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Brooklyn's Progress
March 2001 By Yvonne Riley On February 20 the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce honored Congressman Edolphus “Ed” Towns at its Annual Black History Month celebration. Monique Greenwood, Editor in Chief of Essence Magazine, at her home, the historic Akwaaba Mansion Bed and Breakfast, hosted the cocktail reception. With over 145 Members and friends present, Congressman Towns was lauded by Brooklyn Chamber President Kenneth Adams as a friend and supporter of the Brooklyn Chamber over the years. Most recently, Congressman Towns assisted the Brooklyn Chamber in securing funding from Mayor Giuliani for the Bedford-Stuyvesant Fulton Street Initiative. This program will serve as a vehicle to stimulate retail revitalization along Fulton Street in Bedford-Stuyvesant. The Congressman’s support of this program builds upon the lengthy record of achievements in such areas as: securing equal health care for underserved communities, equalizing medical service for urban and rural communities, and ensuring that women’s health concerns are addressed. Congressman Towns, with his son Assemblyman Darryl Towns and his grand daughter Jasmine there for support, spoke passionately about the founding father of Black History Month. “We should all celebrate our history, a collective history that would help solve many issues in today’s society. Perhaps Brooklyn can revitalize Fulton Street, as Manhattan did for 125th Street, then perhaps, when the next President of the United States goes out looking for office space, he will look in Brooklyn.” Samuel Dunston, Co-chair of the Minority and Women Business Owners Committee presented the Congressman with a plaque from the Brooklyn Chamber. Following the ceremony honoring Congressman Towns, Sean Devlin, Project Director Of the Soujorn Project introduced students Kareem Graham and Jevonne Nichols who presented excerpts from their winning essays. The Soujourn Project is a non-profit education project that takes secondary school students on 10-day expeditions to civil rights landmarks in the South (see related story in this issue.) Guests included Deputy Mayor Rudy Washington, Congressman Major Owens, Commissioner Deborah Weeks, President of the Board of Education Billy Thompson, Councilman Ken Fisher, Councilwoman Una Clarke, The Chairman of Community Board 3 Joe Lang, and Al Wiltshire of Con Edison and the board of the Restoration Plaza; who were all on hand to congratulate Congressman Towns. The event was sponsored by: Citibank, Con Edison, Health Plus, Pfizer and The MONY Group. Monique Greenwood, husband Glen Pogue and daughter Glenn were all on hand to conduct tours of the Bed and Breakfast. They were assisted by their efficient staff members who served a great array of hot and cold hors d’oeuvres. Wines for the event were selected by Height’s Chateau, and DJ Ernest from Entertainment Integrators provided the music and sound system. Many of the guests present commented on how well suited the Akwaaba Mansion was for the event. |
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