On Sunday, April 2, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz joined Brooklyn Botanic Garden President Scot Medbury to celebrate Forsythia Day, which was declared the official flower of Brooklyn in 1940. Honored at the event were Independence Community Bank Chairman Charles J. Hamm, Frances Lucerna and Luis Garden Acosta of El Puente, and Brooklyn Academy of Science High School sophomore Ebony M. Thurman.

“The forsythia symbolizes anticipation and it puts us in a hopeful mood for the start of summer,” said Borough President Markowitz. “It’s also prized for its toughness and resilience. What better flower to symbolize Brooklyn?”

In the 1940’s, the late Mrs. Edward C. Blum, long-time benefactor of Brooklyn Botanic Garden, encouraged Brooklyn residents to plant forsythias in their gardens and neighborhoods as a means of encouraging a sense of community and mutual understanding in the borough. Each spring, through an endowment created by Mrs. Blum, the Botanic Garden continues the tradition of Forsythia Day by recognizing outstanding members of the community.