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‘SHE’S AN ICON’ Food pantries
struggle to
keep up with
new demand Madeleine Brennan, longest serving
principal in city’s history, dies at 93
BY ROSE ADAMS
The lionized former principal
of a Dyker Heights school —
whose 50-year tenure made her
the longest serving principal in
New York City history — died
on April 9 at the age of 93.
Madeleine Brennan took the
helm of Dyker Heights Intermediate
School 201 on 1963 after
working as a teacher in the
New York City school system
for 17 years. Her leadership and
compassion made her a beloved
fi xture of the school and the
surrounding community until
her retirement in 2013, educators
said.
“She’s an icon, a remarkable
woman,” said Robert Ciulla,
the current principal of Dyker
Heights I.S. 201, who worked
with Brennan for more than
10 years. “She infl uenced all
the people not only in Dyker
Heights, but also in the whole
city of New York.”
Brennan — who is likely the
longest-serving principal in the
nation — was known for running
a tight ship. She enforced
a formal dress code, forbid lateness,
and would distribute ominous
notes reading “Please see
me,” to staff and students who
stepped out of line. But outside
the classroom, Brennan was
the life of the party, Ciulla said.
“She a straight-forward person
when it was time to work,
but when it was time to have
fun, it was time to have fun,” he
said. “She loved to party.”
Brennan’s fi erce loyalty inspired
close bonds between
Madeleine Brennan, the former principal of I.S. 201, died on April 9. File photo Continued on page 18
BY JESSICA PARKS
Brooklyn’s food pantries
are seeing a jump in distribution
and dwindling supplies
as hundreds more families
rely on their services amid the
current outbreak of novel coronavirus.
“It has been a tough time
for us as an organization, it is
like we are going into a new
pathway that we have never
been before,” said Dr. Melony
Samuels, founder and director
of The Campaign against
Hunger, a food pantry in Bedford
Stuyvesant that provides
services to indigent families
across the borough.
The heightened need for food
services in Brooklyn follows
a surge in borough residents
seeking unemployment benefi
ts. A whopping 87,216 claims
were fi led in Brooklyn within
the 14-day period ending on
April 4 — vastly outweighing
the 3,203 claims fi led during the
same period last year.
Samuels said the number
of families served by her organization
has quadrupled to include
nearly 1,100 individuals
per day, while Thomas Neve,
the director of Reaching-Out
Community Services in Bensonhurst,
said his regular circulation
of 10,500 families has
spiked nearly 30 percent.
Both food pantry directors
said they expect their numbers
will only grow as orders
to stay-at-home and close nonessential
businesses remain
in place — directives that
could force more businesses to
shutter permanently or lay off
additional staff.
“It is defi nitely going to
come up because this is not
Continued on page 18
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