East Village Green Deli Delivered Hot Meals in Wake of Sandy

Story and photos by Nicole Murphy.

Lifelong Levittown resident Rich DeSantis takes pride in his business and his hometown. When DeSantis saw Levittown residents struggling after Superstorm Sandy, he used his own setbacks as a way to give back to his community.

Owner of East Village Green Deli, DeSantis lost thousands of dollars worth of food and potential sales when Superstorm Sandy knocked out power for 12 days. Luckily for DeSantis and more than 30 local families, the deli operates with a gas oven and the staff was able to open each morning for breakfast.

"We cook with gas, so we were able to open and make egg sandwiches and some hot food," said DeSantis, a graduate of Division Avenue High School. "With no power, we were losing a lot of meat. To avoid losing more, we cooked everything that we could and sent the food to different customers that we knew could use it."

The deli delivered a bunch of free meals to customers and also gave out food and items in the store that would have went bad. DeSantis said he felt privileged to be able to help his community through the storm and the response was well worth the hard work.

"I've lived here since 1960 and I've never seen anything like this," DeSantis explained. "It was devastating and I couldn't stand by and let people go without a meal. I offered what I could give."

"It was just me and one other guy in here cooking," he added. "It was so cold and we had no lights, but we had flashlights and we stood by the grill to keep warm. When we delivered the meals, the families thought it was just great. They were so happy and joyful to have it."

According to DeSantis, the deli regained power on Nov. 9 and his been operating with regular business hours ever since. The aftermath of Sandy cost them nearly $14,000 in lost sales as well as $20,000 in product that had to be thrown away, but DeSantis said he's confident they will recover just fine.

The East Village Green Deli, located at 6 East Village Grn., will be open Thanksgiving Day from 7 a.m. until 2 p.m. fully equipped with Thanksgiving meals including turkey, side dishes and an assortment of pies. Orders can be placed in advanced over the phone or in-person. Call (516) 796-1234 for more info.

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