CONEY ISLAND — The Guild for Exceptional Children (GEC), a nonprofit agency that assists developmentally disabled children and adults and a staple in the Bay Ridge community, hosted around 350 guests at its annual autumn anniversary gala at Gargiulo’s Restaurant on Sunday, Nov. 17.  

The organization honored five Bay Ridgians for their support and dedication to GEC’s mission of care: Gerard Bell and Billy Gardella, owners of Skinflints restaurant; Stephen Chiaino, Esq.; Joseph Mancino, owner of Peppino’s restaurant; and Ralph Succar of Empire State Development, LLC. 

“I do what I do for the community, and it’s so great to be involved,” Succar told the crowd. “I’ve been in Bay Ridge for 55 years, and it is truly one of the most wonderful communities in Brooklyn.”    

Guests in attendance included Fran Vella-Marrone, chair of the Kings County Conservative Party; members of the Salaam Club of New York; Bruno Frustaci, Verrazzano Rotary Club president; and former State Sen. Marty Golden. 

Joe Riley, the Guild’s executive director and CEO, told the Brooklyn Eagle that one of the goals of the event is to get people to become part of GEC’s “movement.”