By Harold Egeln
Brooklyn Daily Eagle

BENSONHURST — History came alive on Liberty Weekend this past Saturday and Sunday with the annual celebration of early Brooklyn history at the 17th century New Utrecht Reformed Church. This year’s events also celebrated the church’s designation as part of the American Revolution Heritage Trail.

The new trail placards are posted just behind an iron fence on 18th Avenue at the entrance to the church at 84th Street. One shows an 1890s photo of the church. The other is a map of Brooklyn at the time of the Revolutionary War showcasing historic sites.

With the raising of a 13-star “Betsy Ross� American flag on the towering Liberty Pole and the blast of a Civil War cannon, the Friends of Historic New Utrecht honored a new chapter and an old friend.

The new chapter launched was the Heritage Trail designation. The friend was Robert Buonvino, the founder of Friends of Historic New Utrecht, who died on March 20 at age 70. He was also director of Brooklyn Heritage Inc., which advocated for and eventually won the Heritage Trail designation from the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.

On Saturday, re-enactors from the 14th Brooklyn Regiment Company H-Winslow Battery D staged a Civil War-style encampment. In addition, Revolutionary War historians dressed as redcoats. The Liberty Pole, the last surviving pole that celebrated the British Army retreat at the war’s end, was the site of the raising of the 13-star flag.

Historical displays filled the parish house, with glass-enclosed mock-ups of New Utrecht at the time of the Revolutionary War and Bensonhurst as it appeared in the 19th Century, along with historic photos. On Saturday evening the Inter-School Orchestra (ISO) Symphonic Band, made up of high school students all over the city, gave a concert of American and related classical and popular favorites.

A parade from the church to historic New Utrecht Cemetery took place on Sunday, with a concluding ceremony at the Liberty Pole by New Utrecht Boy Scout Troop 20, one of the nation’s oldest scout troops. The original pole was erected in November 1783 when British troops departed New Utrecht. The Town of New Utrecht dates to 1661 and was founded by Dutch colonists. The church was founded in 1677 and dedicated in 1700. The site is now a NYC Landmark listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Brooklyn’s third oldest church. It was last rebuilt in 1826 and is now undergoing reconstruction. The British used the church as a field hospital and a prison during the Battle of Brooklyn.

Historian Buonvino Remembered

In 1997 Buonvino, a retired construction carpenter and U.S. Navy veteran, and several others organized the Friends of Historic New Utrecht. “What we do is make history come alive for the community and students,� Buonvino, a Bay Ridge resident, told people.

Buonvino, who led Scout Troop 20 for two decades, was also a member of Community Board 10 and a vice president of the New Utrecht Liberty Pole Association. Every February he organized a visit by an actor portraying Abraham Lincoln who discussed and read speeches by the former president.

During the ISO concert, the ensemble played “Amazing Grace� while a PowerPoint presentation about Bounvino was shown on a large screen. “Without the encouragement of Bob years ago, I would not being doing what I do now with this great orchestra,� said ISO founder and conductor Brian Worsdale. Councilman Vincent Gentile thanked the history organization for all its work and for continuing to “make history come alive for generations yet to come.�

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