By Alex Christodoulides
As the fourth in his family to become an Eagle Scout, Robert is following in the footsteps of his brothers Michael, David and John, all of whom were members of the same troop which has met at Holy Family School at 74-15 175th St. in Fresh Meadows for years. All four of the Schwartzberg Eagle Scouts have attained the top rank at about the same tender age.For Robert, it was natural that he become a Boy Scout and rise up through the ranks.”My brothers did scouting when they were young. When my oldest brother, Michael, became an Eagle Scout, we all wanted to do it,” he said after the ceremony in the school hall.City Councilman James Gennaro (D-Fresh Meadows) arrived late and gave Robert a proclamation. “When I read all the attributes for scouting – loyal, trustworthy, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent – and reviewed the attributes for city Council members, fortunately punctuality is not one of them,” he joked.Robert's father, pediatric neurologist Steve Schwartzberg, has been scoutmaster of Troop 55 since 2000, and a scout leader since 1992, he said.State Sen. Frank Padavan (R-Bellerose), who spoke at the ceremony and whose son was a scout for 10 years, commended Dr. Schwartzberg's dedication to the troop. “As I was speaking I could see the parents nodding, because [the commitment is] not something you think about – it just comes naturally. The key to all this is the adults. They're here every week all year. You can't do it without them,” he said.In order to become an Eagle Scout, Robert had to earn 21 merit badges, to hold a position of responsibility within the troop (he is an assistant senior patrol leader), and develop and complete a special project, Dr. Schwartzberg said. “Robert's [project] was on fire safety awareness. He made a pamphlet that the FDNY distributed and arranged for the Fire Department to bring one of their trucks to Holy Family one day” to talk to the community, he said.It is rare for Boy Scouts to attain the rank of Eagle Scout and only 1 percent to 2 percent do so, Dr. Schwartzberg said.”They get into high school, and girls and homework, and they get too busy,” he said.Robert, meanwhile, is waiting for high school acceptance letters from St. Francis Prep, Archbishop Molloy and Xavier, his father said.Robert's three older brothers all attended the ceremony; his sister Lauren, 10, attends Holliswood School whose band played Saturday.Reach reporter Alex Christodoulides by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 155.
