Cunha Honored by Navy Yard Group

Neighborhood Council President Tom Cunha was honored by the Friends of the Charlestown Navy Yard this week with the group's Commandant Award.

Michael Parker, chairman of the Friends, presented the award at the June meeting of the Neighborhood Council, thanking Cunha for his "exemplary support of the Navy Yard and the rest of the community."

Parker, who has served on the Neighborhood Council, said he was always impressed with Cunha's ability to speak with spirit and knowledge on a wide range of neighborhood issues.

"He could speak about having a culture of self esteem for our young people," just as passionately, Parker said, "as he could about a pothole on the street."

Everyone in attendance at the council meeting stood to applaud. Cunha told the crowd to sit down, joking, "Come on, you'll be yelling at me in an hour."

Cunha was actually supposed to be recognized with the award in March, during the Navy Yard's winter warm-up, but he was out of town for the event.

He thanked Parker and the Friends of the Navy Yard, saying "something like this, that comes from the community you care about -- it means a lot to me."