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Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony for the
Empire State Development Council
Wednesday, August 27th, 2003
 Governor George E. Pataki, attends the Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony to officially open office in Atlantic Center at 625 Atlantic Avenue, Third Floor, for the Empire State Development Council, Wednesday, August 27th, 2003.
 Una Clarke, former Councilwoman for District 40, of Brooklyn, and the first woman ever, from Jamaica, to hold a Council seat and now appointed by Governor George E. Pataki as the Director for the Brooklyn Office of the Empire State Development Council, organized, along with her staff members, the ribbon-cutting ceremony, at the Atlantic Center, located at 625 Atlantic Avenue, third floor, on Wednesday, August 27th, 2003. The purpose of the event was to have all the Brooklyn businesspeople, politicians, and many others to appeal to Governor George Pataki to fund Brooklyn, and ask him to allocated monies to revitalize Brooklyn as he did with Manhattan and the Bronx.
 The festivities started off with Ms Una Clarke addressing the audience with an attendance of close to 400, packed to the limit, of what her role is as a Director for the Brooklyn Empire State Development Council, and how Governor George Pataki had approached her after her term limits didn't permit her to run for the Council seat again. He wanted her to head this organization in Brooklyn, to utilize her great skills of bringing people and businesspeople together in Brooklyn. Others who attended the festivities were Yvette Clarke, Councilwoman for District 40 of Brooklyn, and daughter of Una Clarke, who once occupied the same seat in the same Brooklyn district, Councilmember Kendall Stewart, State Senator Kenneth Parker, Secretary of State, Randy A. Daniels, Bruce Ratner, Landlord of the Atlantic Center, business leaders, clergyman from all religions, and a good amount of national coverage media, including our Liberty News Online Staff. This is what some of the people had to say at this event.
Una Clarke, Director of the Newly Opened Brooklyn Office
of the Empire State Development Corporation
We're celebrating Haiti with the artwork of one of the most celebrated artists. I want you to enjoy the artwork, not only enjoy the artwork but I want you to promote the artwork, and if you don't own a piece of art in your home, especially if you're Caucasion--if you don't have a piece of Black art in your home, in your office, or some place else the word is gonna crash on you [audience hysterical]. This morning, we will honor some of our poineers with a Certificate from the State of New York for their pioneering spirit as immigrants mainly from the Caribbean [invites honorees to come forward]. I know that Dr. Jean Claude Companz is here, a leader in healthcare, I know that Derrick Ventor, who produces nothing but good about the culture of Grenada, Curaceau and Martinique, Miss Gloria Wilson, I know that if you never had good Roti, you need to go and get Gloria's Roti, then I know that Mr. Gary Piere is here, and I always want to make sure that when the Press is in the house, that I keep my lips tight, and since he writes for one of the press--that's why I'm honoring him today so whatever that he writes about me, it will only be good things, otherwise I will make sure I take it back. [invites Joe to come forward to present the awards], predominant business leaders from New York.
I could not do the work that I do except for Brooklynites who believed in me from day one, but when I was given this assignment by the Governor, I knew that work was going on in Brooklyn before I got the assignment, and so I decided that all of the players in Brooklyn who make things happen for Brooklyn would become a strategic thinking commitee working with me to make sure that all aspects of the economic life of Brooklyn is elevated and promoted, so first I went to the Borough President's office and I said I was in the City Council when they hacked the Borough President's offices, and I know how much staff and money you've lost, so why don't we join partnerships with what's left of you and the little bit of me to promote Brooklyn. I then went to the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, and I said you have the businesses in Brooklyn, you need to be a part of this. I went to all the LDC's, I went to the community planning board and all the elected officials and I said to them I am not in this for Una, I am in this for Brooklyn, and I said that the Governor had the wisdom to pick a Una Clarke who knows will not take no for an answer, and so I want each of you from the strategic thinking commitee to come up here and be acknowledged, and known for the work you are doing.
Yvette Clarke, Councilwoman for District 40, Brooklyn
 Thank you for that wonderful introduction, boss, I really appreciate it. Indeed it is my honor, privilige to be her for the opening of this office. This is like a homecoming--a family gathering all wrapped up into one. When Una Clarke does something that way, it is always about family--that's the way she's ebraced the work she does and the people she interacts with, and so I have a very extended family--everywhere I go, if I receive a call, people are saying 'Oh, it's your brother on the line', I'm like 'which one are you?" Certainly today is a great day having our Governor here to really ebrace what is happening here in Brooklyn.
Yvonne Grahem, Deputy Brooklyn Mayor, First Jamaican Woman.
To all elected officials present, Councilmember Kendall Stewart, Senator Kevin Parker, Councilmember Yvette Clarke, other public officials, to Bruce Ratner and to all of you, welcome to today's ribbon-cutting ceremonly to mark the official opening of the Empire State Development Corporation Brooklyn office, and not a moment too soon. Brooklyn's economy has been and always will be powered by entrepreneurs and their dreams.
The Honorable Governor George E. Pataki
 Brooklyn is one the special places, not just in New York City or New York State, but in the world. It's just wonderful to be back here. So many political leaders, so many entrepreneurs, so many community leaders, some who don't hold elected office. Entrepreneurs, people who I call a force of nature, who have such an impact on their community without ever holding public office. [Acknowledges Kendall Stewart, Councilmember for Brooklyn]. We have entrepreneurs. [Shares the same vision for Brooklyn as Yvonne Graham] I remember in 1995, when I took office, the Governor's office then was in the South Tower of the World Trade Center. I would drive down the west side and look at the decrepid rotting piers, and I would get just a little angry that in the greatest city in the world, in one of the most visible places, you'd see the symbol of decay, so I was riding along one day, and said "what a mess--who owns those piers", and the person said "Well, Governor, you do--the State does." Look at them now. What we did in 1996 was pass a law creating the Hudson River Park out of those decrepit piers, putting in the resources, and I said it's going to be the Central Park of the 21st Century. And go down on the West Side of Manhattan now. Go out on those piers. Sit down, buy a hotdog. Lie in the grass. Play a little catch. It is a great park that is transparent to the Hudson Waterfront in Manhattan. Yvonne, you tell Marty that we're gonna do the same thing on the waterfront in Brooklyn because the people of Brooklyn deserve this. We made a great start, but we're going to do more. When you talk about promoting tourism in Brooklyn, and let me tell you we're going to do that. And you may have heard, Joe, if you're just mentioning in passing but Councilmember Kendall Stewart and I just came from a proclamation ceremony because, Monday, the largest parade anywhere in North America is going to be held right here on Eastern Parkway in this great borough. In something, I had the privilige of marching, although you don't really march, you kinda dance and run back and forth. If you ever saw me dance, you'd prefer to see me march. I had the privilige to do that last year on Eastern Parkway, in pouring rain, and I'll tell you, it was just tremendous spirit, tremendous fun, and with the sun shining, we made it four million people on Eastern Parkway this Monday and the people in Brooklyn, the people in the Caribbean communiy know what a wonderful, wonderful, cultural celebration it is. But the people of the rest of New York did not, and that's why this year, for the first time, if you turn on your TV, you're going to see a new commercial, a State "I Love New York" commercial promoting New York State, by showing the excitement and the vibrancy in the life of the Caribbean American parade on Eastern Parkway, and it's going to bring more people to Brooklyn, and more people to our great state.
Pataki says what Randy Daniels has done to transform the Bronx and Harlem, he will do the same thing for Brooklyn--revitalize businesses, bringing in more business, and make Brooklyn a powerhouse.
 Kenneth Adams, President of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, had a lot of his chamber members who helped out with the event. He said that it is very important for people to be here--he members and others--because we want to make Brooklyn a borough where business can be conducted, and have small businesses, the backbone to our economy, thrive. Mr. Adams also complimented Una leading the ribbon-cutting event.
it was a super successful event, We want to point out that Miss Una Clark, the director for the Empire Development Corporation, and her staff, and her strategic thinking committee, did a marvelous job of putting together this ribbon-cutting ceremony, and inviting Governor Pataki to share her vision with the Brooklyn business people, clergymen, workers, to how Governor Pataki and Secretary of State, Randy Daniels can do the same for Brooklyn what they have already done for the Bronx and Harlem. All kinds of International food has been donated by different food establishments. After the festivities and the ribbon-cutting ceremony, people munched on different international foods, where were donated by different Brooklyn businesses--The Tower Isle Patty company, which distributes beef patties throughout the USA, Erica's rugela and desserts, and Shakoor's Caribbean Desserts, and many more businesses.
In conclusion, it was a great event, providing tremendous exposure for Brooklyn. If anybody can make things happen in Brooklyn, and bring all of the business people together, nobody does it better than the visionary, the pioneer, Ms. Una Clarke. When some of the projects do materialize, we are sure she will take a lot of credit, because she is the one who is trying very hard to promote Brooklyn, night and day, feverishly, to make these projects a success. If you are a Brooklyn business person who is interested in sharing Ms. Una Clarke's vision, feel free to visit her in her Empire State Development Corporation Brooklyn office, located at 625 Atlantic Avenue, third floor, directly above Circuit City, or email her at uclarke@empire.state.ny.us.
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