BHA focuses on community, Public Realm and BQE at 2025 Annual Meeting

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — Building community was a major theme of the Brooklyn Heights Association’s 2025 Annual Meeting, held Thursday at the First Unitarian Congregational Society on Pierrepont Street. Patching the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway’s Triple Cantilever before it falls down was another.

The evening’s emcee, BHA’s Executive Director Lara Birnback, thanked First Unitarian for allowing the gathering to return to the historic church, “after the — ahem — excitement of last year’s meeting,” referring to the pro-Palestinian protestors who derailed last year’s planned presentation by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand. 

The pews were packed. A show of hands revealed that the majority of attendees have lived in Brooklyn Heights for 35 years or more, but eager newbies (many of whom live with kids and pets) were also in the mix.

BHA President Jeremy Lechtzin recapped the organization’s 2024 accomplishments, from “Public Realm” projects to the ongoing saga of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, and reported on BHA’s many community-building events and programs. 

BHA also celebrated local volunteers with its annual Community Service Awards. The event was followed by a reception with refreshments provided by The Watermark at Brooklyn Heights. 

Birnback recognized numerous officials in attendance “who have been incredible partners,” she said. These included state Sen. Andrew Gounardes, Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon, Borough President Antonio Reynoso and (new dad) Councilmember Lincoln Restler, along with representatives from Rep. Dan Goldman’s office and others. She also gave a shoutout to the 84th Precinct’s Neighborhood Coordination Officers P.O. Jeffrey Sanjose and P.O. Juan Urgilestoral. 

2024 year in review: Public realm

“Public Realm is how we categorize many of our efforts around streetscapes, parks and other public spaces,” Lechtzin said.

BHA has been advocating for daylighting intersections on Montague Street; creating loading zones; and expanding areas for seating and greenery, in conjunction with the Montague BID, Restler and the NYC Department of Transportation, he said. 

“The goal is to make the intersections safe for pedestrians and drivers, calm traffic and reduce double parking on Montague.” BHA also wants to create more usable space on the sidewalks and in the curb lane. NYCDOT expects to pilot some of these activities later this year.

BQE: Support for long-term, comprehensive solution

The dilemma of the crumbling, 1940s-era Triple Cantilever section of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway has been a focus of BHA activism for more than a decade. In 2024, BHA participated in the launch of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway Environmental Justice Coalition, “committed to achieving a comprehensive and corridor-wide transformation of the BQE,” Lechtzin said.

BHA also supports a joint letter sent by local officials in December to then-Deputy Mayor Joshi urging a stabilization plan to preserve the Triple Cantilever for at least the next 15 to 20 years, Lechtzin said. “This would buy the necessary time for the city and state to work with our communities to develop a far more visionary and comprehensive solution to the problem of the BQE than anything that has been advanced so far.”

Given the leadership change in Washington, the anticipated lack of federal funding and the current uncertainty at City Hall, it’s no longer clear that approval and construction of the city’s proposal will occur “before the useful life of the cantilever expires,” he warned.

The good news: WIM sensors are working

Lechtzin ended his BQE roundup with a piece of good news. “This week DOT reported that since the weigh-in-motion (WIM) truck sensors were installed on the Queens-bound section of the BQE in the fall of 2023, overweight truck traffic has been down by 60%.” Heavy trucks are far more damaging to the Triple Cantilever than passenger cars, he explained.

BHA-sponsored events 

Lechtzin noted the many popular events sponsored by BHA last year. Montague Open Streets brought back the beloved BHA Dog Show after a nine-year hiatus, and debuted the Montague Open Pickleball Tournament, along with dozens of other activities.

Other events included the annual Halloween costume parade; the egg hunt in Pierrepont Playground, and the Spring Into Service Weekend, which will return April 26 this year. BHA’s partnership with the Center for Brooklyn History continues.

Lechtzin also lauded the launch of a new video series posted on their Instagram and YouTube channels, and last, “but certainly not least,” BHA’s signature event, the biennial Brooklyn Heights Designer Showhouse, BHA’s main source of financial support. (BHA’s yearly financials will be available on their website.)

One new activity planned for 2025 is bringing The Longest Table to Brooklyn Heights. “Every Longest Table event is unique, but what they all have in common is the magic that happens when we sit together to share a meal,” he said.

Landmarks preservation

In 2024 BHA successfully advocated to save the 75-year-old Grace Court Gardens, and worked with a coalition of preservationists to have the city landmark the Brooklyn Edison building at 45 Adams St. in Downtown Brooklyn. BHA continues to advocate for landmarking sites in Downtown Brooklyn that are important to the area’s collective architectural, cultural, and social history, he said. 

BHA recently added a page to their website with information for about how to work with the LPC.

Q & A

In the Q & A section of the meeting, questions ranged from preserving historic-but-endangered homes on Duffield Street in Downtown Brooklyn (BHA is part of a coalition working to preserve these homes, Lechtzin said); to what’s happening with the Bossert Hotel on Montague Street. This question evoked laughter as it has come up every year in recent memory. 

Birnback said she asked Bossert’s owners what’s going on. Long-term plans “are still in development,” she was told. 

After a complaint about e-scooters on the sidewalks, Restler said he was working on legislation requiring registration of the vehicles, along with pushing various incentives to delivery companies.

“Marc Wouters’ latest proposal for the BQE Cantilever section has been distributed, and it looks pretty damn fantastic,” said Heights resident Laurie Garrett. “I wonder what kind of feedback you’re getting?”

Birnback reiterated BHA’s belief that, while the plan is worthy of further review, the best path forward is to come up with a stabilization plan for the Cantilever “in order to make sure that we don’t have any tragedies on our hands.”

Following the meeting, Birnback told the Eagle, “It’s always great to see neighbors gathered together, and it was especially meaningful to highlight the wonderful contributions of a number of dedicated community volunteers. It was also fantastic to have a good number of people in the audience who said it was their first BHA Annual Meeting, hopefully it was the first of many to come!”

Community Service Awards

A time-honored tradition, BHA every year presents its Community Service Awards to individuals and groups who make a significant contribution to the neighborhood’s quality of life.

One bit of the tradition was different this year  — Tom Stewart, former announcer for 13 WNET New York and neighborhood celebrity — has stepped down as emcee. Taking on the mantle is BHA Deputy Director Kim Glickman. “After all of his years serving the BHA in that capacity, Tom has graciously passed the certificates to me,” Glickman said.

This year’s honorees were people who specifically volunteered to help BHA carry out its mission:

Alexis McNeil helped BHA build their online community by “leveling up” their Instagram and brainstorming social media content and campaigns. She also runs the Spooky Stoop contest in the fall.

Andy McNeil volunteered to be the “behind the scenes person” filming and editing  “My Brooklyn Heights,” a video series featuring interviews with some of the neighborhood’s diverse residents.

Andrew Nodell: Nodell’s background as an arts and culture journalist made him a perfect fit to be the “frontman” for the “My Brooklyn Heights” video project. Nodell is also part of a Chapin Playground cleanup group.

Azra Sudetic: Sudetic spent hours filming, interviewing designers and creating fun Instagram reels for the biennial Brooklyn Heights Designer Showhouse. She got “incredibly high engagement and clearly drove traffic and ticket sales,” all while expecting her first child.

David Solomito: From increasing local business’ engagement on Open Streets, to bringing pickleball to Montague Street, to looking into ways to fill empty retail spaces, to serving on BHA’s Public Realm Committee, Solomito has never said no to BHA.

Grace Flintermann: Flintermann brought the beloved BHA Dog Show back after a nine-year hiatus. “If you were on Montague Street last May, you would have seen the joy she helped bring not just to our dogs, but to our dog-loving community,” Glickman said.

Katheryn Keller: Keller approached BHA with an offer to redo their cluttered conference room and turn it into a usable, appealing space for the community. She has spent countless hours in the windowless room, sorting through supplies and keeping BHA staffers on schedule.

Lauren Wilson: Wilson helped BHA build a young professionals’ community, especially aimed at single or newly-married couples. She is now part of a team working on the new community event, The Longest Table.

Sarah Jane “Sadie” Horton: Horton has helped foster a volunteer community to support the Designer Showhouse. Every Showhouse year, Horton recruits more than 150 volunteers for the 5- to 6-week run of show. She also spends many hours volunteering at the Brooklyn Women’s Exchange.

Proclamation for going ‘above and beyond’

Restler presented a special City Council Proclamation to honor Julio Semidei, the Sanitation Supervisor for Brooklyn Heights, for going “above and beyond” to keep the community clean. 

“Julio has worked for the Department of Sanitation since 2008, he’s a Brooklyn native, and he’s been in our community since 2018,” Restler said. “It’s really extraordinary how committed he is to helping to keep Brooklyn Heights clean.”

Restler described a recent occasion when someone was ripping up garbage bags and strewing garbage all over the street. “You could find Julio on his hands and knees, picking up garbage, sweeping it up. That’s not the job description. That is somebody who really is deeply invested.”