CB7 ends the year with a holiday meal and a retirement announcement

Staff

CB7 ends the year with a holiday meal and a retirement announcement
Cynthia Felix, Julio Peña III, Jeremy Laufer, Edgar Alvarez, and Patricia Ruiz, from left, pose with a plaque presented to CB7 by the Sunset Park Empowerment Center.

CB7 ends the year with a holiday meal and a retirement announcement Content: Brooklyn Community Board 7 kept its December meeting short this year, clearing the agenda early so members and guests could sit down together for a holiday meal.

The gathering, held Wednesday, Dec. 17, ended up serving as both a celebration and a moment of transition. Jeremy Laufer, the district manager who has helped run the day-to-day operations of CB7 for more than two decades, announced that January will be his final board meeting and that he plans to retire in February.

In remarks during his report, Laufer said he has attended more than 1,500 meetings and about 260 monthly board meetings over 25-plus years. He thanked board members and staff and wished the room a happy holiday season.

Chair Julio Peña III responded, saying publicly what many members say privately, that the board’s work runs on the administrative labor that keeps meetings, committees, and public notices moving.

“This board literally cannot function without Jeremy and our amazing staff,” Peña said, calling Laufer’s departure “big shoes to fill,” while noting that he will remain in the role for a little while longer.

The biggest visual moment of the evening came right before the food was served. Edgar Alvarez, a former CB7 member, stepped to the microphone and presented the board with a plaque recognizing members and staff for their service to the neighborhood.

Alvarez, founder of the Sunset Park Empowerment Center and an event producer with Fiesta VIP Entertainment, told the room he understands the commitment required for community board work and said the plaque was meant as a small public thank-you. Fiesta VIP has produced local programming including the Mexican Independence Day music celebration at the Sunset Park Fifth Avenue Street Festival and the neighborhood’s Cinco de Mayo and Mother’s Day Parade and Festival.

Alvarez also said he is preparing to launch a catering company, and that the CB7 gathering was his first event. He said he hopes to partner with local eateries to provide culturally appropriate food for community occasions. The meal served at the meeting was provided by Best Deli, a neighborhood deli at 4106 2nd Avenue in Sunset Park.

Beyond the celebration, elected officials made announcements, including Rep. Dan Goldman, who joined the meeting virtually from Washington and described a federal court order that would block the Department of Homeland Security from denying congressional oversight at an immigration detention site at 26 Federal Plaza.

The board paused to honor educator Maria Interlandi-Reno, who died Nov. 30 at age 47. Peña recognized her work as a teacher at P.S. 172, assistant principal at P.S. 94, and principal at P.S. 124, and her most recent role as Brooklyn North’s director of multilingual learners, including for District 15.

The night’s brief formal agenda also included a flag for the new year. Transportation Committee Chair Katie Walsh urged board members to pay attention to the city’s industrial plan, which lays out a vision for industrial neighborhoods and the future of the working waterfront. Walsh said she expects the board to discuss it more fully in January, including in the Transportation Committee and the Economic Development and Small Business Committee, given how central industrial land and the waterfront are to CB7’s district.

The December meeting was not the kind of session packed with votes or contentious testimony. Instead, the final meeting of the year ended with a simple gesture, board members breaking bread together after another year of civic work.