STANDING Brooklyn’s Biggest Booster
Brooklyn Hospital Center honors Kings County women
BY ELISSA ESHER
Brooklyn Hospital Center bigwigs
celebrated the medical center’s 175th
anniversary with an Oct. 2 award ceremony
honoring 10 extraordinary
women for their outstanding contributions
to Kings County — included former
Fox 5 news anchor Sukanya Krishnan,
New York Public Library COO Iris
Weinshall, and Schneps Media President
and Publisher Victoria Schneps.
“The founding of Brooklyn Hospital
was deeply intertwined with the founding
of Brooklyn as we know it today,
and the ideas and vision of the hospital
are still refl ective of the city as a whole,”
said Vice President of Development,
Debbie Niederhoffer. “Because of that,
we decided the hospital’s anniversary
shouldn’t just celebrate the hospital itself.
It should celebrate the people who
made Brooklyn this incredibly unique
borough.”
The event — which was held in the
Brooklyn Navy Yard — was the third in
an ongoing award series aptly named
“175th Anniversary Medalists,” which
aims to celebrate the hospital’s anniversary,
as well as Kings County’s best and
brightest, according to one hospital executive.
“There were so many levels of people
getting to know and to recognize
one another,” said Niederhoffer. “Some
of the honorees were long term friends...
It was lovely to see some of the people
who make Brooklyn great mingling together.”
Founded as the borough’s fi rst voluntary
hospital in 1845 — 24 years
before work began on the Brooklyn
Bridge — the Brooklyn Hospital Center
evolved throughout the decades to meet
the needs of the borough’s growing population.
The hospital also housed Brooklyn’s
fi rst nursing school in 1880, and today
services nearly 300,000 patient visits a
year.
To help celebrate its 175th anniversary,
the hospital center is holding a
number of awards ceremony at different
locations throughout the borough
in an effort to spotlight the local businesses,
owners, and entrepreneurs that
helped shape Kings County.
Hospital honchos chose the Navy
Yard venue as tribute to Deirdre Quinn,
the CEO and Co-Founder of fashion
vendor Lafayette 148 — who recently
moved the company’s main corporate
offi ces from Manhattan to the Brooklyn
manufacturing complex, and joined
The Brooklyn Hospital Center’s board
of trustees.
“The tapestry of fabrics and fl avors
that make up Brooklyn were mirrored
in tonight’s honorees,” said Quinn.
Turn to Page 52 for images from
the star-studded gala!
COURIER L 48 IFE, OCT. 11-17, 2019
BY ELISSA ESHER
The Federation of Italian-American
Organizations of Brooklyn hosted
a luncheon at Sirico’s banquet hall this
Sunday, honoring their fi ve Brooklyn
Columbus Parade Grand Marshals.
The title, bestowed on Italian-Americans
who have contributed to the
Brooklyn community, was awarded
this year to Minister Plenipotentiary
Fracesco Genuardi, Consul General of
Italy; Cavalier Salvatore Cumella, Executive
Vice President of Lenco Diagnostic
Laboratory; Captain Anthony
Longobardi, Commanding Offi cer
of the 82nd Precinct; Robert Ciuella,
Principal at Dyker Heights Intermediate
School; and Denise Daniello, Director
of Admissions at Bensonhurst
Center for Rehabilitation and Healthcare.
“It was wonderful to honor these
unbelievable people that we chose to
be the marshals this year,” said Nancy
Scottile, Executive Director of The
Federation of Italian-American Organizations
of Brooklyn. “When the
community called, they went the extra
mile. We are very proud of them.”
Attended by elected offi cials such
as Senator Andrew Gounardes, Congressman
Max Rose and councilmen
Justin Brannan and Mark Treyger,
the event consisted of speeches by
the grand marshals and fundraising
for the parade’s bands. Each of the
Bensonhurst and Bay Ridge based
community heroes are either fi rst or
second generation Italian with the
exception of the Consul General, who
was born in Italy. In their speeches,
they celebrated their Italian heritage
and compared the stories their parents
and grandparents had told them
about Brooklyn’s past to the growing,
diversifying, and fl ourishing Brooklyn
they see today.
Donned in sashes provided by
the nonprofi t, Grand Marshals will
march at the front of the parade this
Saturday in The Federation of Italian
American Organizations’ 38th
Brooklyn Columbus Parade, which
celebrates the man who sailed the
ocean blue in 1492. They will then sit
in the front row facing the stage at the
end of the parade.
On the day that’s come to recognize
the legacy and value Italian-
American heritage and culture in the
country, the Brooklyn Columbus Day
parade will kick off at 61st Street and
18th Avenue in Bensonhurst, and will
fi ttingly end in front of Il Centro, the
nonprofi t’s multicultural community
center in Bath Beach.
While the parade’s Grand Marshals
are Italian-American, Scottile
emphasized that members of all
Brooklyn’s cultural communities will
be participating.
“Our federation isn’t just about
Italians” said Scottile. “Every community
initiative we host - including
the parade - is about celebrating the
diverse cultures of the whole community.
It’s for everybody. That’s the
whole beauty of it.”
BY JOE HITI
Three cheers for Doral
Health and Wellness, which
opened a new adult day care
center on Thursday!
Bigwigs at the expert-care
company cut the ribbon on a
new state-of-the-art adult day
care center in Brownsville,
where they will provide medical
services and entertainment
to Brooklyn seniors, said the
medical facility’s CEO.
“We are so proud to join our
neighbors in Brooklyn and provide
exceptional health care
they deserve for themselves
and their families,” said David
Lipschitz.
The new center occupies a
four-story building near Pitkin
Avenue and Mother Gaston
Boulevard, where older Brooklynites
can visit fitness and
meditation rooms, a spa, cafés,
and a gaming area.
Seniors who visit the center
can take part in a wide range
of activities like billiards and
bingo, along with cooking
classes with a top-notch culinary
staff.
Attendees of the new facility
also have access to 27-seven
medical facilities offer a dialysis
unit, urgent care, on-site
pharmacy, and infusion therapy
services.
“We look forward to meeting
other members of the community
to introduce our team
of specialists and share the
wide range of comprehensive
services we offer — all under
one roof,” said Lipschitz.
Standing O Salutes Doral
Health and Wellness on the
grand opening!
The Federation of Italian-American Organizations of Brooklyn honored Brooklyn Columbus
Parade Grand Marshals Robert Ciuella, Capt. Anthony Longobardi, Danise Daniello,
Cav. Salvatore Cumella, M.D., and (not pictured) Min. Plen. Francesco Genuardi.
The Federation of Italian-American Organizations of Brooklyn
Italian heritage group honors
Columbus Day Parade marshals
Members of the Doral Health team cut
the ribbon during the grand opening in
Brownsville on Oct. 3.
Photo by Caroline Ourso