Star of Brooklyn: Stephen Spinelli

March 23, 2015 Anna Spivak

Photo courtesy of Stephen Spinelli

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President of the 86^th Street Bath Beach Kiwanis Club

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: With three years under his belt with the 86^th Street Bath Beach Kiwanis Club, and a lifetime with Brooklyn, Stephen Spinelli, attorney at law, gives back to the community he feels a “deep connection to.”

“Kiwanis is an international service organization,” said Spinelli. “We try to engage in various activities, we stage and set up events purely with the motivation of fundraising, so that we could take whatever funds we are able to raise and put them back into various needs in the community.”

MOTIVATION: A native Brooklynite with an office in the Bensonhurst area for the past 30 years, Spinelli labels his motivation as his community.

“I was born and raised in Brooklyn and I have a deep connection to Brooklyn and the community in particular,” said Spinelli.

CAREER/DAY JOB: As an attorney in for the past 32 years, Spinelli and his firm, Stephen A. Spinelli & Associates, have set up camp in Bensonhurst, with offices on 86^th street.

BIGGEST CHALLENGE: Spinelli labeled his biggest challenge as successfully putting together a “Dream Prom” event for autistic children.

“We put on a prom and the children who attended were all special needs children,” said Spinelli. “It went off without a hitch. The goal was to have a special prom for special needs children. From flowers to dancing to limousines, the community and the businesses in the community made the task not so much of a task because so many people just wanted help.”

BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT: Throughout the year, Spinelli said, the Kiwanis club puts on events. From Christmastime to Thanksgiving, the organization pulls together and makes important contributions to the community.

“We have an annual event at the Block Institute where we give out hundreds of toys and we also give out turkeys around Thanksgiving,” Spinelli said. “Subject to our treasury, we try to do as much as we can whenever a specific need comes to our attention. It’s our goal at the end of the year, not to have anything left in the treasury.”

PERSONAL LIFE: An active member of the Bay Ridge Lawyers Associations, a group he is slated to be president of in the coming months, Spinelli spends some of his free time participating in bar associations. He also has a daughter graduating from law school in May of 2015, and a girlfriend who is an attorney as well.