Brooklyn's Progress
December 2007/January 2008

Business Leaders Honored at Annual Gala
Brooklyn Psychiatric Centers, Inc., which changed its name to Brooklyn CareWorks, held the agency’s annual gala recently, celebrating 101 years of service to Brooklyn.  Four Brooklyn business leaders were honored at the gala, including Timothy D. King, senior partner with Brooklyn Chamber Member Massey Knakal Realty Services, and Massey Knakal’s Managing Partner Brian T. Leary. Both received the Judge Robert J. Wilkin Commitment to Community Award.

“Tonight I’m reminded of something one of my favorite authors, Kahlil Gibron, wrote – ‘work is love made visible,’"  said Mr. King. “At first that statement was a little hard to grasp, but after watching my wife, Francine, run her dance studio on Flatbush Avenue for four and a half decades, I saw firsthand that work was love made visible.”

YMCA Breaks Ground on Aquatics Center
The YMCA of Greater New York held a groundbreaking ceremony for a new aquatics center at the Prospect Park YMCA. The $6 million aquatics center will replace the existing pool, which opened in 1927. 

Construction is expected to take from 12 to 14 months with a grand opening sometime in 2008. It is expected that the Center will allow the Y to dramatically expand its free and low-cost aquatics programs for residents of all ages from Park Slope, Sunset Park, Windsor Terrace and surrounding communities.

The 8,500-square-foot Aquatics Center will feature a new pool with six 75-foot lanes, double the size of its current pool. The Center will be constructed on what is now a parking lot, connected to the present pool and locker rooms.

Brooklyn Navy Yard to Get Historical Center
Chamber Members the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation joined with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, and Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz to announce that plans are underfoot for the Brooklyn Navy Yard Historical Center. It is scheduled to open in early 2010.

The Center, which will be housed in the United States Marine Corps Commandant’s residence, will “celebrate the Navy Yard’s past, present and future and will provide community meeting space and office facilities for the Brooklyn Center for the Urban Environment (BCUE),” according to the announcement. Founded in 1978, BCUE is dedicated to educating individuals about the built and natural environments of New York City. It is now housed in Prospect Park.

It’s Brooklyn vs. Baltimore in new Pratt Exhibit
Pratt Institute presents “Brooklyn vs. Baltimore: Pratt/MICA Student Sculpture Exhibition,” a show with works of sculpture by students from both Pratt Institute and Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) in Baltimore, at the Rubelle and Norman Schafler Gallery. The exhibit runs through Dec. 21.

The show was juried by Gabriel Martinez, a graduate student at Columbia University, who has curated shows in Maryland and Virginia and has helped to run the non-profit Washington D.C. gallery space Decatur Blue since 2001.

New York Congregational Home for the Aged Foundation Celebrates ‘Spirit of Life’
New York Congregational Home for the Aged Foundation held their 18th Annual Spirit of Life Celebration at the Palm House at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens recently.

The two honorees of this celebration exemplify the positive power of connections. Melvin Mister, consultant, was honored for his life long advocacy for affordable housing and community based economic development. Rose Pereg, founder and CEO of Stonebridge Medical, was recognized of the personal interest and consistent support for the special programs for the residents of the New York Congregational Nursing Center.

Italian Americans Honored at Brooklyn Borough Hall
In October, Borough President Marty Markowitz hosted an event to observe Italian-American Heritage Month, where he honored Chamber Members Robert Catell, chairman of National Grid and Lella De Angelis and the Gargiulo Restaurant Family. A special recognition was given to Joseph Stile, the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce Historian. Following the ceremony inside the Courtroom, a reception was held in the Rotunda, featuring Italian culinary delights, music and a performance of the traditional tarantella.

Brooklyn Making Strides Against Breast Cancer
On Oct. 21, thousands of moms, dads, children, grandparents, co-workers, breast cancer survivors, and their loved ones joined the fight against breast cancer by walking in the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park.
Since 1993, Making Strides has been the American Cancer Society’s premier event dedicated to raising awareness and dollars in support of breast cancer research, education, advocacy, and patient services.  The success of the event has enabled the American Cancer Society to fund more than $323 million for breast cancer research projects since 1972.

Lutheran Celebrates Sunset Park Family Health Center
The Sunset Park Family Health Center celebrated 40 years of serving as Sunset Park's primary care home with a gala awards dinner and fundraiser on October 12 at the Brooklyn Marriott. More than 700 people attended the 40th anniversary gala with opening remarks from Christine Quinn, speaker of the New York City Council, and honored the efforts of community health pioneers: George Adams, president emeritus; Harvey Holzberg, executive director emeritus, Senator Robert Menendez and Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez.

One of the nation’s first, largest and most comprehensive federally qualified community health centers, the Sunset Park Family Health Center is the hub of the Lutheran Family Health Centers network, which operates nine full-time sites offering comprehensive primary, specialty, and dental services.