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Brooklyn Eagle gives VIPs a peek at Government Guide

Comprehensive look at all things politics coming soon

September 19, 2016 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Public Advocate Letitia James said she is a big fan of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Photos by Andy Katz
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VIPs from all levels of government got a sneak peek at the Brooklyn Daily Eagle’s soon-to-be published Legislative Guide at a special breakfast event hosted by publisher Dozier Hasty at the BRIC Arts Media House on Fulton Street Friday morning.

The guests included City Comptroller Scott Stringer, Public Advocate Letitia James, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler, state Sen. Simcha Felder, Assemblymembers Peter Abbate and Jo Anne Simon, Councilmember Vincent Gentile, Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Carlo Scissura and dozens of the borough’s top business leaders.

The Legislative Guide, a stand-alone publication that will include interviews with numerous office-holders representing Brooklyn at the city, state and federal levels, will make its official debut in late October.

The Legislative Guide signals “the start of a renewed focus of the publication,” said Andrew Holt, a publishing consultant who coordinated Friday’s breakfast event and who is working with Hasty on the publication of the guide.

Two of the guest speakers, Adams and James, talked about the Brooklyn Daily Eagle’s importance to the borough.

Adams noted that the newspaper was founded in 1841. His favorite page, he said, is the “This Day in History” page because it reminds us that people have overcome disasters and terrible situations before in the country’s history. “We’re made of some good stuff,” Adams said.

Jews escaped Nazi Germany and came to the U.S. “with the stench of burnt flesh in their nostrils,” Adams said.

Ethnic groups left behind their home countries and found a foothold in Brooklyn. Forty-seven percent of Brooklyn residents “speak a language other than English at home,” Adams said.

The Brooklyn Daily Eagle “plays a major role” in bringing people together and teaching history, according to Adams. “This is a Brooklyn product,” he said.

“There are two types of people in America; those who live in Brooklyn and those who wish they did,” Adams added. “Let’s continue to soar.”

James suggested that the Brooklyn Daily Eagle be distributed to the city’s public schools so that students can read the newspaper and learn more about the borough.

“Children should be reading this each and every day,” she said as she held up a copy of the Sept. 16 edition.

James, a former city councilmember who represented Fort Greene and Clinton Hill, said she is proud of her roots in the borough. “Brooklyn is part of my DNA,” she said.

Leslie Schultz, president of BRIC, welcomed the guest to the event space. Located at 647 Fulton St., BRIC Arts Media House is situated in a building that was constructed in 1919.

BRIC opened the performance space in the building three years ago.

The space, which offers free cultural programming, featured a series of steps on which the guests sat to listen to the speakers.

“This is really Brooklyn’s stoop,” Schultz said.

BRIC also deals with issues outside of the arts, like police-community relations, according to Schultz, who said the organization is determined to be “talking about things people care about.”

The breakfast event’s sponsors were the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, Fillmore Real Estate, The Bridge Multi-Cultural and Advocacy Project, LCG, and BRIC.

 

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