NYC artist helps restore Greek restaurant mural damaged in flood

NEW YORK — A Greek artist left his mark on a Morningside Heights Greek restaurant decades ago. Now, a young woman inspired by his work is on a mission to restore his vision.

Nestled among the campus buildings of Columbia University, cuisine meets culture at Symposium. It was Sophia Litwak's favorite restaurant as a girl, growing up two blocks away.

"I loved the food, I loved the vibe," Litwak said. "It feels like you're stepping into, I describe it like a turtle's shell, like it's just so safe."

She rediscovered the restaurant after moving back less than a year ago. Every corner is still adorned with art, sharing the same signature.

"The owner noticed that we were neck-craned, staring at the ceiling, and he started telling us Yanni Posnakoff's story," Litwak recalled.

"He saw his parents be killed by the Nazis," Symposium owner Dan Nistorescu said.

Born in Greece in 1933, Posnakoff came to the United States as a Fulbright scholar, graduating from MIT and becoming an architect in the Navy before pursuing his passion for art.

Posnakoff moved to Morningside Heights and established a relationship with the Greek restaurant's original owners when they opened in 1969, spending most of his time gracing the space with his presence and paintbrush.

"You can imagine him doing these gestural drawings on the ground and then lifting and stamping that into place," Litwak said.

Flood damage destroys art inside NYC Greek restaurant

By the time Litwak returned as an adult, though, flood damage had destroyed part of the art above the booths. Litwak, now earning her Master of Fine Art from Savannah College of Art and Design, offered a solution, tying in Tarot card designs from her final project.

"He believed in the power of family, in the power of neighborhood," Litwak said. "It speaks toward a future that I believe in."

Like Litwak as a young girl, all those who step inside are inspired to feel the power of the artist also.

"A feeling of somebody else," admitted Nistorescu. "All of a sudden a light bulb shuts down but comes back ... I just want to make sure he's OK with what we do here."

Swirling above Symposium, the stars have aligned to keep Posnakoff's spirit alive.

Once the tarot deck design is complete, Litwak will begin selling her cards to the community.

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