The converted gym on the third floor of Brooklyn College’s Roosevelt Hall hummed with myriad voices.
Late last month, students from throughout Flatbush, Midwood and Kensington converged upon the room, today the Brooklyn College Art Lab, to participate in Community Board 14’s first-ever Youth Expo – an event the board envisioned as a chance to provide area teens with an overview of the volunteer, employment and programmatic opportunities open to them, with summer just around the corner.
The tables set up by participants – who ranged from the 70th Precinct to the Brooklyn Public Library, from the Prospect Park Alliance to Target and Sears – were a distinct contrast with the setting, which itself belied its roots as a room in which seekers after physical fitness once huffed and puffed.
High up on one wall, large skeletons loomed. From another, what appeared to be a massive marionette was suspended, its multicolored garb providing a brilliant backdrop to the evening’s activities.
And, around it all, the students milled, chatting with those who had come to the event to provide them with information.
“I’m blown away by this place,” admitted Alvin Berk, CB 14’s chairperson, who welcomed the participants and students, and who urged the teens to appreciate the benefits of working in unity.
“When we get together, we have power that we cannot have separately,” Berk stressed.
Deputy Inspector Ralph Monteforte, the commanding officer of the 70th Precinct, enjoined the teens in attendance at the event to use the opportunity to talk to and learn about the police.
“There are a lot of misconceptions youths have about the Police Department,” Monteforte noted. “Any questions you have, I want you to ask so you can feel more comfortable with the Police Department. When we take the uniform off, we are all the same person.”
Beyond the symbolism of the event were the practical benefits it offered.
“The theme tonight is really jobs, summer jobs, your future careers,” proclaimed Steve Ausbury, the director of the Brooklyn College Community Partnership.
“Growing up in the community, I found it difficult to find opportunities and jobs,” remarked Jonathan Judge, a college senior and staffer at CB 14. “This is a great opportunity that I never had when I was growing up. I hope you all can take advantage of it. It’s not a common occurrence, though, hopefully, it is one we will be able to provide more frequently in the future.”
