Mathylde Frontus Celebrates At Her Inauguration Ceremony In Brighton Beach

BRIGHTON BEACH — Hundreds of people came out to celebrate the multi-cultural inauguration of newly-elected Assemblywoman Mathylde Frontus on Sunday, January 6, at William E. Grady High School in Brighton Beach.

The lawmaker-heavy event brought the likes of U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer, Congressmembers Max Rose and Yvette D. Clarke as well local City Councilmen and State Assemblymembers. New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer swore in Frontus minutes before she took the stage to make her formal inaugural address.

“As someone who has been an activist since I was a teenager, I view electoral politics as one of the many avenues that we the people have at our disposal to create a rippling of popper change and social justice in our community,” Frontus told the auditorium of onlookers.

“And just as our chamber of government has been used over the last 200 years to create and perpetuate systematic and institutionalized inequality and oppression against the poor and the working class and the marginalized causing plenty of human suffering, so can the halls of government be used to correct the wrongs of our past and create fairness, equality and equity among the most vulnerable,” she added.

Frontus went on to urge constituents to urge their lawmakers to pass progressive legislation.

The multicultural event echoed the diverse communities of the district, which include, Coney Island, Sea Gate and parts of Bay Ridge, Brighton Beach, Dyker Heights and Gravesend. Three separate soloists sang the United States, Black and Haitian National Anthems consecutively followed by invocations from Rabbi David Okunov, Imam Nazrul Islam and the Rev. Dr. Classtine Pendarvis.

The Coney Island Seaside Innovative Senior Center performed a Tai Chi Fan dance while students from P.S. 329 presented the audience with a percussion ensemble.

Her experience as a youth advocate was showcased when two of her mentees, sisters Moyosola Soyemi and Abiola Soyemi shared their adoration for the freshman assemblywoman.

“She’s been so instrumental in my life and to where I am today and I am so, so grateful for her,” said Moyosola Soeymi, who’s in her second year studying at Fordham Law School. Her sister is a 3rd-year medical student at SUNY Downstate.

After the two-and-a-half hour event, attendees filed into the school’s gym for refreshments which included Haitian black rice, stew and jerk chicken, rasta pasta and yams.