BEDFORD-STUYVESANT — Brooklyn residents gathered Monday to commemorate the life of a longtime community board leader, who some deemed as a “force of nature” and a “trailblazer” for the neighborhood.
Nelson M. Stoute, 57, second vice chair of Community Board 3, passed away on March 4 following a battle with cancer, friends said.
The board paid tribute to Stoute during a Monday meeting, placing a chair draped in black and purple at the front of the room, and positioning his nameplate in front of an American flag.
Stoute served as chairperson of CB3’s Transportation, Sanitation and Environment Committee, as well as vice-chair of the Landmarks Committee. He was a member of the Bedford-Stuyvesant Gateway Business Improvement District’s board of directors, along with the Brownstoners of Bedford-Stuyvesant and Transportation Alternatives.
“He was a force to be reckoned with, whether you agreed with his opinions or not. You had to respect Nelson because he was a very hard worker, he was somebody who did his homework, and he really fought for what he believed in,” said Richard Flateau, CB3 chair.
“Probably what I most respected about him was that I never really questioned his motives. I always felt that whatever he was doing, whatever position he was taking, it was what he felt in his heart was the right thing to do.”
Stoute, who was a longtime resident of Halsey Street, was described as “tenacious,” “meticulous,” and “creative” in fighting for the community.
He served as a Boy Scout and U.S. Marine and also worked as the operations assistant and administrator of the staff arts program at The Rockefeller Foundation.
Stoute would ride his bicycle around central Brooklyn, which helped him uncover issues in his neighborhood, colleagues said.
His work helped in the reconstruction of Nostrand Avenue and the implementation of the B44 Select Bus Service, according to board members.
“Nelson was going with me to the budget hearings, he would give those commissioners hell. I’d have to hold him back, like trying to hold back a pit bull,” said Henry Butler, CB3’s district manager.
“With that force behind me, pushing me, that kept me going and going to make sure we got that funding for the Nostrand Avenue that you see, you have Nelson Stoute to thank for that.”
“Nelson Stoute epitomized everything a board member is supposed to be. He never misses a committee meeting — he’s the chair of transportation but he goes to landmarks, he goes to housing and land use. He never misses a board meeting. He may come in a little late but he’s coming to the meeting.”
Stoute also helped in rezoning of Bedford-Stuyvesant North and South, along with new elevators at the Utica Avenue train station.
Up to the very end, he was concerned about the community, said friend Hardy 'Joe' Long.
“He said to me, ‘Will you make sure when the time comes for Christmas lights, I want you to be sure you’re out there with the executive director to make sure those lights go out the way I told him to go the year before,’” Long said. “And that’s the type of person that he was.”
Stoute mentioned his own request to have the corner of Halsey Street and Arlington Place named after him, Long added, as well as the long-awaited sanitation garage planned in the neighborhood that Stoute pushed tirelessly for.
Memorial services will be held Sunday from 2 to 6 p.m. at Lawrence H. Woodward Funeral Home, 1 Troy Ave. in Bedford-Stuyvesant.
A funeral mass will be celebrated Monday, March 13 at 9:30 a.m. at St. Peter Claver Church, 29 Claver Place.
