Title: Associate General Counsel

Favorite Spot in BPC: Irish Hunger Memorial

Brett Beecham grew up in Columbia County, located in upstate New York. He attended Franklin & Marshall College where he studied English Literature, and also spent a semester abroad at Oxford University. He later went on to attend Boston University Law School while working in a series of public interest internship positions.

During law school Brett’s first job was as an intern working for the Boston Urban Gardeners, a community organization that works on a variety of projects with people in low income communities throughout the Boston area. He then went on to work for global real estate firm Spaulding & Slye Colliers International, Boston, where he managed real estate process engineering. After moving to New York City and working as a litigation attorney at several different law firms, Brett realized his true passion was where he started – real estate – and took a job as an Assistant General Counsel with the New York City Department of Buildings. After about 12 months of service there, Brett joined the private equity firm Manhattan Capital, with a focus on the real estate and professional sport sectors. First as Project Manager and then as General Counsel, Brett helped work on projects building real estate across the country, including Aces Ballpark, home of the Reno Aces, the triple-A minor league affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

In September 2016, Brett joined the Battery Park City Authority as an Associate General Counsel. In this role, he advises on procurement and internal policies, as well as contract and RFP drafting. As an attorney with deep real estate experience, mixed-use communities have always held special interest for Brett, and Battery Park City is a prime example to the world. In his spare time he likes to travel upstate, hike, explore the city, and dote on his two French bulldogs, Percy & Rabbit.

BPCA “Grows It Out” for a Friend and Great Cause

Each fall, No-Shave November invites volunteers to forego shaving and grooming to spark conversation and raise cancer awareness. By donating the money they would typically spend on shaving supplies, participants help save lives and aid those fighting the battle against cancer by embracing their hair, which many cancer patients lose, by letting it grow wild and free.

BPCA staff participated in No-Shave November for the first time in 2016 – and the effort held special meaning for staffers at Battery Park City Parks.

“When I first got the email about the contest, I immediately thought of Gary,” said Senior Foreperson Robert Maggi, who then helped spearhead the effort with interested staff. “It sounded like a great idea and I knew I definitely wanted to do it to honor him. So we talked to a few of the guys here and all went in for a good cause.”

“Gary,” of course, is Maintenance Foreperson Gary Satriano, who passed away in 2012 after a long battle with cancer. Starting with BPC Parks in 1998 as a plumber, within three years Gary worked his way to Foreperson, and helped lead neighborhood cleanup after the September 11 attacks. Beloved by his staff and passionately devoted to his work, Gary left an impression on all those he touched.

“I did No-Shave November not only because it’s a very good cause, I also did it for Gary. Lots of Parks staff did” said Foreperson Kem Singh. “He was my mentor.”

That kind of commitment runs deep at BPC Parks. Prior to the contest – which stipulates that all participants begin it clean-shaven – Adam Choper, Assistant Director of Horticulture, had shaved just once in the past eight years.

“I’ve basically worn a beard since I’ve been able to grow one,” Adam said. “But No-Shave November was for a great cause. And I had a lot of fun taking part.”

In all, 19 BPCA staffers participated in No-Shave November, with another 7 donating money to the cause. The effort raised nearly $500, which was donated to the American Cancer Society.

But it was more than money that was raised; it was the spirits – and of course the competitive juices – of the participants.

It was ultimately Kem Singh, who normally wears a goatee and shaves daily to avoid a creeping scruff, who was crowned winner. His outstanding beard that was the envy of all.

Thank you to all who participated in and donated to No-Shave November!

Stephen Arciold, Curtis Afzal, Adam Choper, Carlton Chotalal, Robert Hansen,
Sankar “Franco” Heerah, Hector Herrera, Craig Hudon, William John, Rene Lopcy, Jr., Robert Maggi, Ronnie Mohammed, Anne O’Neill, Kevin O’Toole, Hector Oyola,
Willem Paillant, Bruno Pomponio, Anthony Robinson, Jose Rosado, Carlos Santiago,
Sean Simon, Kem Singh, Tim Skipper, Jerry Sturiano, Ken Windman, Julian Zapata

Upcoming Events

Luminaries
Winter Garden,
230 Vesey Street
Through January 29,

Luminaries is a mesmerizing holiday light installation designed by the LAB at Rockwell Group, based on the season’s traditions of sharing, giving, and community. Visitors are immersed in a canopy of glowing lanterns suspended within the Winter Garden at Brookfield Place, each changing color and intensity. Touch-sensitive “wishing stations” on the ground invite visitors to send a holiday wish, which materializes as a burst of color traveling through the lanterns above. For the second year, Arts Brookfield has partnered with the GRAMMY Museum to support music education programs, donating $1 up to $25,000 for every wish made.
The Luminaries wishing experience will only be available through January 8, after which Luminaries will remain on display as a spectacular light installation until January 29. Plan your visit to Brookfield Place to illuminate your holiday wish this season!

While searching for his roots, a London professor reunites the local inhabitants with the descendants of Brzostek’s Jews through the rebuilding of a cemetery destroyed during WWII.
Post-screening discussion with filmmaker Simon Target and Holocaust survivor and former resident of Brzostek Ruth Pagirsky

This event is free (Advance Registration Recommended). 

Click here for additional information.

Museum Of Jewish Heritage,
36 Battery Place
Sunday Decemeber 25, 11am

Join NYTF for a reunion concert of its popular family show described as SNL meets Sesame Street. For families with children ages 4 and up.

The event is $20, $10 Children and MJH/NYTF Members, $40 Families of 4

Museum Of Jewish Heritage,
36 Battery Place
Sunday December 25, 8pm

5th Annual Adrienne Cooper Dreaming in Yiddish Memorial Concert
Celebrate the life of Adrienne Cooper, Yiddish singer, scholar, teacher and activist, with Frank London, Sarah Gordon, Michael Winograd, and other stars of the klezmer and Yiddish world.

This event is $36, $18 Students, MJH/NYTF/YNY Members

To purchase tickets by phone, call 212.213.2120 ext. 206.

Click here for additional information

The Skyscraper Museum,
39 Battery Place
Wednesday December 21, 3pm

Director and curator Carol Willis will lead a curator’s tour of the museum’s new exhibition TEN & TALLER.

Curator tours are free with admission.
No RSVP required.