Jan Peterson and Dianne Jackson honored at Cooper Park Houses Women’s History Luncheon
On Saturday, March 25, the Cooper Park Resident Council honored two esteemed community leaders at their first annual Women’s History Luncheon. Jan Peterson and Dianne Jackson have been instrumental in advocating for residents of Williamsburg for decades. A number of elected officials in attendance included District 33 & 34 NYC Council Members Lincoln Restler and Jennifer Gutiérrez (respectively), NYS Assembly Members Maritza Davila, and Evelyn Cruz representing U.S. Representative Nydia Velázquez. Awards from the Cooper Park Resident Council and St. Nicks Alliance were presented to each of the honorees.
Dianne Jackson is a former long-time president of the Cooper Park Houses Resident Council. She used her eloquence and leadership skills not only to fight for services and safety for the residents of Cooper Park Houses but to also contribute to a variety of community struggles, from preserving public housing citywide, co-naming Grandparents Avenue, and preserving the 94th Precinct in North Brooklyn to fighting excessive garbage trucks on our streets.
Jan Peterson is being honored for her exemplary work in advancing the role of women in the community and catalyzing institutions and community women leaders, which have lasted more than four decades. She has been a founding voice in the creation of groups and projects including: Conselyea Street Block Association, St. Nicks Alliance, the Greenpoint Renaissance Enterprise Corp (GREC), the 211 Ainslie Street center, Neighborhood Women Houses project, the National Congress of Neighborhood, and Huairou Commission, which took her work globally.
The Greenline 