Columbian Lawyers Association honors judges of Brooklyn and Staten Island

December 9, 2019 Rob Abruzzese

The Columbian Lawyers Association of Brooklyn held its 52nd annual Judges Night where it honored its member judges and judges of Italian descent in Brooklyn and Staten Island. Pictured is president Susanne Gennusa and president-elect Christopher Caputo. Eagle photos by Rob Abruzzese

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On Thursday, the Columbian Lawyers Association of Brooklyn hosted its 52nd annual Judges Night at Gargiulo’s Restaurant in Coney Island where it highlighted the good work the local judges do for the community and celebrated the collegiality between the bench and the bar.

There are no speeches or awards given out during the event. Instead, it’s an opportunity for members of the Columbian Lawyers to meet and get to know the judges. At the end, each judge is announced to the crowd with a separate announcement to highlight the judges of Italian descent.

“This is the 52nd time that we’re doing this,” said Christopher Caputo, the association’s president-elect. “Judges Night is about supporting the judges, who support us throughout the year. We also want to thank and highlight judges of Italian ancestry.”

While there were more judges of Italian descent a decade or two ago, Caputo remarked that there are likely more judges who are members of the association than ever before since the group opened itself up to non-Italian membership roughly 10 years ago.

“While we enjoy having all members of the judiciary at our event, each year the amount of them who are members of the association grows,” Caputo said. “That’s a tribute to the association and the camaraderie we’ve developed.”

The event includes a tradition whereby the president-elect announces the judges in attendance. It’s part of the way the group slowly transitions from one president to the next.

“I got a little taste of the presidency tonight,” Caputo joked. “I look forward to overthrowing the current president, Susanne Gennusa.”

Gennusa ended the event by thanking a few of the people who helped to organize it, including executive secretary Lucy DiSalvo.

“Thank you all for joining us this evening. It’s such a stellar event and its popularity is unparalleled. An event of this magnitude would not be possible without the diligent hard work of a few people — Lucy DiSalvo, Monique Holaman, Dawn Sajecki and Kristen Borruso — they’re always at our events helping out. So are Steven Bamundo, our executive board members and officers.”