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Arthur Aidala honored as the Brooklyn Bar Association’s annual dinner returns

December 6, 2022 Rob Abruzzese
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The biggest legal event in Brooklyn finally returned after a three-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as the Brooklyn Bar Association Foundation held its annual dinner at El Caribe in Mill Basin on Monday.

Approximately 600 people filled the Brooklyn catering hall for the event. Not quite the same crowd as in years past, which drew upwards of 900 to 1,000 people, but it remains the largest legal event in Brooklyn, and the biggest since the last annual dinner in 2019.

It was a new location, but past president Arthur Aidala and Mayor Eric Adams helped to ensure that it was the same classic event that the local legal community has grown accustomed to.

Honoree Justice Larry Martin (center) with Steve Cohn (left) and Gregory Cerchione (right).
Photo: Mario Belluomo/Brooklyn Eagle

Aidala, who received the President’s Award, was joined by fellow honorees Hon. Larry Martin, Justice of the Supreme Court, Kings County, Hemalee Patel, general counsel for the New York City Board of Elections, and Hon. Bruce Balter, Justice of the Supreme Court, Kings County.

Aidala is the managing partner of Aidala, Bertuna & Kamins P.C., which has its hand in some of the largest criminal cases in New York City. Aidala also hosts The Arthur Aidala Power Hours on AM970 The Answer, and he had previously appeared regularly on Fox News as a legal analyst from 2004 through 2016.

During his acceptance speech, Aidala explained that being president of the Brooklyn Bar Association was one of the highlights of his entire career. The BBA has not been busier since he was president in 2015/2016 as he traveled to Cuba, renovated part of the BBA building, helped to establish the LGBTQ+ Committee, and raised a record amount of money during the Hon. Theodore T. Jones Memorial Golf Outing.

Honoree Hemalee Patel with Mayor Eric Adams.
Photo: Mario Belluomo/Brooklyn Eagle

“Who here was on the trip to Cuba?” Aidala questioned the crowd. 26 of the 33 members of the BBA who took that trip to Cuba were on hand to see their trip-leader be honored.

Aidala set the tone for the evening, but he was helped out by Attorney General Letitia James, friend and fellow attorney Geraldo Rivera, and New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who made a brief appearance.

The dias certainly reflected how big the evening was as it was adorned by some of the biggest names in the legal community: Domenick Napoletano, treasurer of the NYSBA and past president of the BBA, NYSBA President Sherry Levin Wallach, Hon. Desmond Green, Hon. Adam Silvera, Hon. Lawrence Knipel, Hon. Matthew D’Emic, Hon. Deborah Kaplan, Hon. Tamiko Amaker, Hon. Carolyn Walker-Diallo, Hon. Cheryl Gonzales, and Hon. Keshia Espinal, as well as president-elect Joseph Rosato, President Richard Klass, and past presidents Steve Cohn, Anthony Lamberti, Gregory Cerchione, Hon. Jeffrey Sunshine, Hon. Nancy Sunshine, Hon. Barry Kamins, and Aimee Richter.

Sitting on the dias (pictured from left): Hon. Matthew D’Emic, Hon. Deborah A. Kaplan, Hon. Tamiko Amaker, and Attorney General Letitia James.
Photo: Mario Belluomo/Brooklyn Eagle

The following judges who have retired since 2020 or are retiring this year were honored: Hon. Thomas Aliotta, Hon. Loren Baily-Schiffman, Hon. Bruce Balter, Hon. Mark Dwyer, Hon. Sylvia Hinds-Radix, Hon. Marsha Steinhardt, Hon. Edgar Walker, and Hon. Michelle Weston.

While it was certainly a festive atmosphere, the BBA did take time to remember members of the legal community who died during the pandemic including Hon. Gloria Cohen Aronin, Hon. Johnny Lee Baynes, Hon. Noach Dear, Hon. John Delury, Hon. Michael Feinberg, Hon. William Miller, Hon. Gerard Rosenberg, Hon. Joseph Slavin, past president Joseph Farrell, past president Marshall Kaplan, and past president John Murphy.

Pictured from left: Honoree Justice Bruce Balter, Mayor Eric Adams, Joseph Rosato, and Steve Cohn.
Photo: Mario Belluomo/Brooklyn Eagle

 

Sitting on the dias (pictured from left): Hon. Matthew D’Emic, Hon. Deborah A. Kaplan, Hon. Tamiko Amaker, and Attorney General Letitia James.
Photo: Mario Belluomo/Brooklyn Eagle

 

Hon. Jeffrey Sunshine and Hon. Nancy Sunshine.
Photo: Mario Belluomo/Brooklyn Eagle

 

Pictured from left: Gregory Cerchione, Hon. Michelle Weston, Hon. Frank Seddio, Hon. Loren Baily-Schiffman, and Joseph Rosato.
Photo: Mario Belluomo/Brooklyn Eagle

 

Pictured clockwise from top left: Hon. Michael Farkas, Kings County Criminal Bar Association President Darran Winslow, Hon. Joanne Quinones, Jay Schwitzman, Christopher Wright, and George Farkas.
Photo: Mario Belluomo/Brooklyn Eagle

 

From left: Hon. Genine Edwards, Hon. Michelle Weston, Hon. Cenceria Edwards, and Hon. Lisa Ottley.
Photo: Mario Belluomo/Brooklyn Eagle

 

Hon. Lawrence Knipel and Hon. Katherine Levine.
Photo: Mario Belluomo/Brooklyn Eagle

 

From left: Hon. Lizette Colon, Barton Slavin, and Public Administrator Javier Ortiz.
Photo: Mario Belluomo/Brooklyn Eagle

 

From left: Daniel Antonelli, Andrea Bonina, and Erin Peake.
Photo: Mario Belluomo/Brooklyn Eagle
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