Open Thread: Who Should Make the 2011 BHB Ten?

By on December 4, 2011 8:12 pm in Brooklyn Heights

Bumping this post back up top as we near the publication of this year’s list on Monday.

In 2008, we started compiling a year-end list of the most interesting/influential/fascinating folks in Brooklyn Heights.

The first BHB Ten was topped by our then newly elected NYS senator Daniel Squadron. Elected the same year as President Obama, we noted that he brought us our own “face of change.”

In 2009, Doug Biviano led the field due to his campaign for NYC Council that we called a “mash-up of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and Al Pacino’s performance in And Justice For All .”

In 2010, Preservationist Martin L. Schneider was first on our list due to his continued preservation efforts and passion for Brooklyn Heights. Schenider chronicled that fight in his book Battling for Brooklyn Heights.

So, who should make the list this year? Comment away!

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  • http://selfabsorbedboomer.blogspot.com Claude Scales

    Some thoughts:

    Tony Manheim, for his years of dedication to Brooklyn Bridge Park, and continued advocacy for it.

    Judy Stanton, for years of service to,the community.

    Hope Prosky, for years of dedication to Grace Church School, and to the children of Brooklyn Heights.

    Lois Rosebrooks, Historian at Plymouth Church, for preserving and bringing to life the history of that great institution.

    Rabbi Aaron Raskin, for…well…being Rabbi Aaron Raskin.

    Since she is no longer a BHB staffer, though still very much part of our family, Heather Quinlan.

  • Wallard

    Hoodie guy.

  • Gerry

    @ Claude,

    Why is Heather no longer at the BHB?

  • Topham Beauclerk

    Hear hear for Judy Stanton. Some of your other choices, Claude, are a little eccentric.

  • Monty

    How about Shterni Raskin, doyenne of the burgeoning Kiddie Korner empire.

  • http://www.valeriefrankel.com val

    I vote for Homer Fink every freakin’ year…

  • AEB

    Yeah, me for Homer, too. Not too intramural!

    Can we also propose influential animals?

  • http://selfabsorbedboomer.blogspot.com Claude Scales

    Topham: I delight in my eccentricity.

    AEB: like…BeeBop?

  • AEB

    I didn’t want to say it, Claude, lest I appear more than usually disingenuous, but, yes, Bebop did spring instantly to mind.

  • Livingston

    Given her role in the Tobacco Warehouse fiasco this year, Judy Stanton deserves to be at the top of every 4-letter word list.

  • Livingston

    To add to my previous comment, I would add Susan Feldman and St. Ann’s Warehouse for proposing an award winning theatre design that would have preserved an historic site and kept world-class culture in the neighorhood.

    At the very least, I would suggest St. Ann’s Warehouse, nearing its end in the neighborhood, for the artistic contributions it has made over the years, during its tenure in BH & Dumbo.

  • Knight

    And if Giamati, certainly Buscemi.

  • Topham Beauclerk

    Claude: I chose the word eccentric out of politeness. There are other adjectives one might have used.

    This honor, if it’s to have any cachet, should be awarded to the resident of Brooklyn Heights who has benefited the whole of the neighborhood in some significant way. 24,000 people, the population of BH, should not be asked to honor people you happen to like and whose influence is limited to a very small minority of that 24,000.

  • http://selfabsorbedboomer.blogspot.com Claude Scales

    I heartily second Steve Buscemi, given his role in the successful effort to save Engine Company 205: http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/29856

  • http://selfabsorbedboomer.blogspot.com Claude Scales

    Topham: Fine. Don’t vote for my nominees, and propose or vote for those that you think meet the criteria you’ve described.

  • Gerry

    I feel that y’all are being too hard on Judy Stanton she does the best that she can with the resources that she has available to her the Tabacco Wharehouse was/is/remains a difficult situation.

  • Willow St. Neighbor

    Without having to state the obvious reasons why, I say yes to Judy Stanton.Yes to Steve Buscemi.
    But why Paul Giammati?

  • Topham Beauclerk

    Claude,

    Of course I will vote as I see fit. Thank you.

  • Buggs Bunny

    Listed in no order: Judy Stanton, Anna Copa Cabana, Rob Perris, Anna Copa Cabana, Claude Scales, Anna Copa Cabana, Homer Fink, Anna Copa Cabana. TK Small. And did I mention, Anna Copa Cabana?

    (Maybe next year, Stephen and Vanessa. Keep drinking.)

  • GHB

    …and he’s been in some damn fine movies.

  • http://loscalzo.posterous.com Homer Fink

    A few things –
    Buscemi doesn’t live in Brooklyn Heights, so he doesn’t qualify.
    The list is meant to reflect residents who have done great things inside or outside of the neighborhood. So, someone winning an Oscar is just as heavy as someone who has, hypothetically, built a new playground.

    Living in Brooklyn Heights is the only qualification, being a BHB contributor doesn’t exclude you – both Claude and Heather have made the list in years past. Homer wouldn’t make his own list because it’s just as lame as talking about your fake name in the third person.

    @Gerry – Heather is still a contributor but her fancy new day job prevents her from having the time to do the Police Blotter.

  • http://selfabsorbedboomer.blogspot.com Claude Scales

    Gerry: sorry to be slow answering your question. Heather took a full time job that precludes her doing the Police Blotter. She’ll be at the BHB gathering at Vineapple on the 14th. I hope you can be there, too.

    Frankly: I’m not sure if Buscemi lives in the Heights now, or is a former resident, or lives in some adjacent neighborhood. I think he qualifies for the BHB Ten because of his contribution to saving the fire company on Middagh Street. Addendum: I see Homer has overruled me on this point.

  • Nancy

    How about our Karl Junkersfeld? He does such a great job of portraying Brooklyn Heights through his camera/video.

  • PS 8 parent

    You included Seth Phillips a couple of years ago as someone who doesn’t live in BH but has a significant role in the neighborhood. Along those lines, what about the man from Wilklow Orchards at the Borough Hall greenmarket? I can’t remember his first name, but his last name is Wilklow, and he’s been selling at this greenmarket for a quarter of a century.

    Does Norton Juster still live here?

  • Willow St. Neighbor

    Steve Buscemi made a contribution to this neighborhood and the community. I would think that in order to be considered for the BHB Ten, one would actually have to make a contribution to the Brooklyn Heights community.
    I cannot say enough kind words about Judy Stanton. I e-mailed her several times when the lights were out on the Promenade and she forwarded my e-mails to the Parks Department. She takes action that benefits the Brooklyn Heights community.

  • Cathy

    Yes, I vote for Judy Stanton, too. She contacted me a few times times this summer regarding the the search for BeeBop and even went out of her way to ask around. She also had a few good suggestions regarding new posters. Unfortunately, BeeBop has still not been found.

  • http://www.valeriefrankel.com val

    I second the Karl J. idea!

  • T.K. Small

    Bugs Bunny: Thank you for the vote of confidence. Had I known that I was eligible for inclusion on this esteemed list once again, I would’ve started a campaign six months ago.

    I would like to nominate “nabeguy” formerly of the Heights. Although he did abandon us for nasty Long Island, he was always good for interesting comments and excellent puns.

  • lois

    After a three way tie for first among Homer Fink, Karl Junkersfeld and Claude Scales, I vote for Henrik Krogius (Hts Press), Judy Stanton for her continued dedication to the BHA (whether you agree or disagree with her)…

  • lori

    Tony Manheim? He was head of the Brooklyn Bridge Park movement for years and nothing happened. Also, some of the others nominated have too narrow an influence on a specific church, synagogue or other organization.

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