Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Red Cross Going to Great Lengths to Give Away Money; Nino's Restaurant in Manhattan Closing to Public

Aired February 08, 2002 - 09:48   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: September 11th charities have raised close to $2 billion, so much money, in fact, that there success is threatening other charities, which have seen donations plunge, and so much money that at least one is going to great lengths to give it away.

CNN's Michael Okwu has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL OKWU, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Writer and artist Betsy Berne says she earns a decent living. That's why thought it was a hoax when Red Cross volunteers buzzed her doorbell.

BETSY BERNE, TRIBECA RESIDENT: I went down, and I said, really, I was fine. Nothing happened to me. You know, I don't need anything. And they said, we can give you money.

OKWU: She eventually accepted, and a week later received a check for $4,000. Burn lives in Tribeca, north of Ground Zero. Residents say they recently noticed a surge of Red Cross workers offering money, even at the most expensive addresses.

BERNE: I figured if it was going to millionaires, it might as well go to me. And I knew that the organization is trying desperately to get rid of the money they had, so I figured, OK, I will take it.

OKWU: The red cross has raised more than $863 million dollars for its Liberty Disaster Relief Fund; $290 million of that earmarked for displaced workers and residents. The Red Cross has disbursed most of that, but $60 million more remains.

DANIEL BOROCHOFF, AMERICAN INST. OF PHILANTHROPY: They got themselves in a very difficult situation, because they overdid it and they raised more than they really needed in this crises for the victims of families and the relief workers, and now they're stretched to find other people.

OKWU (on camera): Last week, the Red Cross announced would given away 90 percent of the Liberty Fund money By September 11th, 2002. That's why so many of the residents here believe that volunteers have begun aggressively pounding the pavement, banging on doors, and, of course, writing checks. Do you feel pressure as a volunteer to write those checks, to get that money out to citizens?

DEBORAH CARABET, RED CROSS VOLUNTEER: I don't feel pressure from the standpoint of I have to get them out by Tuesday. What I feel is the pressure from the people saying, these are what our needs are, and they're now.

OKWU (voice-over): Red Cross volunteers say they've helped 47,000 people in every New York neighborhood that qualify, including here in Chinatown and, yes, Tribeca.

CARABET: If a person happens to be wealthy, but they have lost income or they still need help, we will help them.

OKWU: It's a matter of a little bit of integrity, they say, and a lot of honesty.

Michael Okwu, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ZAHN: Not all charitable contributions comes in cash. Ever since the attack on the World Trade Center, Nino's restaurant served meals to thousands of rescues workers helping at the scene. Since then, it has become a landmark in lower Manhattan, a 24 haven for workers at Ground Zero -- America's kitchen. But now sadly, the restaurant about to close to the public.

And joining us now from their restaurant, Nino Vendome and his mother, Josefina.

Good to see the two of you. Welcome back.

NINO VENDOME, NINO'S RESTAURANT: Thank you so much. Good morning.

ZAHN: Nino, say it isn't so, why are you closing?

VENDOME: Well, the personnel that was here in this immediate area is no longer here. The emergency is over here. Our kitchen still will remain open. But this dining room will close. We're still serving meals down Ground Zero, at a church where the food that we prepared here will continually be served here, and other emergencies that arise there we'll try and deal with it as we did here there.

And in the dining room here, we need to preserve and memorialize what happened here, because this was something that -- the aura and the spirit of this country emanates in this space.

ZAHN: Before we look at some of what's on the walls, describe to us what roll this restaurant has played. Since September 11th, you have basically open round-the-clock. You have served how many hundreds of thousands of meals by now? And basically it was a place where rescue workers came to rest and get any sort of relief from their horrible life on the job down there. VENDOME: Well, we responded to the attack. And we came here to fight a war. And what we know how to do is have an environment where people can relax. This was here, to refuel and recharge anyone, whether it be civilian, iron workers police officer, firefighter, to help enable them to deal with hell itself.

ZAHN: Josefina, tell us a little bit about the cards that basically fill up every square inch of the restaurant right now.

VENDOME: The cards. They want to know about the cards.

JOSEFINA VENDOME: The kids from school bring their own one. We have a phone back. (UNINTELLIGIBLE), the kids, the people. Everybody bring something. Everything that's it (UNINTELLIGIBLE). (UNINTELLIGIBLE) from the volunteers. This place, many, many people have come in this place. I can't tell you who is where. (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

ZAHN: Some of the messages were so poignant. I know that we sent Miles O'Brien to tour the place the first week after the disaster. Extraordinary what people felt and what they communicated in these cards. Nino what happened now? You will close on February 12th. Ever reopening once you think the business environment better for paying customers?

N. VENDOME: I think that, that would be -- no, definitely not open, again. This space has transformed from a restaurant to a relief center. And from being a relief center, it's become a landmark. Obviously, the spirit and the will of the people of this country, and that's across the walls, the bars. For me now to retrofit this space for a restaurant, I don't see that at all. So we're talking with organizations that are experts in being a custodian of such artifacts, and hopefully, this will be around for generations to come, so they can reflect the upon what we did as a generation. I think what happened here, to have tens of thousands of people put their lives on the side, and say, well, I need to be part of the solution, is very important.

And we need to obviously to continue to see that people realize and experience what happened here. and hopefully it will go to all communities across the country.

ZAHN: I agree with you, those artifacts definitely need to be preserved. You and a family made a big difference in the lives of rescue workers down there.

Good luck to you down the road and thanks for letting us share in what you attempted to do downtown.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com