OUR YEAR OF GIVING & GROWTH

By Bret Csencsitz

Our problems are manmade—therefore, they can be solved by man. No problem of human destiny is beyond humankind.

— John F. Kennedy, speech at American University, Washington, 1963 

We at Gotham wish you a Happy New Year and thank you for being part of our extended family. 

As I look back on the past year, I am most proud of the hard-won growth and giving we were able to achieve. I am even more excited about the coming year as New York City continues to return to business. June of 2022 marked my 15th anniversary at Gotham and, as the steward of a momentum that began in 1984, I feel even more compelled to have our restaurant be a meaningful part of New York’s resurgence.

In spite of our city and industry’s struggles in 2022, we dug deep to offer Gotham as a place of support to a few noble organizations with causes we hold dear. Here is a glimpse at our year’s efforts, which amount to a total of one million dollars raised. It was not easy for our team to pull off each of these events, and I’d like to thank our kitchen, managers, and service staff for pushing themselves—on behalf of Gotham and their own convictions—to help make our city and our world a better place.

SOS Ukraine
April 3rd

In the first weeks following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, we partnered with producer Emily Hamilton and the Atlantic Council’s Melinda Haring to mobilize a fundraiser for Razom for Ukraine. We raised approximately 150K in funds, boosted by a 50K donation from Mika and Joe. With speakers including Garry Kasparov, Kati Marton, and a special celebrity host committee in attendance, it was an event of great meaning that made a difference at the dawn of this terrible war. Read the full story of our event here and, as we witness Russia’s new wave of attacks on Kyiv, please consider donating to Razom, a wonderful organization working tirelessly to address Ukraine’s most urgent needs as they evolve. 

Climate Week NYC

During Climate Week NYC we hosted two events in support of Top Tier Impact (TTI) and the Coalition for Rainforest Nations (CfRN):

TOP TIER IMPACT
September 19

Top Tier Impact is a “global ecosystem of impact and sustainability leaders,” for whom we were honored to host a panel over Gotham’s first high tea. Mediated by TTI’s Impact Brands Lead Anna Konstantinova (@annaknova), the panel included indigenous land protector Leo Cerda (@amazonleo), Amazon conservationist Olivia Palma (@oliviapalma_), Bitgreen CEO Adam Carver (@adamcarv), and impact investor Helena Wasserman (@iamhelenawass).

The enlightening discussion centered on “protecting the people who are protecting nature,” on “translating the jungle” to convey indigenous wisdom to changemakers, and on addressing the complex issue surrounding "how tech scales human behavior as one of our most creative and beautiful as well as most destructive contributions to life on earth.”

We recommend following the above panelists for an inspiring education in the future of global impact and sustainability efforts.

The Coalition for Rainforest Nations
September 21

Also in September we hosted the first annual benefit for Coalition for Rainforest Nations (CfRN), an organization that represents over 50 nations to support their efforts to maintain these valuable carbon-capturing rainforests. Kevin Conrad, an environmentalist and Gotham partner, founded CfRN in 2005 to, put simply, make rainforests worth more living than dead. He has done this by monetizing the global value of rainforests as “carbon sinks” and incentivizing rainforest nations to end deforestation. Read Kevin’s speech and CfRN CFO Federica Bietta’s remarks to learn more about the surprisingly simple program that will help us limit the earth’s warming.

“Avoidance is last millennium. Avoidance is old philosophy. Avoidance is a philosophy of saying, Let me theorize about what may happen in the future and give me credit for something I do today. The Paris Agreement has rejected avoidance.”
—Kevin Conrad

Paul Greenberg concluded the night with a short talk on his book A Climate Diet: 50 Simple Ways to Trim Your Carbon Footprint. His book had informed Chef Paprocki’s climate-friendly menu for the night and is rich with tangible takeaways and doable change.

“Fortunately, there are small maintainable changes that would allow Americans to go from carbon obese to just a little bit carbon overweight. And, in the end, the transformation of that sizable carbon-obese American middle to a modest paunch would do more for reducing total global emissions than if a hyper-virtuous 2 percent came to subsist on lentils and solar panels.”

It is a book of help and hope. Buy it here!

WhyHunger
September 20

After becoming acquainted with WhyHunger over the past year, we agreed to host an unprecedented Charity Guest Bartending Event. WhyHunger is an international organization working to end hunger with enduring grassroots, community-based solutions. Board Members Mark Blake, Scott Haugenes, Cindy Secunda, and Alysia Steinmann took over the Gotham bar and accepted donations in lieu of tips. The bar was packed for a great cause, and we look forward to working more with WhyHunger in the coming year!

GrowNYC
October 26

In October, we hosted our annual fundraiser for GrowNYC in support of its mission to “improve New York City’s quality of life.” Called “Grow for Change,” this year’s fundraiser honored Bank of America for its on-going support, and the dinner highlighted GrowNYC’s remarkable work during the pandemic, keeping the NYC Greenmarkets open and providing over one million emergency food boxes from local farms to those in need.

Gotham and I have been supporting this organization since 2008, and we will continue our support in 2023 as the organization expands even more with new programs and initiatives that continue to transform communities and improve New Yorkers’ quality of life.

When Gotham reopened just over one year ago, we did so with a series of philanthropic events called “First Looks for a Cause.” I wrote then about our commitment to Conscious Excellence. As a new year begins, I’m excited to plan more occasions, dinners, and events that bring people together and make our city and world a little brighter. I hope you’ll support our efforts by joining us to dine and experience what we aspire to make the most meaningful restaurant in New York.

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