Lincoln Restler hosts rollicking senior luncheon in Brooklyn Bridge Park

BROOKLYN BRIDGE PARK — Councilmember Lincoln Restler hosted the first-ever District 33 luncheon for hundreds of seniors on Thursday — and proclaimed Sept. 7 “Vivian Levy Day.”

With food, awards, lighthearted banter from officials, music and dancing, the event on Pier 2 in Brooklyn Bridge Park turned into the soiree of the summer season.

Restler presented a special citation to 104-year-old Vivian Levy, a resident of Brooklyn Heights, calling her “an inspiration to residents of Brooklyn and beyond.”

“Today is Vivian Levy Day in all of the 33rd Council District. So we will be celebrating this day on September 7 in this district for a very long time to come,” he declared.

Restler called Levy, who has been lauded in the press for her vigor (she goes swimming every morning), “One of the great champions of Brooklyn Heights for generations. She was an extraordinary teacher at P.S. 188, a guidance counselor in Bedford-Stuyvesant and Williamsburg, and she brings more youth and dynamism and energy to our older adult center at Saint Charles Jubilee than people half her age.”

“We’re doing this luncheon to thank our seniors,” Restler told the Brooklyn Eagle. “This event is for older adults in Council District 33, so we brought together seniors from across our whole district — from Greenpoint to Brooklyn Heights to Gowanus — to enjoy an afternoon and Brooklyn Bridge Park.”

Luncheon guest Gino Monaco said he was having a great time at the party — and he wants the Eagle’s readers to know that he loves his center, Raices Times Plaza Senior Center on Atlantic Avenue in Boerum Hill.

“I’m very satisfied with my senior center,” he said. “It’s very big, there’s a lot of activities, a lot of things going on, and I love it.”

Officials: We’re here for you

Eric Landau, president of BBP, welcomed the guests, saying the park went all out to make space for the party.

“It’s like the third rail of Brooklyn politics — taking over the pickleball courts. That’s how important this is to us,” Landau said. “But we were happy to do that.”

State Sen. Andrew Gounardes told seniors he was the new kid on the block. “Because I’m new in this neighborhood, even though I’ve been a state senator for more than five years. I am your state senator, I’m your voice of democracy, and I’m proud to represent you all.”

He added, “I want to say, for the record, I’m a year younger than Lincoln.”

Jo Anne Simon pulled rank on fellow electeds Gounardes and Restler.

“I’ve been living in this area for longer than either one of them has been alive,” she said.

“We are here to thank you,” she told attendees. “You are the people who have made our communities be the strong communities that they are, and we will continue to work together to make sure that you have your needs met.”

“We’re here for you,” said Kristen Gonzalez, the newest state senator from Williamsburg and Greenpoint’s District 59.

“Our communities are what they are because you built them,” said Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez, commissioner of the NYC Department for the Aging. “You stayed in those communities, you keep giving back, you keep voting, letting us know what we’re doing well. And you definitely have no problem letting us know what what we’re not doing well.”

Cortés-Vázquez informed the crowd that there is now one police officer, called the Liaison for Older Adults, assigned to every precinct. Crime against the elderly is not up, but it’s more targeted, she said. “So that is a concern.”

Citations for community leaders

Restler presented Lona Tyre and Vie Mae Richardson with special citations from the City Council for going “above and beyond to help the residents at the Gowanus Houses.”

“Every other Saturday there are food distributions of fresh produce, there was a big backpack giveaway two days ago, there are community meetings happening all the time. And two people who are always there leading the fight, always there to help, always there to serve, are Lona Tyre and Vie Mae Richardson,” Restler said.

Borough President Antonio Reynoso reminded the guests that on hot days they can go to their senior centers or visit Borough Hall to cool off. But mainly, he said, he was at the luncheon to party.

“I hope you can join me on the dance floor,” Reynoso said. “I’ll be doing a couple of cool moves. And of course I’m going to make Lincoln and Jo Anne Simon and Christian Gonzalez join me — we are going to dance a little bit.”

As teaching artists from the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music rolled out Santana’s “Oye Como Va,” seniors wasted not a minute taking Reynoso up on his invitation to boogie down — and Restler and Simon joined in the merriment.

“Look out Brooklyn Black Tie Ball,” said one of the dozens of luncheon volunteers. “They’ve got the celebs, but the seniors have all the fun.”