Jack Katz, Executive Director of Flatbush Avenue BID, Dies

Jack Katz, a long-standing member of the community and a force for improvement and development, died on Thursday.  

Katz was executive director of the Flatbush Avenue Business Improvement District, a position he held for 22 years. He was also a member of Community Board 14. 

"Jack was really old-school," said Robin Redmond, executive director of the Flatbush Development Corporation. "He was one of a kind. He ran a BID without a computer."

Katz, who had been a staple of the community and was known for his generosity, had been in and out of the hospital, Redmond said. 

Councilman Jumaane Williams, D-Ditmas Park, said Katz's stewardship of the Flatbush Avenue BID over the last couple decades advanced the economic opportunities and the quality of life in this neighborhood and Brooklyn as a whole.

"While I worked as Housing Director for the Flatbush Development Corporation, Jack and I shared office space," Williams said. "He was extremely knowledgeable and efficient, having everything filed and in a Rolodex. Jack moved smoother than people with the best computers. He was a pretty sharp dresser and never had a stitch out of place. Jack was the last of his breed, and he will be missed."

The funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. on Sunday, Dec. 2 at I.J. Morris Funeral Home at 1895 Flatbush Ave. Details of the Shiva will be announced at the service.