Tag Archives: Brooklyn Heights

At the Sept 8 meeting: Sam Ibrahim, Jane McGroarty, Vivian Hardison, Alan Wheeler, Judith Winn.

Jane McGroarty, president of the Brooklyn Heights Association (BHA), was the guest speaker at the luncheon meeting of the Brooklyn Bridge Rotary Club, on Sept. 8.

Ms. McGroarty described the origins and activities of her civic group, which recently celebrated its centennial, and the special qualities of Brooklyn Heights, New York City’s first suburb. She said that many of the challenges tackled by the BHA over the years “are the same problems we are dealing with today,” including traffic, sanitation, noise, and “parking or the lack thereof.”

The BHA was instrumental in encouraging the rerouting of the Brooklyn Queens Expressway around Brooklyn Heights, which resulted in the creation of the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, in the establishment of the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission, and in having Brooklyn Heights designated as the city’s first historic district. Many of the neighborhood’s great old houses — which are a delight to look at and whose values have greatly appreciated — would have been demolished were it not for the BHA’s efforts, she said.

Among the BHA’s numerous current activities is that of an advocate for parks. The group pays half the salary of a gardener for the promenade, and has been encouraging of efforts to develop the new Brooklyn Bridge Park, located along the Brooklyn Heights waterfront beneath the promenade.

For the BHA’s ability to assist neighborhood residents with current concerns, she expressed appreciation for the association’s “amazing executive director,” Judy Stanton.