Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce gets set to celebrate centennial

Legislative trips to Albany, Washington also on 2018 calendar

January 5, 2018 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Led by President and CEO Andrew Hoan (front and center) the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce delegation gathers on the grand inside the State Capitol in Albany during a two-day trip in March. Eagle file photo by Paula Katinas

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The year 2018 is shaping up to be a busy one for the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, which is making big plans to host a once in a lifetime celebration of its centennial and is busy mapping out a schedule of important meetings with key lawmakers at the federal, state and city levels of government.

The biggest event of the year will be the “Gala of the Century,” a dinner celebrating the 100th anniversary of the founding of the chamber.

The event will take place on Feb. 10 in the Grand Ballroom of the New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge on Adams Street. Chamber President Andrew Hoan and the board of directors will be handing out Brooklyn Century Awards to individuals who have worked hard on behalf of the borough.

Founded in 1918, the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce is the largest chamber of commerce in New York state with more than 2,100 members, from large corporations to mom and pop stores.

Headquartered at 335 Adams St. in Downtown Brooklyn, the chamber offers assistance to businesses large and small, promotes the borough nationally and internationally as a great place to do business and serves as a voice for the business community with elected officials.

As it does every year, the chamber is planning to travel to City Hall, Albany and Washington, D.C. to sit down with elected officials to discuss ways to improve the business climate in Brooklyn.

First up is a trip to Albany on Feb. 17 to meet with members of the New York State Black Caucus. A month later, on March 12, a large delegation is expected to trek up to the state Capitol again for a two-day visit to meet with Brooklyn Assembly members and state senators.

The Brooklyn Eagle accompanied the chamber delegation in Albany last year.

Chamber leaders usually plan the trip to take place just prior to the start of budget negotiations.

The 2017 trip saw the chamber’s largest contingent ever travel by Amtrak to Albany with more than 90 members making the journey upstate.

During the Albany visit, chamber members met with virtually every member of the Brooklyn delegations to the State Senate and State Assembly. With 21 members, the Assembly’s Brooklyn delegation is the largest in that legislative body. Assemblymember Joe Lentol (D-North Brooklyn) is the chairman of the Brooklyn delegation. There are six state senators representing the borough.

“This is our largest contingent ever and it says something about how engaged our members are,” Hoan told the Eagle.

This year’s trip to the state Capitol will also include Brooklyn Night.

The event, chamber sponsors every year, is a reception featuring more than 50 vendors from the borough who serve Brooklyn-made tasty treats, including hot dogs, potato chips, beer, soda, ice cream, cakes, lasagna and all sorts of other dishes to lawmakers from all over New York state.

Brooklyn Night gives lawmakers a chance to take a break from their legislative duties to relax and enjoy the best of the borough’s cuisine.

But the event also has serious purpose, according to Hoan, who said it is part of chamber’s overall purpose of promoting Brooklyn as a great location in which to do business and a viable place in which to make business investments.

The chamber’s trip to City Hall to discuss issues with elected officials from Brooklyn and officials in the de Blasio administration will take place during the month of September, although an exact date has not been set.

In recent years, the chamber has made a trip down to Washington, D.C. to meet with lawmakers and that tradition will continue when a delegation visits Capitol Hill on Nov. 28-29.