[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 179 (Thursday, December 10, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1769]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         HONORING BETTE STOLTZ

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. NYDIA M. VELAZQUEZ

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, December 10, 2015

  Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a friend, 
neighbor and activist who dedicated her life to improving South 
Brooklyn. On November 19, longtime neighborhood activist Bette Stoltz 
passed away. This Saturday, Brooklynites will come together to 
celebrate the life of this dedicated advocate and leader.
  Bette made countless contributions to South Brooklyn, helping bring 
vitality, energy and entrepreneurship to the area. She worked to sure-
up small businesses at a time of disinvestment. She was instrumental to 
revitalizing Smith Street and helping organize the Merchants 
Association in the 1980s, which fostered so much cultural life and 
vibrancy in the area. She organized the Smith Street Festivals in the 
fall and the Bastille Day Petanque Tournament. She worked tirelessly to 
ensure Smith Street thrived, and most recently she was organizing to 
create a Business Improvement District on Smith and nearby Court 
Streets.
  Her efforts extended well beyond the commercial corridors. By 
starting the South Brooklyn Local Development Corporation and the Red 
Hook Chamber of Commerce, she worked steadfastly to defend industrial 
businesses in Red Hook and Gowanus and expand opportunity and commerce 
throughout Brooklyn. Bette helped organize Friends of Greater Gowanus 
and served on the EPA Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group, working 
on multiple fronts to push to remediate and restore the Gowanus Canal 
in a green, sustainable manner.
  Bette created partnerships to connect low-income and public housing 
residents to businesses and jobs. She created internships for youth and 
a Culinary Arts Curriculum at the High School for International Studies 
on Baltic Street. Bette also helped develop adult training programs to 
better connect people to good-paying jobs in the trades, industry and 
with local merchants. For years, Bette served as a member of Community 
Board 6, ensuring her neighbors' voices were heard in development 
decisions shaping our area's physical, cultural and economic future.
  Ultimately, South Brooklyn would not be as vibrant, diverse and 
culturally rich without Bette's hard work and many endeavors. My 
thoughts and prayers are with her husband, Michael, her children and 
her beloved grandchildren.
  Mr. Speaker, New York City's communities and, indeed, our local 
neighborhoods throughout the country are only as strong as the local 
residents who are willing to put in personal time and effort to 
organize and improve the areas in which we live. Every community would 
be lucky to have a community leader as vocal, engaged, dedicated and 
personally warm as Bette. She leaves behind a proud legacy, one that we 
will honor by continuing to improve our community. I ask all my 
colleagues to join me in honoring her memory.

                          ____________________