Harlem hosts block party to honor moms on Mother's Day
NEW YORK -- Moms across Manhattan spent time in the sunshine enjoying a variety of Mother's Day activities.
From arts and crafts to health care help, Harlem Festival of Culture Foundation, along with Northwell Health and Marcus Meets Malcolm block association, hosted a block party to honor neighborhood moms on Mother's Day.
"At this age I wasn't sure kids were in the cards for me," said first-time mother Danyelle Dover. "I always said whatever is in God's plan will happen for me, so it has been an amazing journey, and he's my blessing and brings me joy every day."
"My mom is so nice," raved 9-year-old Levi Caranda. "She's always helpful and helping me with something and let's say like a math problem is super hard, she would break it down for me and really help."
"She works really hard for me and I know she does the best that she can for me and my siblings," 12-year-old Danielle Crews said about her mom.
The organizers said they take pride in fostering healthy families.
"It should be an open space, not just because it's an open street but because our hearts are open and that every person walking down this block should always feel welcomed," said Yvette Russell, Marcus Meets Malcolm vice president.
WATCH: Sweet gifts for Mother's Day
The event is one of many leading up to July's Harlem Festival of Culture, 54 years after the Summer of Soul.
"We like to say after the music stops, the other 362 days of the year we're bringing the impact to the community," said festival co-founder Nikoa Evans-Hendricks.
Local leaders also wanted to share the mother love with newcomers to the community, bringing care packages to asylum seekers temporarily housed in Upper Manhattan. more than 115 rooms at the Belnord Hotel are filled with families awaiting their fate, traveling from Central and South America, Africa and Ukraine.
City Council member Gale Brewer helped welcome the mothers with bags filled with skincare, perfume and chocolate.
Alison Pesantes said in Spanish that she had low expectations, but she greatly appreciates the gifts, which brightened everyone's day.
"It's unimaginable, I think, for those of us here in New York and as a mother, myself, I can't imagine it," Brewer said. "I can't imagine carrying a baby that length of time."
The mothers staying at the hotel look forward to new opportunities in a new home. Brewer also delivered Mother's Day gifts to four other hotels housing migrants in her district.
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