Sorry for the hiatus. I was unable to attend the CB3 Meetings for December and January. Here’s the roundup for February!
You can find a copy of the meeting agenda here.
Opening Remarks
Chairperson Butler started the meeting with updates regarding two major issues that has affected the neighborhood in the past few weeks.
Gelzer Foundation/Halfway House
Chairperson Butler did touch on this and issued the same response posted in the comments section of the original post on this on Bed Stuy Blog.
He did again thank the community for bringing this to CB3′s attention early so that there could be swift action.
321-329 MacDonough
He indicated that there was a small victory on this front and another hearing, that was held on Tuesday, February 2nd, would be critical in determining the future of these buildings. I haven’t seen any updates on what happened at the hearing so if you know anything, please comment!
Remarks from Elected Officials
Al Vann also spoke on the situation at 321-329 MacDonough and hoped for a positive outcome to the hearing the following day.
A representative from William F. Boyland Jr’s office came to inform everyone of a Public Safety Forum being held next week at Atlantic Towers (216 Rockaway Avenue) on Wedneday, February 10th at 6:30pm. Topics such as Police Brutality, Truancy, and Police Sensitivity will be discused. Representatives from local police precincts will be present. He also informed the group of the Black, Latino, and Asian Caucus in Albany on February 13th. Buses will be leaving from the area to go up to Albany, where you can meet and talk with your local and state representatives and discuss issues important to you. You can call Assemblyman Boyland’s office at 718.498.8681 for more information.
A representative from the Mayor’s Office also stopped by to let people know that any Haitian nationals who were in the United States the day of the earthquake can apply for Temporary Protected Status, which will allow them to stay in this country for eighteen months. There is a disaster center at Bedford and Union Street-The National Guard Armory- that will assist any one who is eligible for this status. Darlene Mealy’s office is also holding an information session on this on Tuesday, February 9th from 2-4pm.
Darlene Mealy was also present and reminded everyone of her open office hours every 2nd Saturday of the month from 10am-12pm. Her office is located at 1757 Union Street.
MTA-Utica Avenue Elevator Project
Representatives from the MTA came to present preliminary designs for the elevator to be installed at the Utica Avenue A/C station.
This is part of a larger project to get more subway stations ADA (American Disabilities Act) compatible. Right now the project is still in the design phase and will be awarded to a contractor in January 2001. The project is expected to be completed in November 2013.
The reprepresenatives did bring some renderings to explain the project. The elevator will be sited on the North East side of the station (right near the small shopping center). It will go down to the turnstile level. The ramp currently in place at the station will be replaced with a longer ramp with a milder slope to allow for easier ascent and descent to the platform.
The comments from the community ranged from the disapproval of the preliminary elevator bank design, to the lack of access to the platform level via elevator. The MTA reps explained that bringing the elevator down to the platform level would be cost prohibitive since it would require digging through underground infrastructure (such as water mains). The community members in attendance were not happy with this response. I felt it was a bit of a weak response even though the issue probably does boil down to cost. Having platform-level elevator access would likely involve three elevators instead of the one that is currently being planned. There would need to be an elevator to bring people down to the turnstile level in order for them to pay their fare, then one elevator for each platform. The MTA reps didn’t seem to be able to think that quickly about it, though it was a no-brainer for a few fellow residents I attended the meeting with. The chair of the CB3 Infrastructure Committee agreed to work with the MTA and the District Manager to compromise on the current design in order to make access to the platform easier for disabled residents.
Public Hearing-Preliminary Budget Priorities
Kimberly Hill, CB3 member and Budget Coordinator for the board, gave a presenation on the budget requests for Fiscal Year 2011. She walked everyone through the process with a handy timeline which you can find here. She also provided a sheet with agency responses to the CB3 budget requests for FY20111 which can be found here. The floor was then open for public questions and comments.
One resident asked about the fate of the long-overdue Sanitation Garage, as it was not funded. Chairperson Butler explained that the design portion of this project was funded but zero money has been allocated for the actual construction and that they would request funding for this again next year.
Another resident commented that the community must fight for the Sanitation Garage and the rehabilitation of the Sumner Armory for community use. He suspects that the property that the garage is currently sited is being reserved for other uses. Considering the current development in the Northern Part of Bed-Stuy where this project was to be located, I can’t say I disagree.
Another resident asked what could be done to try and get some attention towards the Sumner Armory project and it was encouraged that residents reach out to their elected officials on all levels-local, city, and state-to see if discretionary funds could be allocated.
Committee Updates
Representatives from the CB3 Civic Engagement Committee gave updates on upcoming events. On March 20th, there is an event at 10am at Boys and Girls High school (1700 Fulton Street) to encourage residents to return their census forms. Bed-Stuy does not have a good return rate for the census, which means we are not being fully represented when it comes to the needs of the community! They are also holding a presentation on Sex Predators later on this month. The flyer for this event can be found here.
Divinah Bailey, chair of the Health and Social Services Committee and a long time community advocate, announced a Day of Awareness for HIV/AIDS is being held on Sunday, February 7th at 4pm at Long Island University. I’m afraid there was no flyer for me to obtain more information. I would suggest you contact the CB3 office for more information. 718.622.6601
Community Annoucements
Bed Stuy Restoration Corp
Two represenatives from BSRC came to discuss this weekend’s BONE MARROW REGISTRY DRIVE. Please attend if you can!
BSRC has also been workingon developing employment programs. Every Monday in the 4th Floor Rec Center at Restoration Plaza, they have general orientations and programs for work readiness. They also have some job fairs and job trainings upcoming. Please contact them for more information-718.636.6930.
Building Blocs
This is an organization that is run out of the Bed-Stuy Multiservice Center that teaches personal finance skills to young people. They have classes all year round and are incentivized-articipants have the chance to earn money or college credit. Please see this flyer for more information here.
Brooklyn Public Library was also there to inform everyone of the great events they have going on this month.
Supportive Housing/Social Services
Given the issues at 332 Malcolm X Blvd, people are concerned about what they feel is the glut of supportive housing and social service programs in the area. One area resident spoke on this and intimated that these programs actually bring these problems into the community rather than solving them. This was a shocking statement to make and thankfully, not everyone agreed but I know the sentiment is shared by many. A lot of programs and organziations start in a community or base themselves in a community in order to address a need that is actually observed. In my opinion, to think that these programs create these problems and therefore should be eliminated does the community a disservice as it ignores and denies serious issues in the community. Bed-Stuy is far from perfect; no area is. That does not mean we should take on a larger share of programs that are not desirable, but it also doesn’t mean we should deny organizations with good track records to run programs that can help residents in need. These programs would not be funded if there was not a demonstrated need for them in the community.
Chairperson Butler made an announcement that on February 17th, there is a Public Hearing that is being put on by the CB3 Housing and Land Use Committee regarding some Supportive Housing that is to be sited at Kosciusko Street and Throop Ave. The meeting will be held at 6:30 at the auditorium at Von King Park. No information was given on what kind of supportive housing this would be or who would be developing and operating the housing. I know this is a very hot-button issue so I would suggest that if you are concerned about this to call CB3 for more information prior to the meeting(718.622.6601). I would also ask that you keep an open mind if you do attend the meeting (Full Disclosure: I work for an organization that develops and manages supportive housing in Manhattan and the Bronx).
There are various types of Supportive Housing (not just for those formerly incarcerated and not just temporary “halfway houses”) and there has been research done into the positive impact Supportive Housing can have on communities-particulary the property values of the communties. Here is a policy brief on a study recently released by a research institute at New York University.
I would also suggest learning more about Supportive Housing in general at the Supportive Housing Network of New York website.
That’s all I have for this month! See you at next month’s meeting, which should be on Monday, March 1st . Check the CB3 Website as the date approaches!
