Goddard Riverside Community Center Executive Director Stephan Russo expressed deep appreciation on receiving the Community Free Democrats’ Distinguished Community Leader Award on Sunday. “I’m very humbled,” said Russo. “And this is really quite an honor, because even though I’ve been in the neighborhood for 40 years and seen the changes on the West Side, there […]
Blog & News
Employment Dinner Recognizes TOP Achievements
Employment Dinner Recognizes TOP Achievements Eleven years ago, Polo Seda was having a tough time. Unemployed and on the street, he took a chance on an offer of help. “I was homeless and an outreach van came around. I decided to give it a try,” he recalled at the TOP Clubhouse, our psychosocial clubhouse for […]
Options Center Helps Harlem Twins Pursue Their Dreams
Nelly Gomez has a six-year plan. (“She’s one of those people,” says her twin sister Angelica, the way twin sisters do.) The SUNY-Plattsburgh junior is triple-majoring in Multimedia Journalism, Magazine Journalism and Graphic Design. She’s hoping to move to Japan after graduation, teach English, and work for an English-language magazine in Tokyo. Why Japan? “We’re […]
Wrapping Up the Holiday Meals Season
Goddard Riverside welcomed guests from the Upper West Side and beyond for a hearty dinner on Christmas Day, wrapping up another successful Holiday Meals season. Some 250 volunteers arrived early to put tablecloths and fresh flowers on all the tables, carve the turkeys and cook up the trimmings. Others donated cookies, cakes and pies to […]
Goddard Riverside Book Fair Brings Community Together
The 29th Annual Goddard Riverside Book Fair was a bestseller, drawing readers from around the city to get brand-new books at half price. Our longtime supporters in the publishing industry donated an especially strong selection of books this year. MacArthur Award-winner Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Between the World and Me, Aziz Ansari’s Modern Romance and Patti Smith’s […]
Goddard Riverside Thanksgiving Meal Fights Holiday Hunger
More than 300 volunteers converged on Goddard Riverside to cook, serve and deliver more than 1500 meals to those in need of nourishment on Thanksgiving Day. Guests who arrived early were seated in the front room with a spread of coffee and cakes. Then they were escorted to their tables, where volunteers brought them plates […]
A Week of Thanksgiving at Goddard Riverside
A Week of Thanksgiving at Goddard Riverside Thanksgiving at Goddard Riverside Community Center is much more than a day. Throughout this week, people have gathered at our programs around the Upper West Side to celebrate each other and the strength of the community. On Wednesday, members of The Other Place were serving up turkey, ham, […]
SATs Should Not Be a Barrier to College, Options Center Head Testifies
Standardized test scores like the SAT are given far too much weight in the college admissions process, putting low-income students at a disadvantage, Options Center director Lily Owen told the New York City Council at a recent hearing. “Students from affluent families are often spending thousands of dollars and taking prep classes for months or […]
Authors Margaret McNamara, Suzanne Nelson Highlight Goddard Riverside Book Fair Weekend
Picture book author Margaret McNamara and young adult writer Suzanne Nelson will sign their works and chat with book lovers during Goddard Riverside Community Center’s annual Book Fair celebrations. Nelson has published nine young adult books, including the brand-new Serendipity’s Footsteps, which weaves together the lives of three major characters and one pair of shoes. […]
Goddard Riverside Rallies for Supportive Housing
Dozens of Goddard Riverside Community Center employees and consumers came out to the Campaign 4 NY/NY Housing Forum on Friday to call for a new agreement to expand supportive housing throughout New York. “Housing is a right. That’s why we’re here,” proclaimed Executive Director Stephan Russo, who spoke about the history of supportive housing and […]