Cathedral Club to hold 125th anniversary gala

The  Cathedral Club of Brooklyn will hold its 125th anniversary dinner on Thursday, Feb. 6, at 8 p.m. in the El Caribe Country Club, 5945 Strickland Ave. in Mill Basin. William Neri is the current president of the prestigious Catholic lay organization that was founded in 1900 by the Rev. George Mundelein, who became a  Brooklyn auxiliary bishop and was later appointed as the cardinal of the Archdiocese of Chicago. 

This auspicious event will honor new NYPD Chief of the Department John Chell and prominent attorney Joseph Rosato. The principal speaker will be Rev. Michael J. S. Bruno, the dean of seminarians at St. Joseph Seminary and College. Bishop Robert Brennan, the head of the Brooklyn Catholic Diocese, is the club’s spiritual leader.

Individual tickets are $300 and tables of 10 are $3,000.  Tickets can be purchased at CathedralClub.org.

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The Brooklyn-based Long Island Assembly #703 of the Knights of Columbus is holding a fundraiser to support the 2025 Brooklyn Independence Day Parade. They are calling it “Happy 4th of July in January,” and it will be held on Friday, Jan. 31 at 7:30 p.m. in the Archbishop John Hughes Council club room, 1305 86th St. Admission is $35 per person and includes beer/wine/soda, sandwiches, salads, coffee and dessert. The event is being coordinated by parade chairman Sean Flanagan, fundraising co-chairs Danny Morgan and Charles Dono.  For tickets, call 646-724-8377 or  917-751-2073. 

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The Society of Old Brooklynites, which was founded in 1880, is breaking with a longstanding tradition of holding nighttime meetings at Brooklyn Borough Hall, to afternoon meetings from 3 to 5 p.m. Its first 2025 monthly meeting will be held on Thursday, Feb. 6. Dr. Fred Monderson is the current president. Other officers include First VP Theodore General, Second VP Michael Spinner, Treasurer Sherman Silverman and Secretary  Hyacinth Constance.

The society is always looking for new members. Any U.S. citizen who has resided or worked in Brooklyn for at least 25 years is eligible for membership. While it’s called the Society of Old Brooklynites, we were advised it is somewhat of a misnomer because you don’t have to be considered “old” to join.

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For the December meeting of the Bay Ridge Historical Society, the guest speaker was well-known local historian and civic activist Victoria Hofmo. Her focus on the American Revolutionary War covered the aftermath of the Battle of Long Island (a/k/a Battle of Brooklyn), where the British forces occupied Brooklyn and New York for eight years. Tom McCarthy is the current president of the BRHS. For more info on the society, visit BayRidgeHistory.com.