On February 7, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz was joined by Deputy Borough President Yvonne Graham, Governor Eliot Spitzer, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and hundreds of special guests for the 2008 State of the Borough Address at the Brooklyn Cruise Ship Terminal.

Among the major initiatives and updates outlined by BP Markowitz during his penultimate State of the Borough Address:

•The selection of Canarsie High School as the location for the High School for Innovation in Advertising and Media. The school, which is scheduled to open in the fall, would provide students in communities of color with an opportunity to break into the marketing and advertising fields. Despite the fact the advertising capital of the world is just a subway ride away from Brooklyn, BP Markowitz points out that less than five percent of staffers in the industry are African-Americans.

•The announcement that London-based Grimshaw Architects has been selected to design the City’s first amphitheater, the Coney Island Center, at Asser Levy/Seaside Park. BP Markowitz anticipates the facility attracting top entertainers who play the summer concert circuit. Adds the borough president, “Now the ‘old school’ concerts that I present, along with the hottest new acts, will have a brand new venue, which means we won’t have to go to Long Island or New Jersey—concert-goers can summer right here in Brooklyn.”

•Working with the Mayor’s office to consider the possibility of a Brooklyn-based board of directors to take control of the New York Aquarium, which is currently operated by the Wildlife Conservation Society. “While I applaud the Society’s work with zoos,” stated BP Markowitz, “this aquarium needs a whale-size investment—not a budget the size of a guppy.”

This year’s State of the Borough Address focused on “The Brooklyn Story”—the character and characters that make up the borough. BP Markowitz discussed, among others, increases in tourism, the hotel boom, development in Downtown Brooklyn and throughout the borough, the “greening” of Brooklyn, affordable housing, hate crimes and encouraging success in middle schools.

BP Markowitz also took time to pay tribute to Brooklynites lost in 2007, including former Deputy Borough President Jeannette Gadson, planning official Harvey Schultz and Judith Zuk of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Also remembered were members of New York’s Finest and Bravest who died in the line of duty, as well as military personnel from Brooklyn who made the ultimate sacrifice in Iraq.