Red Hook Living Legends – Andrea McKnight

Andrea McKnight has spent countless hours working to help the Red Hook community through the Red Hook Lions Club, her work on Community Board 6, and in many other ways, including helping bring a bank to Red Hook.

She moved to Red Hook 56 years ago after a fire forced her to leave Clinton Hill, married Jay McKnight, and became a leader in the community.

“In 1992, we formed the Brooklyn Red Hook Lions Club,” McKnight said. “We knew about the Lions when we were kids, and we had this idea, but we had to get 21 different people together to form the Red Hook Lions Club. It was tough to get everyone together and on the same page, but we finally did it at the Miccio Center on August

10, 1992. The first time we dressed in the uniform was awesome, and Wally Bazemore was our first president.

“Because of Jay’s knowledge of show business being an entertainer, he made sure we had everything on the front of the uniform on the back too, so they would see us coming and going!

“The Lions became really popular, and we did a lot of giving back to schools including dinners and presents at Thanksgiving and Christmas. We always made sure to have food because when you have meetings with very different people, having food and a cold drink helped keep everybody calm.

“There was also the Guide Dog Foundation built into the Lions, and because the club is international, the Lions can advocate for people who are losing their sight to get a guide dog. We were able to do that for two people. We would also walk around with cups collecting donations to help people who were losing their eyesight. At first, it was difficult to get donations, but after seeing people getting helped with the guide dogs, a lot of them came around.”

One of the key issues the Lions focused on was bringing a bank to Red Hook. After a Chase closed, there were no more banks remaining in the neighborhood.

“We needed to get 3,000 signatures in order to get a bank opened up in Red Hook,” McKnight said. “We all did our part going throughout the community to get signatures, and Jay would get on different bus lines to get signatures. There were a lot of us, from John McGettrick to Wally Bazemore, Pete Morales, Judith Dailey, Lou Sones, and Pat Sones.

“Everyone was in sync with each other because even though we all had some differences, we also all had similar mind sets about how we wanted our community to be and feel. If you have to keep getting on a bus just to go get a few dollars, it’s not worth it. We rolled out all of the signatures at the library, and we got it. We brought Independence Community Bank to Red Hook, and we were all very excited to see that hard work pay off.

“When we were kids, we used to have banking in school, and we’d go to Dime Savings Bank in downtown Brooklyn. We’d go on a trip from school, put our coins in, and then get a stamp back that we’d made a deposit. We thought maybe we could do the same thing as adults with the new bank, and so we started off with $5 for parents who came in to show the kids how to bank.”

Groups against Garbage
Another key victory for the community that Andrea and Jay McKnight helped fight for was as members of Red Hook Groups Against Garbage Sites (GAGS). Mayor Rudy Giuliani threatened to build an enormous trash-processing facility in Red Hook, but leaders from the community fought against it, and after an approximately seven-year battle, they were successful.

McKnight also became the first president of the Friends Group of the Red Hook Library. She worked with others to help the library function to its full capacity and help members of the community, especially children.

In addition to helping children through the bank and library, she worked for the Board of Education as a certified escort on the school bus for children with special needs.

“The tenant association used to have meetings, and the police department told us about something called the Citizen’s Police Academy,” McKnight said. “I was there to get a permit one day, and a guy over there said, ‘Have a seat.’ He offered me a cappuccino, and we started talking. He asked if I wanted to take the course for the police academy, and I said ‘Yes!’

The Citizen’s Police Academy is a free six week course given to anyone interested as a way to foster better relationships with law enforcement.

“It was really interesting because you would assume that the police could be wrong, but when you’re in the car, and you get the call, you start to see things from a different perspective. I tried to get a lot of people to go to the academy, but it was tough to get interest. I want to know as much as I can know. I want to learn as much as I can, and learn from different people.”

McKnight was a member of Community Board 6 from 1994 to 2014.

“One of the great things was going into different communities and learning from them and seeing how they did things,” McKnight said. “ We had all types of different people with different opinions on CB6, and sometimes it would be tough to get everyone on the same page, but we made it work, and we learned from each other. We had someone on CB6 who took an interest in us having the Lions Club in Red Hook, and he made it possible for us to get toys every year from the armory in Brooklyn.

“One of the great things was having this annual gala event for the Lions Club and meeting people from all over. You’re giving worldwide to people who need food or clothing or guide dogs, and it was a chance to be part of something much bigger than yourself.”

One of the keys to helping the community is simply making an effort, reaching out to other people, and listening to each other.

“Looking back on it, I’ve been able to do a lot of things,” McKnight said. “I always tried to make an effort to know what’s going on in other places. I always wanted to get to know the people around me and go to other parts of Red Hook, and other parts of the City. That information could end up helping you, and it could help make the neighborhood feel like more of a community when you know the people around you. I always wanted to put in the time and effort to help other people.”