COJO Flatbush Breakfast Pays Tribute to Late Chairman Larry Spiewak, z”l

On Sunday, March 15, COJO Flatbush held its 47^th Annual Breakfast at the Kol Yaakov Hall on McDonald Avenue in Brooklyn.

Just as the Oscars, which took place the same day, draw the major stars from Hollywood and the movie industry, the COJO Flatbush breakfast draws stars from the Jewish community. Attendees included Jewish and non-Jewish elected officials, community leaders, and volunteers.

New York’s senior U.S. senator, Minority Leader Charles Schumer, missed the COJO Flatbush event for the second consecutive year. Schumer, who has fought one battle after another with President Trump, was not going to win any awards from the leadership of COJO Flatbush.

Eight awardees were chosen for various COJO awards distributed during the two-hour event. The recipients were as follows: New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin, a Manhattan Democrat who received the Distinguished Public Leadership Award; Congressman Daniel Goldman, a Democrat representing Manhattan and Brooklyn, who was honored with the Distinguished Statesmanship Award; Freshman State Senator Solomon “Sam” Sutton, a Brooklyn Democrat, who received the Distinguished Legislator Award; Assemblyman Brian Cunningham, a Brooklyn Democrat whose district runs from Flatbush to Crown Heights, who was chosen for the Distinguished Leadership Award; New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, a Manhattan resident, who received the Distinguished Public Service Award; Avrumi and Elisheva Bergman, founders of Chezky’s Corner, who were given the Distinguished Chesed Award; Rabbi Yirmi Levy, spiritual leader of the Mill Basin Sephardic Congregation, Tiferet Ovadia, rosh kollel of Ohel Shlomo, and Clergy Liaison for the NYPD, who received the Avodat HaKodesh Award; and Lynn Posner, COJO Flatbush’s own vice president, who received the Kesser Shem Tov Award.

Each awardee offered a brief message after acknowledging people in the audience and trying to quiet down the crowd known for networking and speaking during speeches.

Menin, the first Jewish city council president, said: “I’m accepting this award at a deeply troubling time for the Jewish community. Antisemitism is not an abstract issue. It is real, it is rising, and it is manifesting in increasingly dangerous and brazen ways,” Menin recounted. “This is a personal issue for me. I’m the daughter of a survivor. My mother barely made it through in Hungary. My father was murdered in the Holocaust just because he happened to be born Jewish.”

Menin made it clear she will use her new office as a bully pulpit to sensitize antisemites attending public schools. “In the first few weeks of my speakership, I announced a five-point plan to combat antisemitism. Next week we will pass bills to create buffer zones to protect synagogues and schools and we will pass bills to create a hotline to report antisemitic incidents and other hate crimes,” she said. “We’re going to do security funding for all small schools that need it and for synagogues and all houses of worship that do not have adequate resources. We will provide those security resources. We’re giving an additional $1.25 million in funding to the Museum of Jewish Heritage to build on a program I launched almost two years ago after October 7. We are bringing every eighth-grade public school student to that Holocaust exhibit because 34 percent of young people believe the Holocaust is a myth.”

Sutton, who said he is “a man that likes to speak a few words quietly and try to get things done behind the scenes,” picked up on Menin’s issue of buffer zones.

“The most high-profile [issue] now is the buffer zone. Buffer zones have support from our DA [Eric Gonzalez], our police commissioner [Jessica Tisch] and many, many of our political officials. I believe it will be passed in this year’s budget,” Sutton said. “While I wanted the buffer zone to be 100 feet from a building originally, we got 25 feet, but from the sidewalk. Basically, people will have to be on the other side of the street. It will be very effective if we get it passed.”

About his political career, Sutton shared, “I hope to be here for, with my wife’s permission, another term at least.”

One of the more humorous moments of the breakfast event was when Assemblyman Kalman Yeger (D - East Midwood), introducing his assembly colleague, Brian Cunningham, seemed to think the breakfast was at night. He called the event “COJO’s Annual Dinner.” Perhaps based on how long he spoke, he jokingly said, “there will be the dessert portion of tonight’s program right after I’m done.” Yeger humorously made another comment to the highest-ranking yarmulka-wearing NYPD member, Deputy Chief of Community Affairs Richie Taylor.

The most sentimental moment came during an “In Memoriam” segment for longtime COJO Flatbush leader and chairman of the board Larry Spiewak, z”l, Spiewak, who was plagued with many ailments during the past several years, passed away on February 19, 2026 (3 Adar) from a bowel obstruction two days after his daughter’s wedding. He was 72 years old. He is survived by his wife, Mindy, their four children, Sharona, Ariella, Benjamin and Rafi, as well as grandchildren.

A video of Spiewak’s life was hastily prepared for the ceremony, with many of the folks interviewed acknowledging his warmth, persuasiveness, and generosity with his time and money as well as in helping people get the services they needed.

His wife, Mindy, spoke at the breakfast, which she attended with two of her daughters. “Larry did not have a work-life balance. Larry was not a person who paid any attention to boundaries. If you knew Larry, you knew about his family. You knew about his business. You knew about his affiliations. It didn’t matter who you were – you became his friend. As much as Larry enjoyed working for the community, COJO was extraordinary... Larry had an immense Rolodex in his head of everybody who was ever affiliated with COJO. If somebody called the house or if somebody called the office and…needed Larry’s help, he went through that Rolodex, he went to his phone, he went to the contacts – he knew who to call, he knew how to put people together.

Spiewak ran a business called Quik Ticket, located in the Farragut section of Brooklyn selling various types of store supplies and fixtures. But probably his greatest accomplishment was founding Chai Lifeline with his wife, which began as a two-week camp for sick kids to get away, have fun, and give their parents a respite.

There were many remembrances of Spiewak, but one that stood out was Yeger’s. “Growing up as a kid, I would go to shul with my father. I would see a very distinguished gentleman wearing a three-piece suit. Whenever he spoke, everybody listened,” Yeger said. “He had a heart of gold... Larry was a champ, a giant, and my friend…an all-around special human being… He gave me chizuk every time I put my foot in my mouth.”

Addressing Spiewak’s family, he said, “Your loss is everyone’s loss and our community feels it. But I know that he has us on his shoulders and he’s watching out for us. Thank you for everything that you allowed Larry to give us in the community.”

“Larry was the epitome of chesed,” Moshe Zakheim, president of COJO Flatbush, told The Jewish Press. “…The community has lost a remarkable individual in Larry, whose contributions and positive influence will be deeply missed. It is important to continue the initiatives and goals that Larry was passionate about in order to honor his memory and ensure that his vision and impact live on.” He said that it has been difficult to attend board meetings without Spiewak, and that everyone on the board feels his absence.

The first vice-president of COJO Flatbush, Leon Goldenberg, told The Jewish Press about Spiewak, “He’s someone that cared for every single human being…He leaves a large gap for COJO. He leaves a large gap for me personally. No matter how ill he was, no matter how hurt he was, he was always there. And always there for me, too. And that was so special. Everybody felt he was their best friend.”

Commenting on the brief video shown at the breakfast about the life and times of Larry Spiewak, his wife, Mindy, had this remark: “Tonight is Oscar night. And I’m sure this reel for Larry is Oscar-worthy.”