Connect Access for All -- USAGM
Metadata
- Connect Access for All -- USAGM
- June 27, 2022
- Content Type Package
- Language English
- Transcript/Script English CONNECT Access for All (TV) HEADLINE: A Restaurant for Everyone TEASER: Entrepreneurs create inclusive place in the hospitality industry PUBLISHED AT: 06/30/2022 BYLINE: Aaron Fedor DATELINE: New York City, New York VIDEOGRAPHER: Aaron Fedor PRODUCER: Kathleen McLaughlin, Zdenko Novacki COURTESIES: SCRIPT EDITORS: EA VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO __ TRT: 2:54 VID APPROVED BY: EA TYPE: VPKGF EDITOR NOTES: )) ((Eds: This is a self-narrated feature. There is an accompanying music track.)) ((INTRO)) ((There are still a lot of restaurants in the US that have limited access or no access at all for people with disabilities. Aaron Fedor visits Contento, a restaurant in New York City committed to accessibility for all, whose owners have removed barriers, paving the way to welcome guests.)) ((NATS/MUSIC)) ((Lauren Faraino, Visitor to New York City)) All right. Good here? ((Lauren’s Friend)) Oh, he’s already here. ((Lauren Faraino, Visitor to New York City)) Yeah. ((Lauran’s Friend)) Okay. ((Lauren Faraino, Visitor to New York City)) Oh. And look, I can actually pull up to the tables. Ah, a first. ((Lauren Faraino, Visitor to New York City)) Every time I travel to a new city, there's always a question about how accessible it will be, whether it's restaurants, storefronts, public transportation. And I think what I've found is that although the U.S. is viewed as being more accessible than other places across the world, that's not always the case. ((NATS/MUSIC)) ((Yannick Benjamin, Beverage Director/Managing Director)) The ethos here for our Contento restaurant is barrier-free. We welcome everybody. Obviously, what started off as an agenda to really welcome people with disabilities is not just limited to that. It's from people from all different backgrounds and that's what Contento is all about. ((NATS/MUSIC)) ((George Gallego, Managing Partner)) We are in East Harlem, 88 East 111th street and we're literally two blocks away from Central Park. ((NATS/MUSIC)) ((Yannick Benjamin, Beverage Director/Managing Director)) Both myself and George, we’re both paraplegics and I was really blessed to have met him. I met him in 2003 when I had my car accident and I was assigned to him as a mentor. But not only was he a mentor in my adjustment from being able-bodied to having a disability but he was there to really kind of coach me through what it takes to be an entrepreneur. ((George Gallego, Managing Partner)) Yannick was one of the toughest cases I've dealt with. Yes, you were a tough case, just in case you didn't know it. ((Yannick Benjamin, Beverage Director/Managing Director)) Yeah, I didn’t know it. I'm hearing about this for the first time. ((Yannick Benjamin, Beverage Director/Managing Director)) One day, he actually found this location and said, “Yannick, you need to work for yourself. You need to stop working for other people.” And I said, “Wow, this is a great location.” And, you know, he told me the rent. And I said, “Wow, this is unbelievable. What a dream come true.” He said, “Can I be a partner?” I said, “You want to be in the restaurant business?” He said, “I would love to. Yes.” Besides the fact that ((Courtesy: Contento)) ((Yannick Benjamin, Beverage Director/Managing Director)) we both had this love of food and wine and cocktails and most importantly people, we knew that this was an opportunity to really create something special and unique. Hopefully that doesn't stop just here in East Harlem but that'll come with you all the way down to Alabama, right. And hopefully that becomes contagious. What it means to create an accessible space? First off, you have to be willing to say, “I don't know everything and I'm willing to learn.” ((Courtesy: Contento)) ((Yannick Benjamin, Beverage Director/Managing Director)) It's been a very humbling experience to see all the accolades, all the attention that we've been getting. And I can tell you as someone with the disability, just because I’m a paraplegic doesn't mean that I know what a person that's blind is going through or who’s hard of hearing or who has a developmental disability. I listen to them. We talk about it as a team and we say, “How can we make this experience better the next time they come?” And that's the bottom line.
- Transcript/Script CONNECT Access for All (TV) HEADLINE: A Restaurant for Everyone TEASER: Entrepreneurs create inclusive place in the hospitality industry PUBLISHED AT: 06/30/2022 BYLINE: Aaron Fedor DATELINE: New York City, New York VIDEOGRAPHER: Aaron Fedor PRODUCER: Kathleen McLaughlin, Zdenko Novacki COURTESIES: SCRIPT EDITORS: EA VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO __ TRT: 2:54 VID APPROVED BY: EA TYPE: VPKGF EDITOR NOTES: )) ((Eds: This is a self-narrated feature. There is an accompanying music track.)) ((INTRO)) ((There are still a lot of restaurants in the US that have limited access or no access at all for people with disabilities. Aaron Fedor visits Contento, a restaurant in New York City committed to accessibility for all, whose owners have removed barriers, paving the way to welcome guests.)) ((NATS/MUSIC)) ((Lauren Faraino, Visitor to New York City)) All right. Good here? ((Lauren’s Friend)) Oh, he’s already here. ((Lauren Faraino, Visitor to New York City)) Yeah. ((Lauran’s Friend)) Okay. ((Lauren Faraino, Visitor to New York City)) Oh. And look, I can actually pull up to the tables. Ah, a first. ((Lauren Faraino, Visitor to New York City)) Every time I travel to a new city, there's always a question about how accessible it will be, whether it's restaurants, storefronts, public transportation. And I think what I've found is that although the U.S. is viewed as being more accessible than other places across the world, that's not always the case. ((NATS/MUSIC)) ((Yannick Benjamin, Beverage Director/Managing Director)) The ethos here for our Contento restaurant is barrier-free. We welcome everybody. Obviously, what started off as an agenda to really welcome people with disabilities is not just limited to that. It's from people from all different backgrounds and that's what Contento is all about. ((NATS/MUSIC)) ((George Gallego, Managing Partner)) We are in East Harlem, 88 East 111th street and we're literally two blocks away from Central Park. ((NATS/MUSIC)) ((Yannick Benjamin, Beverage Director/Managing Director)) Both myself and George, we’re both paraplegics and I was really blessed to have met him. I met him in 2003 when I had my car accident and I was assigned to him as a mentor. But not only was he a mentor in my adjustment from being able-bodied to having a disability but he was there to really kind of coach me through what it takes to be an entrepreneur. ((George Gallego, Managing Partner)) Yannick was one of the toughest cases I've dealt with. Yes, you were a tough case, just in case you didn't know it. ((Yannick Benjamin, Beverage Director/Managing Director)) Yeah, I didn’t know it. I'm hearing about this for the first time. ((Yannick Benjamin, Beverage Director/Managing Director)) One day, he actually found this location and said, “Yannick, you need to work for yourself. You need to stop working for other people.” And I said, “Wow, this is a great location.” And, you know, he told me the rent. And I said, “Wow, this is unbelievable. What a dream come true.” He said, “Can I be a partner?” I said, “You want to be in the restaurant business?” He said, “I would love to. Yes.” Besides the fact that ((Courtesy: Contento)) ((Yannick Benjamin, Beverage Director/Managing Director)) we both had this love of food and wine and cocktails and most importantly people, we knew that this was an opportunity to really create something special and unique. Hopefully that doesn't stop just here in East Harlem but that'll come with you all the way down to Alabama, right. And hopefully that becomes contagious. What it means to create an accessible space? First off, you have to be willing to say, “I don't know everything and I'm willing to learn.” ((Courtesy: Contento)) ((Yannick Benjamin, Beverage Director/Managing Director)) It's been a very humbling experience to see all the accolades, all the attention that we've been getting. And I can tell you as someone with the disability, just because I’m a paraplegic doesn't mean that I know what a person that's blind is going through or who’s hard of hearing or who has a developmental disability. I listen to them. We talk about it as a team and we say, “How can we make this experience better the next time they come?” And that's the bottom line.
- NewsML Media Topics Science and Technology, Arts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
- Topic Tags Access
- Network VOA
- Embargo Date June 27, 2022 15:18 EDT
- Description English There are still a lot of restaurants in the US that have limited access or no access at all for people with disabilities. Aaron Fedor visits Contento, a restaurant in New York City committed to accessibility for all, whose owners have removed barriers, paving the way to welcome guests.
- Brand / Language Service Voice of America - English