. Today, older and wiser, it brought me great joy to facilitate a donation of this magnitude. Orta Blu gave literally hundreds of pairs of brand new blue jeans to the mission. The usual crew that hangs by the entrance asked me, with excited anticipation, what size they were. I told them we had ’em all. As we were leaving I saw a couple fellas, new pair tucked protectively under arm. It’s rare you get to see good go into immediate action. But, there it was, all unfolding in a New York minute… At the Bowery Mission, which remains there in the face of gentrification, in this ever changing metropolis. Good job Orta, you’re a real New Yorker now. Welcome to the family.
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