Bay Ridge

Third Avenue Merchants honor business pioneers on Oct. 27

Brooklyn Eagle publisher among award winners

October 21, 2014 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Bob Howe (left), president of the Merchants of Third Avenue, with Pioneer winners Ted Mann (second from left), Kimberly Fasano, and Michael Esposito. Also pictured is Merchants Co-Treasurer Brian Chin (right). Eagle file photo by Rob Abruzzese
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Excitement is building for the 20th Annual Pioneer of Third Avenue Awards Dinner, in which Bay Ridge salutes forward-thinking business owners and civic leaders.

Sponsored by the Merchants of Third Avenue, the Pioneer dinner will take place on Monday, Oct. 27 at the Bay Ridge Manor, 476 76th St., starting at 6:30 p.m. Food from a variety of different Third Avenue restaurants will be available to taste.

The theme of the event is “Our Newspapers, Our Community.”

In keeping with that theme, the Merchants group is honoring pioneers in Brooklyn journalism. Dozier Hasty, publisher of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, the only major daily newspaper focusing solely on the borough, will receive a Pioneer Civic Service Award. The Merchants will also honor Victoria Schneps-Yunis and Joshua Schneps, co-publishers of the Home Reporter and Sunset News and the Brooklyn Spectator, with Pioneer Civic Service Awards.

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The Class of 2014 Pioneers for Civic Achievement also includes Kimberly Fasano, an account executive with Strauss Paper Co., who is being cited for her work with Reaching Out Community Services, a Brooklyn food pantry; Fran Vella-Marrone, president of the Dyker Heights Civic Association; and Dilia Schack, a longtime member of the Ragamuffin Parade Committee.

The business owners who have been named Pioneers of Third Avenue are Rawia Bishara, owner of Tanoreen Restaurant, and her daughter Jumana Bishara; and Ted Mann and Michael Esposito, owners of Cebu Restaurant.

The Pioneer Award is given to individuals who have been at the vanguard of business achievement and who have worked tirelessly to promote Third Avenue as a shopping and dining destination, according to leaders of the Merchants. The business organization represents more than 300 store owners on Third Avenue from 69th Street to 97th Street.

Mann and Esposito, who both started out their culinary careers as teenage busboys in Bay Ridge restaurants, said they were thrilled to be named Pioneers. “It means a lot. We look up to you,” Esposito told the Merchants members at a recent meeting. “It has been incredible,” Mann said.

The two restaurateurs have since opened up successful eateries in other parts of Brooklyn, but Mann said Bay Ridge remains close to their hearts because it’s where they started out.

For ticket information, call Pioneer Awards Chairman Chuck Otey at 718-836-6700.

 


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