New York Yankees Surprise 'Angel In Queens' As Part Of HOPE Week
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - HOPE Week, the New York Yankees' annual team effort to get out and help local communities, continued Tuesday in Queens.
WCBS 880's Marla Diamond On The Story
Podcast
The team honored Jorge Munoz, 48, known as the "Angel in Queens."
Munoz came to the United States from Colombia with his mother and sister in the 1980s and worked in retail as well as a school bus driver.
One day, he drove past a group of day laborers standing underneath the elevated subway tracks at Roosevelt Avenue and 73rd Street and they told him that on days when they can't get work, they often go hungry.
So, Munoz started bringing them food. At first, it was eight brown bag sandwiches.
Now, eight years later, he feeds as many as 140 people a night - every night.
He has only missed one night, and that was because of truly impassable weather.
Even getting laid off, which happened to him in December, hasn't stopped him.
"Sometimes it's just raining or snowing. They have no job. So, they are expecting me there. So, I always tell them that I'll be there tomorrow. I'll be there tomorrow," Munoz told WCBS 880 reporter Marla Diamond.
So, today, Robinson Cano dropped by to help him with the cooking. Cano chopped potatoes and stirred the lentil stew.
Along with him were teammates Curtis Granderson, Hiroki Kuroda, and Boone Logan.
In addition to their help cooking and distributing the food in Jackson Heights, the Yankees brought Munoz a $10,000 donation.
Munoz was honored last year at the White House by President Barack Obama.
