About Your Neighbors at the Boerum Hill Association
The Boerum Hill Association is guided by a volunteer board made up of residents who care deeply about the neighborhood and its future. The board works on a range of initiatives including community events, neighborhood improvements, and local advocacy efforts. Meet our board members below and find information about our regular meeting schedule.
Meet The Board:
Howard Kolins, President
Howard Kolins, a dedicated resident of Boerum Hill for 40 years, has served as BHA President for 15 years. He advocated for the neighborhood during major developments like Atlantic Yards and the Brooklyn jail construction. Currently the Executive Director of the Atlantic Avenue Local Development Corporation (AALDC), Howard produces the Atlantic Antic and manages the Hoyt Street Garden. His career includes producing the Radio City Christmas Show, where he met his wife Carol, a former Rockette, and he continues to work on special events like the Tony Awards. Howard and Carol raised two sons in local public schools.
Alexandra Gupta, Vice President
Alex has been a proud resident of Boerum Hill for 38 years and is deeply committed to the community she calls home. As a mother to her son, Eli, she is passionate about raising him here and fostering connection while staying actively involved in local initiatives. She began her career in real estate development, where she discovered her passion for guiding clients through major life transitions. Now a licensed Real Estate Broker with over 12 years of experience, Alex specializes in residential sales and serves on local nonprofit boards for housing and neighborhood development.
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Cheryl has lived in the Boerum Hill neighborhood for over 40 years. She is an active member of Community Board 2 and the Wyckoff - Bond Garden Association. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from St. Francis College and Master of Science degree in Organizational Behavior from NYU Poly. Cheryl states “the preservation and enhancement of the Downtown Brooklyn way of life is very important to her as the Borough undergoes a major renaissance.”
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Originally from Michigan, Hannah moved with her family to Kensington, Brooklyn when she was 12 years old. Since then, she has lived in several borough neighborhoods including Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, Prospect Heights and Bay Ridge. Hannah now lives on Dean Street in Boerum Hill with her partner and three young children. The eldest is currently in 4th grade at PS 261. Hannah was the Exhibitions Manager at the Brooklyn Museum for seven years. She’s a founding member of Fool’s Pearls Productions, a New-York-based theater group and is an active member of the city’s performing arts scene. Among the many important issues facing BH residents today, the Atlantic Yards, traffic/transportation, and accessible green space are of interest to her. Hannah has been on the board since 2009.
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Sidney has been a resident of Boerum Hill since 1978 and a resident of Brooklyn even longer. He has been a resident of New York City for his entire life, a member of the Brooklyn Community Board 2 for over 20 years, and chair of its transportation and public safety committee, and a member of Brooklyn Speaks. His work history includes the community representative (among other duties) for a large retailer (Korvettes, when it existed); an assistant director of personnel for a State Hospital in Brooklyn; a Driver Safety Specialist for the NY State DMV; a senior executive for a PPO, and an HMO. He is an attorney who graduated from Brooklyn Law School (of course). His interests are varied and include extensive travel and trying to keep up with his five grandsons.
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Steve has lived on Wyckoff Street for the past 18 years, with his partner Ellen, dog, and five cats. In 2010, he retired after 43 years of teaching, 31 of them at the Little Red School House in Manhattan. As a show of support for the BHA, he frequents Boerum Hill Association meetings. Steve believes “communities stay healthy only if people support the work of those who are willing to make the time to monitor community problems and work at improving conditions.” He adds, “Life in Boerum Hill has greatly improved over the past few decades. I feel that it’s important that I continue doing my small part in keeping this good work going.”
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Stephen lives on Hoyt Street having moved to BH in 1982 and currently works as a Security Consultant after retiring from the NYPD as a Sergeant following a 20-year career. He was also a 1st Lieutenant in the US Army and a graduate of St. Mary's University in San Antonio, Texas.
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Allen and his wife Ann moved to Cobble Hill in 1970 and have lived in Boerum Hill since 1993. During that time, they renovated three landmarked brownstone homes: 133 Pacific Street, 19 Strong Place and 376 Pacific Street. In the 1970s and 1980s, Allen served as President of his block association and vice president of the Cobble Hill Association. He was the organizer of two Cobble Hill non-profits, the Cobble Hill Community Fund and the Cobble Hill Tree Fund Trust. He was a delegate to the South Brooklyn Development Council, Co-President of the Long Island College Hospital Community Planning Committee, and a member of the City Comptroller's Brooklyn Advisory Committee. In the spring of 2013, he organized and presided over Borough President Marty Markowitz's Brooklyn Housing Summit. He holds a BA from Yale University (1966), an MBA from Columbia Graduate School of Business (1968), and a JD from Brooklyn Law School (1976).
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Janine is a committed community member who discovered the Hoyt Street Garden in June 2024, became a volunteer that day, and helped launch the garden's 50th year celebration in 2025. She sees the garden as a community gem, where people can meet their neighbors, relax from city life, enjoy nature, and help foster a community where people take care of each other. She coordinates frequent programming, including Halloween trick-or-treating, crafts, and children's events, and spearheaded HSG's partnership with the fantastic Grand Army bar, which contributed a portion of sales of select cocktails. Janine is a business developer by trade, with 13+ years of experience building startups within a large corporation, and a semi-professional dancer and director/producer of dance films, music videos, and documentaries. Janine enjoys spending time with her husband, cat, family, and friends, practicing Buddhism as a member of Kadampa Brooklyn, and engaging with the broader Boerum Hill community.
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Khloe has been a Boerum Hill resident for close to a decade, Hunter College alum, real estate professional, parent leader, and events professional with more than a decade of experience in nightlife, hospitality, politics, and large-scale event production. Her background includes extensive work in public-facing leadership, operations, stakeholder engagement, and relationship management, along with experience in civic and political spaces that deepened her commitment to neighborhood advocacy and public service. Khloe is actively involved in school and community life through leadership within the PS 38 PTA, where she has supported fundraising, family engagement, event planning, and local business partnerships. Her activism is rooted in a long-standing passion for advocacy for women, which informs how she lives her life and serves her community. She lives with her husband, Stephen, a real estate broker, and their two children, son Jagger and daughter Hendrix.
Meeting Schedule
General Meetings:
*Open to the public
Meetings are typically held on the third week of Oct/Jan/Apr at 6:30 PM on Zoom.
Board Meetings:
Meetings take place every other month (Sep-June) on the second Monday of the month at 6:30pm on Zoom.
*Meetings subject to change, lookout for communication and Zoom links from the board president via email.
Boerum Hill
History
Boerum Hill traces its roots to the town of Breuckelen, one of the six original towns that formed modern-day Brooklyn, and the area was once farmland owned by Simon Boerum in the 18th century. In the 1960s, new residents led by Helen Buckler began renovating the neighborhood’s aging brownstones and formed a community association that adopted the name “Boerum Hill” in 1964 after discovering Boerum’s historic farm on a 1775 map. Over the following decade, a growing group of homeowners restored historic buildings and built a close-knit community, helping spark the neighborhood’s modern revival.
The Brooklyn Inn at Hoyt and Bergen Streets. The Inn has been a historic favorite since 1885
The Williamsburg Savings Bank Building was Brooklyn’s tallest building for 80 years and remains a visible neighborhood landmark from State Street in Boerum Hill.
Hank’s Saloon was open 2000–2018, the beloved Boerum Hill dive bar that holds many great neighborhood memories.