Mayor Eric Adams and city leaders spread holiday cheer to New Yorkers in need

NEW YORK CITY - It was a busy scene inside the National Action Network headquarters Uptown Monday as a Christmas dinner was held for New Yorkers needing holiday meals.

Mayor Eric Adams joined NAN founder Rev. Al Sharpton on the serving line, but before he went in, Adams talked about the importance of remembering others.

"We have thousands of people in homeless shelters and people living on the streets," Adams said.

Over 300 volunteers with CityMeals on Wheels got up early to prepare and pack 25,000 meals to be distributed across the 5 boroughs.

The nonprofit provides meals and services for homebound older adults throughout the year, but this is the 41st year of this Christmas Day tradition of spreading cheer.

"These are people who either don't have family or friends nearby or anymore, so we want to make sure they're getting something in addition to a nutritious," Chief Operating Officer Rachel Sherrow said.

On the City's west side, a similar scene at Goddard Riverside Community Center. This is even more special as it's the first in-person serving of meals since the pandemic.

"We feed about 1,200 people who range in income status, some people are homeless and some people have high needs so this is an opportunity for everybody to come together as a community as well as to make sure that everybody has a meal," Roderick Jones, President of G.R.C.C. told FOX 5.

Both city and state officials acknowledged the work of local nonprofits that also made sure that NYC's newest New Yorkers, the asylum seekers, also had something to eat on this day.