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Standing O is back and cheering Brooklyn on!

Standing O is back and cheering Brooklyn on!
Photo by Steve Solomonson

Midwood

Three cheers and rosebuds to our gal pal Gwendoline Parker, who turned a spry 93 years young and celebrated with a feast at the Midwood Senior Center on Sept. 10. Holy-moley, just look at the size of that cake! But where was Standing O’s piece? Gwendoline still trips the light fantastic and loves to spend her time at the senior center schmoozing with pals and cutting a rug.

Standing O wishes Gwendonline many happy returns.

Midwood Senior Center [4815 Avenue I between E. 48th and E. 49th streets in Midwood, (718) 253–5557].

Midwood

CoJo on the go

Welcome to the neighborhood. CoJo of Flatbush opened its brand-spanking new community office on Sept. 9 with a whopping good time that feted over 250 guests and officials. The new offices stretch CoJo’s area of help to Midwood’s residents with legal, rental, and medical matters. The new space boasts a large, comfortable, client-friendly area for community members and enables CoJo to consolidate its human services divisions, allowing its 25,000 clients to be served with a wide spectrum of programs under one roof.

“Now we can ensure cutting-edge delivery of social services, programs for seniors, youths, immigrants, employment, small business and financial counseling initiatives,” Moshe Zakkheim, president of CoJo, told Standing O.

Standing O says, “Mazel tov and bienvenue.”

CoJo of Flatbush [1523 Avenue M at E. 16th Street in Midwood, (718) 377–2900]

Williamsburg

Culinary cudos

We hear that Brooklyn’s own Chef Carla Contreras, former Careers through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP NY) Culinary Coordinator, and private chef and founder of Red Clog Kitchen, competed on the TV show “Chopped.” Our pal Carla wowed the judges with her fantastic carrot cake, kosher shrimp, and turkey taco sensations.

This cuisine de chef showed her passion for the culinary arts and landed a finalist position by presenting her caramel corn as dessert. Carla started cooking as a young child in Rochester to an Italian family that tilled it’s own backyard garden.

“I believe that food is love and coming from an Italian family it is more than love, it’s life. Becoming a chef and culinary educator was a natural extension of who I am,’ said Carla.

Standing O says abundanza!

Brooklyn Heights

The best of the best

Kudos to St. Francis College, the small college of big dreams, for ranking as one of the top regional colleges in the north by U.S. News. The folks over at St. Francis are all aglow at the accolades. “Being recognized in U.S. News is an affirmation of the success our faculty, staff and administrators for providing a top-flight education,” said Brendan Dugan, president.

Hey, what about Standing O’s ranking? St. Francis is number one with us. U.S. News bases its ranking on assessments from peer colleges, graduation and retention rates and alumni gifts, but Standing O uses a better criteria. St. Francis has been in the borough since 1859 and we all know that in order to last that long, you’ve got to be the best of the best.

So congratulations, St. Francis, long may you teach.

St. Francis College [180 Remsen St. at Court Street in Brooklyn Heights, (718) 489–5214].

Read Standing O every Thursday on BrooklynDaily.com!