A scene on Stockton Street
Our district, New York City Council District 36, will be going to the polls this year to select someone to represent us in the City Council. Just in case you weren’t aware, the council member for the 36th district represents parts of Bed-Stuy (a part of Bed-Stuy is also in the 35th district) and parts of Crown Heights. (To find out your district and who represents you in the City Council, click here.)
We definitely need someone in this City Council seat who will be a strong advocate for Bed-Stuy, and we must make sure that the people running for this position are aware of the things that are important to us.
For me it’s crime and beautification. All I’d like to see is less of the former and more of the latter, and I don’t care who does it or how it gets done. We live in a neighborhood that is full of potential, but for it to reach that potential there are some things that need to change.
If you had to name one or two of the most important issues that need be addressed in Bed-Stuy, what would they be? What bothers you the most? What issue, if it were resolved, would completely change Bed-Stuy for the better?
“…I don’t care who does it or how it gets done.”
I think this is an irresponsible thing to say. For too long people in New York haven’t cared about how crime is reduced (insane, racist and classist laws) and beautification is increased (gentrification). There are many positive ways we can improve our community and caring how it gets done is central to creating a better Bed-Stuy for all its residents.
I don’t think it was irresponsible, and you are free to read anything into my comment that you wish. I don’t care who does it or how it gets done.
For the record, I’m already suspicious of you because I had to approve your comment (it was held in the moderation queue). That means that you’ve never commented on this blog before. I’m so tired of you lurkers who simply wait around to post negative comments.
So, bkbs, do you have anything to say about one or two of the most important issues that should be addressed? What issue do you think needs to be resolved?
Not that h/she answered your question, but I thought the first comment was right on. Especially when you’re dealing with complex issues like reducing crime and increasing “beautification,” it is not just about the ends but the means.
I’d like to see the next councilmember (is Al Vann running again?) bring some economic development projects to the neighborhood that would create jobs for local residents (that’s one way that crime, in theory, can be reduced). I’d also like to see him/her committed to improving/saving public transportation options (though I’m not sure how much the city council controls this issue).
Also, as a point of information Bed-Stuy is part of three council districts. The 36th is the largest, but the 35th (held by Letitia James who is running again) includes the NW corner, and the 41st includes the eastern third of Bed-Stuy.
Thanks for clarification. I couldn’t tell if there was another district that represented a part of Bed-Stuy. I wish there were a map available that would show the exact boundaries of the districts. There probably is, but I couldn’t find one.
Again, I don’t care about the means. Does that sound harsh? Perhaps. Maybe this is why I could never be a politician–I don’t like to mince words and I feel free to say what I think. I’m at my wits end reading about senseless crime and looking at the decaying streets of our neighborhood. I just want to see more improvements.
I don’t see that Al Vann has done much for our community. I hope that he’s either not running or he loses – but I’m not confident. Like or or not Letitia James does seem to be out there working hard – the same cannot be said for Al Vann, who has one of the 5 worst attendance records in the council.
What if Al Vann said that he would improve service on all of our subway lines? Plumbloca, I too am not sure how much influence the city council has when it transportation. (I promised myself that I would learn more about local politics in 2009.)
The subway and buses are controlled by the MTA – which is a state authority. The City has very limited control here. Also, I was really annoyed that when Annette Robinson was term limited out of the City Council she and Al Vann (who was then in the assembly) simply swapped positions. It was an end run around term limits in my opinion and any effort to keep the lifelong employment politicians love.
I think the correct terminology is ‘troll’. Of which I suppose I’m guilty.
I read your blog daily (as I do almost all blogs about bstuy, clinton hill and fort greene) and I enjoy it, but I don’t believe I have ever posted before. I felt compelled this time to make a comment. It’s not a personal attack, I just think that’s an unproductive, if not dangerous attitude, and I stand by that.
If you want my answer to your question:
The police.
Poorly regulated and excess development.
The journey to move BedStuy to a level of prosperity that matches its potential will be difficult especially with a politician that has been there for as long as Vann has, but I hope to earn your vote to show you that it is indeed possible. Please visit my website:
http://www.saquanjones.com
and/or contact me directly (917-776-3261), so I can tell you what my action plan will be for this district and how I will be able to combat these concerns.
Saquan Jones
Candidate for Brooklyn’s 36th District City Council Seat
There are several blocks in central Bed-Stuy where, over the years (starting probably in the late 50s-early 60s, ending in the 90s) the city & state sponsored what can only be described as “urban renewal projects,” tearing down decayed housing stock and building homes for middle-income families. I would hardly call this gentrification, at least in the sense you probably mean, but it has done a good deal to contribute to the stability of this section of the neighborhood. I’d like to see more of this and less of ugly developer houses (though the city ones aren’t that gorgeous either) and definitely no more public housing.
Darlene Mealy is my city council member. I have offered to volunteer with her office many times and never received a call back. I’ve also asked her to look into a half way house on the block where the residents were being mistreated and she never followed up. We need more doers and less talkers – Mealy is a talker.
What I think Bed Stuy needs: a council member to request funds for ready willing and able to clean up and maintain our main aves – Broadway, Malcolm X, Stuyvesant, Lewis & Patchen. More police and police enforcement of the law (litter, noise, dogs off leash, dumping). Funding for pocket parks and gardens and community events for these places. Programs to encourage the forming of block associatons. Continued revitalization of MXB. Revitalization of derelict buildings.
The good news ladies and gentlemen is that, we will no longer need to worry about what a City Council Member will do for Bedford Stuyvesant. Why? I received a tip three weeks ago the Bedford Stuyvesant Development Corporation (BSDC) has been established. The Bedford Stuyvesant Development Corporation will be the community’s largest private real estate fund, focused solely on the development of the Bedford Stuyvesant neighborhood. Funded by private equity, BSDC is committed to providing for and fostering economic opportunities for the residents of the Bedford Stuyvesant neighborhood. BSDC will aim to invest nearly $150 Million into the Bedford Stuyvesant community within the next several years and possible may increase that number by another $200 million.
BSDC will start by focusing on commercial straps such as Nostrand Avenue, Fulton Street, Lewis Avenue, Malcolm X Blvd, and Marcus Garvey Blvd. I also hear property purchased by BSDC along Fulton Street and Nostrand Avenue that are occupied by restaurants, hair salons, and nail salons could face buy-outs. Even better news, the company’s appointed Chairman and Chief Executive is not only a Brother but a resident of Bedford Stuyvesant community.
For me the most important issue is bringing a halt to the relocation of city social services to Bed-Stuy and Crown Heights North, starting with defeating the City’s current plan to relocate all intake services for homeless men in NYC to the Bedford Atlantic Armory in Crown Heights. Our communities should do their share, or even more than their share, but the City seems intent on situating a wildly disproportionate share of its homeless services, drug treatment facilities, services for the mentally ill and other social services in Bed-Stuy and Crown Heights North. They justify putting the residences here because of the facilities, and the facilities because of the residences – a never ending spiral that allows them to relocate the City’s shared social problems from wealthier neighborhoods to ours. Any aspiring elected official will have to have a solid plan for turning this trend around to get my vote. I’ll add that lately Tish James has been doing a pretty good job of leading the movement against the City’s plan for Bedford-Atlantic.
Changeling, I know the politico stuff may not be your fortay but just ranting about the bad stuff in Bed Stuy is not going to change things. I assume you are here for a reason, be it financial, convenience or otherwise. Take the time to educate yourself about the political process here in the 36th and 41st. How it works and how you can be a prt of it.
To Saquan Jones…enough already with the shameless plugs!
You probably won’t post my comment anyways as you tend to sensor valid points of opinion that counter your hippie-gentrifictaion views.
FYI, I don’t lurk around waiting to post negative comments on Bed Stuy Blog!!
“You probably won’t post my comment anyways as you tend to sensor valid points of opinion that counter your hippie-gentrifictaion views.”
This is not true. I admit that I don’t allow posts that are nothing more than rants fraught with misspellings and grammatical no-nos, but everything else goes up on the blog. And by the way the word is “forte” not “fortay”, “censor” not “sensor” and … oh, nevermind.
One of my reasons for doing this post is to become more informed about the things that concern my neighbors. I’m hoping to have a chance to attend forums and debates held by the candidates, and I want to know what they can do for our neighborhood and how this will meet the needs of the residents here. I’m not sure why you (or anyone else) have a problem with that.
here’s an idea:
Have you ever noticed how well maintained the parks and community gardens are in nyc? That includes Bed-Stuy. Now take a look at the yards and lawns surrounding the public housing. They tend to be sorely neglected- usually just flat expanses of grass that are mowed periodically, and completely lacking landscaping or gardens. They really vary from neighborhood to neighborhood- some look okay and others look really sad. There are often benches out front and the senior citizens usually like to sit out there in the fresh air. But usually there aren’t enough benches or enough nice spaces for people to hang out.
What if the Parks Department took over the green spaces surrounding the public housing and helped the residents create community gardens? It would surely give them an increased sense of pride in their homes and invite more people to hang out in their own parks.
If the green spaces surrounding public housing looked nearly as good as the parks do in the city, it would go a long way.
My above idea stems from the observation that Bed-Stuy is a really uneven neighborhood. It seems mostly to be populated with people who care about their surroundings and go the extra mile to keep it clean and nice.
Then there are the people who throw their trash on the sidewalk and let their dogs poop there too. The block association on my street is constantly cleaning up after those people.
Helping to even out the neighborhood would help. People who don’t care about their surroundings need some encouragement and education. I think the park and garden idea would be a step in that direction.
As an interested outsider – and frequent contributor to the Bushwick blog – I have read your postings with great pleasure, this one in particular. I hope you will continue to follow the upcoming council elections on these pages.
I was struck by Mollie’s comments regarding the upkeep of the NYCHA landscapes. Since NYCHA has historically taken pride in well maintained grounds, I believe that the deterioration that has occurred here stems directly from the same forces that have undercut its ability to maintain such critical services as elevators, namely, the severe budget cutbacks NYCHA has had to endure.
Clearly, one of the issues that should be raised in the upcoming council primaries – particularly the 36th, which contains the bulk of Bed-Stuy’s projects – is the need to increase funding on the existing NYCHA properties, possibly through the major use of Federal stimulus monies.
While the projects may not be everyone’s cup of tea, they provide a cricital resource of low income housing that must be secured. Anyone running for council in the 36th should consequently be called on this issue.
Sorry for butting my nose into this, but I issue is important.