Fort Hamilton JROTC joins Tunnel to Towers event

Sunday Sept. 28, was the 24th anniversary of the Tunnel to Towers 5K Run and Walk. Among the nearly 40,000 participants were the Army Junior ROTC cadets from Bay Ridge’s Fort Hamilton H.S. This annual event is in memory of the heroes of 9/11 and in support of first responders and their families.

Members of the school JROTC unit’s Raider cadets took part in the 3.5-mile trek starting in Brooklyn near the entrance to the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel and ending on West Street in Manhattan. Other cadets stretched along West Street with large banners showing faces of  police officers, firefighters and others who died on 9/11. Army Maj. Sang B. Lee (Ret.) is the senior instructor of the JROTC program. 

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Joseph Loccisano, president of the Dyker Heights Civic Association, announced they will host a debate featuring local incumbents and their challengers on Tuesday, Oct. 14 at 6:30 p.m. in St. Philip’s Parish Hall, on 11th Avenue and 80th Street.

In addition to Loccisano, the other association officers are Gussie Sichenze, vice president; Jo Ann Di Meglio, secretary; Barbara Vellucci, recording secretary, and Sandy Vallas, treasurer.

The event is free and open to the public. “It promises to be an informative evening and an excellent opportunity to hear directly from the candidates who represent our community,” Loccisano said.

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The Coffey-Wilson Post #688 recently held a reception conference for John R. Miga, the New York State commander of the American Legion, that included county and district officials in the Community Club at Fort Hamilton. According to Coffey-Wilson Post Commander Juan Diaz, one of the items under discussion was the possible closure of the New York Defense Museum, which the legionnaires in attendance gave their strong support to keep it open. 

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At the October meeting of the Society of Old Brooklynites at Brooklyn Borough Hall, a resolution offered by board director Rickie James to save the New York Defense Museum at the Fort Hamilton Army Base was unanimously passed and will be sent to the top brass at the Army’s Center for Military History  in Washington, D.C., requesting the museum be removed from their proposed closure list.

The historic Brooklyn Society dates back to 1880, when Brooklyn was an independent city and the third largest in the nation. Dr. Fred Monderson, who signed the resolution, is the current Society president.

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NYU professor Stephen Rolandi was the guest speaker at the September meeting of the Bay Ridge Historical Society. He retired from New York State and City government agencies, having held executive positions in the administrations of four mayors and two governors. Rolandi is a former longtime resident of Bay Ridge and a current member of the Bay Ridge Historical Society.

Focusing on politics, his topic was “Will 2025 be like 1969 – How New York City’s finances, politics and government were impacted by the 1969  Mayor’s  Race and what it portends for this year’s Mayoral Race.”