The Williamsburg landlord who waived April rent for tenants at all 18 of his buildings due to the coronavirus pandemic was a guest on Ellen Degeneres’ talk show on Tuesday.
Mario Salerno, who also owns the Salerno Service Station in Williamsburg, made waves with his generosity since Greenpointers first reported that approximately 2o0 tenants in his buildings were forgiven of rent this month.
National news outlets and t.v. shows followed up in recent weeks interviewing Salerno, including a profile in the NY Times and most-recently a segment on The Ellen Show, where the host announced that the company Shutterfly would make a $25,000 donation in Salernos’ name to the local soup kitchen the North Brooklyn Angels.
59-year-old Salerno runs the same gas station his father started at 451 Lorimer St. in 1959 . During the interview he talks about the important work of feeding hospital workers and the hungry that the North Brooklyn Angels continue to build support for.
Blood money. “… it’s always much more informative to understand how powerful people treat the non-powerful people they depend on, the ones who make their isolation possible.” https://www.thedailybeast.com/people-are-finally-starting-to-see-the-real-ellen-degeneres-and-it-isnt-pretty