Hundreds of NYers feast together in the streets of Chelsea at ‘Longest Table’ potluck party

Reaching across this table for the salt and pepper was quite the challenge.

A city block-long table in Chelsea was the gathering spot for hundreds of New Yorkers on Sunday afternoon for the third annual “Longest Table” potluck lunch party. Foodies from Chelsea to Harlem, New Jersey, and even Lithuania came together to share a meal and strengthen community connections.

“We live in this city that’s so densely populated, and it’s just easy to walk by people who are just having a ‘how’s the weather’ conversation,” said Nathaniel Hawkins, a longtime Chelsea resident and event volunteer.

“I feel like now [with] important issues, when we need people to show up, more and more people show up,” added Hawkins, 52.

The large-scale lunch event took place on a car-free Open Street on West 21st Street between Ninth and 10th avenues, starting in 2022 as a way for event co-founder Maryam Banikarim to reconnect with her Chelsea neighbors after the pandemic lockdown.

“I passingly knew my neighbors [before], but during COVID I really got to know them because we were each other’s life lines,” shared Banikarim, another longtime Chelsea resident.

“There’s also this epidemic of loneliness and mental health issues,” she added. “People have this incredible desire, particularly post-COVID to connect with each other in real life … [The Longest Table] changed my experience in the neighborhood.”

A photo of neighbors sharing a massive outdoor meal in Egypt inspired Banikarim to organize a similar outdoor dining experience, with the help of about eight volunteers. The event garnered interest on neighborhood-based social media website Nextdoor, with 500 people attending the first gathering.

“Table captains” were responsible for hosting tables, bringing chairs, and coordinating potluck contributions that ranged from baked goods to Chinese food to Indian cuisine to a great big hero sandwich.

“It’s the diversity of the city,” Banikarim noted. “Everyone’s curious what everyone else has brought.”

The second iteration of the event in 2023, which gathered about 700 participants, was studied by college students from Barnard to understand the impact of the project, according to Banikarim.

“What we learned was a lot of the people came from Chelsea, but also from other parts of the city, it’s a microcosm of New York City,” she shared, noting that 92% of attendees connected with others and over 60% felt less lonely by the end of the event.

In her own neighborhood, Banikarim observed increased communication and support, from borrowing ladders to discussing new projects in the area, such as Vanderbilt University’s recent acquisition of the site of the General Theological Seminary.

“More people end up speaking to each other, and then they can be there [for each other] in moments of need,” she explained.

Both newcomers and returning attendees found that the bustling event helped New Yorkers better understand one another.

“The biggest surprise [moving] here was the community,” said Ilma Tiki, a 41-year-old Chelsea resident who moved from Lithuania two years ago. “This is the reason why you want to live in the neighborhood and this city … this was a must-thing to do.”

“I am so excited to be here,” said 82-year-old Chelsea resident Eleanor, who declined to give her last name. “Chelsea can get very divisive … to get everybody together, it’s really great.”

“In a city where it’s so hard to find community or [where] sometimes you don’t know who your neighbor is, this is an opportunity to meet all your neighbors – meeting them in a fun, unorthodox setting,” Council Member Erik Bottcher, who represents Chelsea, told The Post. “And it happens to be on one of the most beautiful blocks in Chelsea.”

Since its inception, the Longest Table has been replicated in other cities from Kansas City, Mo. to Paris, France using an online toolkit made available by Banikarim.

Chelsea residents George Duval and Lisa Lindo-Duval organized a similar event in Harlem last week and plan to bring the table to underserved neighborhoods in Manhattan and the Bronx.

Lindo-Duval is also planning a similar event in her mother’s home city of Kingston, Jamaica.

“It’s not just for a sense of community, but also for safety,” Lindo-Duval explained. “It’s so everyone can get to know each other, so that they can call on each other.”

Banikarim envisions bringing the Longest Table over the Brooklyn Bridge to connect the boroughs and uniting the coasts for America’s 250th anniversary next year.

“Wouldn’t it be a beautiful thing,” she pondered, “to share food and come together to celebrate humanity?”