Maria Thomson, who resigned from the Woodhaven Residents’ Block Association Board of Directors last week, stands before the Forest Park Carousel, which she fought for years to get preserved. The historic merry-go-round finally received the designation last year. File photo
Woodhaven runs in Maria Thomson’s blood.
Four decades ago, the area leader launched her career as a civic activist by becoming a member of the then two-year-old Woodhaven Residents’ Block Association’s board of director. Now, seven U.S. presidents later, Thomson is hanging up her hat as a board member – though the woman who is also the executive director of the Woodhaven Greater Development Corporation and the Woodhaven Business Improvement District – both of which were formed following the WRBA – said she won’t stray far should one of her colleagues need to tap into the reservoir that is 40 years of memories on the board.
“We have a very strong board and a very strong new president, and they’ll do very well,” said Thomson, who announced her resignation at the WRBA’s meeting Saturday. “I’ve told them I’m only a phone call away.”
Thomson, who will remain a member of the WRBA, launched her tenure on the WRBA at a time when the top priority for her and other area leaders was to keep predatory realtors from invading the neighborhood and trying to convince people to sell their homes and leave the neighborhood that seems to run through Thomson’s blood.
“We were able to put, at that time, a cease and desist order that covered all of 11421,” Thomson said in reference to the zip code that includes Woodhaven. “That kept [the realtors] out of our community and kept them from hounding our homeowners to sell, sell, sell… That kind of tactic was rampant in Brooklyn – people were selling their homes, moving away and destabilizing the community.”
Once that threat had dissipated, the Woodhaven activist said she saw the organization – and the area – change dramatically over the next 40 years.
“We started concentrating on quality of life, disreputable bars, making sure that all of our problems were taken care of with our elected officials,” Thomson said. “The block association is a strong entity in the community, and they’re the ones who gave birth to the Greater Woodhaven Development Corporation and the Business Improvement District.”
Now, Thomson said the greatest challenge facing the WRBA – and Woodhaven residents in general – is the building at 78-19 Jamaica Ave. that partially collapsed on April 12, sending bricks crashing onto the sidewalk and street below.
“The BID has been advocating the demolishment of that building,” she said. “We’re very afraid of the structural integrity of that building. It should’ve been demolished months ago.”
And while Thomson may no longer be a member of the board of directors, one can say with near certainty that she will be a constant presence in the tightly woven community fabric of Woodhaven – including attending a rally on Saturday in favor of the city addressing the problems at the collapsed building.
“Let’s get rid of this before anybody gets hurt or killed,” she said.
