A Perfect Day in a Bronx Neighborhood

Thirty years to the day after serving its first meal, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held to unveil the newly expanded headquarters of POTS (Part of the Solution) in the Bronx. Rye residents and Resurrection Church members have been a big part of the Bronx soup kitchen from the start, and they were there for the celebration January 6.

Thirty years to the day after serving its first meal, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held to unveil the newly expanded headquarters of POTS (Part of the Solution) in the Bronx. Rye residents and Resurrection Church members have been a big part of the Bronx soup kitchen from the start, and they were there for the celebration January 6.

Donn Dolce, Chairman of the Board of Directors, presided. Also in attendance were current board members John Krall, Mary Beth Usry, Bill Kelly, Brendan O’Sullivan, Hank Kosinski, and Paul Borde and former board members John and Bess June Lane and Beth Dolce. Instrumental members of the Capital Campaign committee include Julia Dailey, Augustina Santucci, Molly Aube, John Heffernan Jr., George Duarte, Keith Pagnani, and Barbara Raho.

The new 15,000 square-foot building was made possible by a $5.6 million capital campaign led by Rye residents Mark Miller and Julie Killian, New Market Tax Credits, and a generous grant from the City Council. The facility triples the space available for services and permits all of POTS programs to operate in a vastly improved physical environment.

POTS opened its doors as a soup kitchen January 6, 1982. Since then, the organization’s mission has expanded from simply feeding its neighbors to nourishing the needs of the community in a holistic way. It is the largest emergency food program in the Bronx. With the support of many Resurrection parishioners and Rye residents since shortly after its founding, POTS is now a multi-service agency that addresses low-income people’s most immediate, basic needs and helps them take the next steps to stabilize and improve their lives. The organization’s guiding belief has always been to respond to the needs of the hungry, homeless, poor, and working poor and to serve them with respect and compassion.  

The new site features a self-select grocery store-style food pantry, a spacious 60-seat dining room, shower facilities, a clothing room, barbershop, and private office space for the staff attorneys of the Legal Clinic and team of Case Managers. A medical and dental clinic operated by Care For The Homeless will open on the lower level of the facility in the spring.