![\"IMG_9247](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_9247-1.jpeg\" "\\"Brooklyn")
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Brooklyn Bar Association President-Elect Ang\u00e9licque Moreno stands next to immediate past president Anthony Vaughn at the organization\u2019s first breakfast event.<\/p>\n
Provided by Anthony Vaughn<\/p>\n
After being closed since September 2025, due to a leak in its over-a-century-old historic brownstone, the Brooklyn Bar Association<\/a> reopened its doors to the public Wednesday morning for its first-ever breakfast event \u2014 which leaders say they hope is the first of many.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought, since we just reopened this month, this would be a great opportunity to invite our members in the legal community to come back to our legal home,\u201d said Anthony Vaughn, the organization\u2019s immediate past president. \u201cThis is something new, and I\u2019m hoping that we can use this as a jumping off point to do this each month [and] as an opportunity to get more events on the calendar.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n In-person events, like this breakfast, are critical to building the legal community, learning from each other and bridging generational gaps, Vaughn said.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \u201cWithout the in person experience, you lose sight of the importance of building and nurturing relationships,\u201d Vaughn said. \u201cI know there\u2019s a different perspective that you can fulfill the same goals by online or through social media, and I agree in part, but there\u2019s something about a screen which creates separation that in-person events eliminate.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s important for the younger generation, as well as our senior attorneys, to get together to bridge those gaps,\u201d he continued. \u201cThe elders can learn from the youth, and quite frankly, the youth can always learn from the elders. But, it\u2019s very difficult to do that if the elders aren\u2019t on social media, but the young groups are. So, why don\u2019t we get into a common space where we all feel comfortable and share ideas and do something new?\u201d<\/p>\n Vaughn said he hopes to see more of the organization\u2019s roughly 2,000 members return to the Brooklyn Heights brownstone located at 123 Remsen St., a landmark the association has called home since 1918. Founded <\/a>in the wake of fraudulent city elections in 1872, the Brooklyn Bar Association offers attorneys, judges and other members of the legal community an opportunity for networking and legal education through seminars, dinners and other organized events.<\/p>\n A couple dozen attorneys, judges and members joined Vaughn and Brooklyn Bar Association President-Elect Ang\u00e9licque Moreno in welcoming members back to the building and asking them what type of events they\u2019d like to see held more often.<\/p>\n \u201cWe encourage people to think of ideas, whether it be a CLE or another activity, to get on the schedule,\u201d Vaughn said. \u201cMore camaraderie, more support of this association, only advances our membership experience.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image22-1.jpeg\" "\\"Brooklyn")
Michael Pavlakos of East Coast Appraisal Services, Brooklyn Supreme Court Judge Lisa Lewis and Anthony Vaughn stand together at the Brooklyn Bar Association\u2019s breakfast event.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image47-1.jpeg\" "\\"Brooklyn")
Attendees pose at the Brooklyn Bar Association\u2019s first breakfast, and first event since reopening their historic building after repairs. Anthony Vaughn<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_9343.jpg\" "\\"Brooklyn")
New York Housing Judge Javier Ortiz, Brooklyn Supreme Court Judge Lisa Lewis, Brooklyn Surrogate Judge Rosemarie Montalbano, Angelicque Moreno, Anthony Vaughn, retired New York State Administrative Judge Lawrence Knipel, Brooklyn Civil Court Judge Hemalee Patel and Brooklyn Supreme Court Judge Joanne Quinones stand together at the Brooklyn Bar Association.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image44-1.jpeg\" "\\"Brooklyn")
Attorneys Diane Matero and Helen Galette, Brooklyn Surrogate Judge Rosemarie Montalbano and attorney Lilmary Madrigal gather in the Brooklyn Bar Association\u2019s historic brownstone.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_9353.jpg\" "\\"Brooklyn")
Attorneys and bar association members talk at the organization\u2019s breakfast event.Isabella Gallo<\/p>\n