Letter from the Editor

Emerge, bloom, open, renew, rejuvenate, revive

VP@AIABROOKLYN.ORG 718-797-4242 WWW.AIABROOKLYN.ORG These are words I could use every year at this time to describe a sense of anticipation of what’s to come in the following months, and especially this year, as winter turns into spring, COVID diminishes and restrictions are lifted. The usual relief and pleasure of greeting warmer weather is tempered by Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine and a subway shooting in our own city. My plans and expectations are hopeful, but I know they are also fragile and could quickly change. This applies to my work and projects, when work is delayed due to a contractor having to quarantine, when lead times for building materials increase exponentially, and when events at AIA Brooklyn are suddenly changed from in-person to Zoom or are canceled altogether.

This pandemic experience seems like one of those things people will discuss years from now and ask, where were you, and what were you doing? Two years ago on March 8th, I left for an AIA sponsored week-long tour in Cuba. The group of us used hand sanitizer frequently, but the virus at that time was an important thing happening somewhere else. The trip was cut short following President Trump’s March 13th announcement that traveling to the States from abroad would not be permitted. On March 14th I returned to a Brooklyn very different from the one I had left just days before with no one else in the airport customs hall and nothing on the grocery store shelves usually stocked with paper goods and household cleaners. If you’ve heard me speak to the Chapter before, you’ve probably heard me say that I have felt welcomed and supported by the people of AIA Brooklyn, and this was especially so for the last two years during which the people I most frequently contacted (via Zoom) were my two staff members, my family and the AIA Brooklyn Chapter. I attended monthly Board meetings and discussion panels, DOB Industry Meetings and weekly Continuing Ed webinars. Quite simply, the work and mission of the chapter never stopped. AIA Brooklyn adapted for its members then, and it is adapting again now.

As the new editor of Pylon, I want to convey to my fellow members more than ever that AIA Brooklyn has many resources to offer its over 900 members. They are as varied as the “What’s Happening in Brooklyn” email announcements, the discussion panels at our monthly General meetings, CRAN and COTE events, the responses one gets to a request for a referral and the committee events/field trips. In this issue, we hear from our former Pylon editor and current chapter President, Talisha Sainvil. We will meet our new Executive Director, Lindsay Smilow. Our fellow member Angela Kravtchenko gives us a wake-up call about plans for a ferry to Coney Island. Jane McGroarty tells us about new buildings going up around us and about novels that feature Brooklyn as a main character.

From my own experience, I know that volunteering your time and joining a committee is a two-way street. The time I spend on chapter issues has had a direct and positive impact on my own professional practice. Most important are the connections and friendships I have formed with members and those from other New York AIA chapters and at AIA NY State. The more we utilize our resources together, the better and stronger those resources become. Next time we’re at an in-person event, please introduce yourself to me. I will want to know who you are, what you’re working on and thinking about, and I will ask you to contribute something to Pylon. Please say yes.

March 11, 2020 From roof of Paladar La Guarida La Habana, Cuba

Photo by Sarah Drake