St. Nicholas Home hosts 35th Anniversary Gala
Annual Dinner Recognizes Three Honorees
On Saturday, March 15, the St. Nicholas Home, a nonprofit interdenominational residence for elderly individuals in Bay Ridge, hosted its 35th Anniversary Gala at The Vanderbilt at South Beach on Staten Island. The event brought out elected officials, civic leaders and members of the clergy to help raise funds for the home located at 437 Ovington Ave.
Attendees included State Sen. Marty Golden; state Assemblymember Nicole Malliotakis; Joe Avignone, president of the Salaam Club of New York; realtor Aida Nicolaou and Rev. Khader El-Yateem and his wife Grace of the Salam Arabic Lutheran Church in Bay Ridge.
The St. Nicholas Home opened its doors in 1982. It was the dream of the late Rt. Rev. Gregory Abboud of St. Nicholas Antiochian Orthodox Cathedral on State Street to build a residence for elderly people in the Arab-American community. Abboud died in 1978, but not before he signed the contract to purchase the old Bay Ridge Hospital. Along with Richard Zarick and his wife Florence, the property was secured and Abboud’s dream became a reality.