BY YANNIC RACK | (Posted Sept.28, 2015) Food festivals showcasing the restaurants and chefs of different neighborhoods, while also raising money for local schools, have been a staple of Lower Manhattan for two decades, starting with the Taste of Tribeca.
With a flurry of eateries setting up shop in Battery Park City over the last few years, it was only a matter of time until the neighborhood followed suit with its own tasting event.
“The main reason we launched it now is because there’s a new opportunity with all of these new restaurants and all of this growth in Battery Park City,” said Mary Gehlhar, who is helping out the P.T.A. of P.S. 89 with the staging of the first annual Taste of Battery Park City, set to liven up Brookfield Place on Sun.,Oct. 4.
“The area is becoming a destination again for food and activities, so it’s really an opportunity to invite people into the community and see that it’s really beautiful down here,” she said.
The food fest will take place on the Brookfield Place Waterfront Plaza and ticket-holders can enjoy fare from 17 local restaurants like Le District, Parm, Blue Ribbon Sushi, Tartinery and El Vez.
There will also be a beer garden, a raffle with prizes from Brookfield retailers, and a Kids Corner, offering games and activities like face painting, balloon artistry and performances from local cband TriBattery Pops as well as P.S. 89students.
The P.T.A. has no specific funding goal for the event, but the money raised will go to P.S. 89 to finance programs like field trips, as well as arts activities like music and dance – money desperately needed in the face of recent budget cuts.
“It’s the first annual event, so we’ve been pooling a lot from within our school community to put this on for the first time,” Gehlhar said.
Even though the event will only benefit only one school in the neighborhood (P.S. 276 is the other elementary school), she said the organizers were open to include more local schools in coming years.
“It’s the first time, were kind of starting small and testing it,” Gehlhar said. “We’re hoping that it’s really successful and that we’ll go and do it next year with even more involvement from the community.”
Taste of Battery Park City will take place from noon-3 p.m. Sun., Oct. 4 at the Brookfield Place Waterfront Plaza. General tickets, which include a choice of five tastes, are $25 in advance and $35 at the event.
