Friends of Brooklyn Community Board 6
January 2018, Vol 9, issue 01
Brooklyn CB6 General Board Meeting
Wednesday January 10, 6:30 p.m.
Cobble Hill Health Center
380 Henry Street
(between Congress/Warren Streets)
Brooklyn, NY 11201


Board members are encouraged to supply corrections to minutes .
All posted meetings are open to the public; however, participation is limited to public session.
Apply to Join the Community Board
Now is the time of year to apply / reapply for community board membership. Community boards are not self-appointing bodies. Our Board Members are all appointed by the Borough President, half of them at the recommendation of a local City Council Member. Members serve two-year staggered voluntary terms.

Becoming a member or re-applying is a serious responsibility that requires a commitment of time, interest and energy. When you're ready to make that big step or continue your service to your community and apply for membership you can call the Borough President's Office at (718) 802-3700, visit their website, or contact your local Council Member.


The application deadline is February 15, 2017.
Update from Planning Dept re: Gowanus
Image by the Department of City Planning

On November 27th the CB6 Economic/Waterfront/Community Development & Housing Committee heard updates from NYC Department of City Planning to the on-going Gowanus Places Neighborhood Study.

Harbor Middle School Presentation
Proposed Site Selection

On November 14th CB6's Youth, Human Services, and Education Committee and Community Education Council 15 heard a presentation by the School Construction Authority outlining the site selection for a new, approximately 650-seat intermediate school (commonly referred to as the "Harbor Middle School").


At the December CB6 General Board Meeting the board voted in favor of the following motion:

"Conditionally approve the site selected by the School Construction Authority at 21-31 & 35 Delevan Street (Block 523, Lots 1 & 13R) for a new, approximately 650-seat intermediate school."

Condition for approval:

"A community advisory committee must be established and meet regularly to help mitigate issues relevant to construction on site during the construction phase of the project."

Automatic Toilet at Valentino Pier
Rendering of Proposed Siting of Automatic Toilet

On November 16th the CB6 Transportation/Public Safely Committee heard a presentation by NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) regarding a proposed automatic public toilet at Valentino Pier.


The committee made a motion to support the project. At the December full Board Meeting the board voted in favor of the following motion:

"Approval of the installation of an automatic public toilet at Valentino Pier."

4th Avenue Project Update
Project Example. See slide presentation linked below for more detail.

On December 21st, the CB6 Transportation & Public Safety Committee received an update from the NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) on proposed changes to 4th Avenue from Sunset Park to Atlantic Avenue. During the presentation, DOT announced a plan to install bicycle lanes and other improvements along 4th Avenue in segments. The presented plan was to install the lanes from 65th Street to 8th Street in Spring and fall 2018, then install lanes from 8th Street to Atlantic Avenue in summer 2021.

The committee made a motion to support the project, however they encouraged DOT to accelerate the timeline for the Park Slope (8th Avenue to Atlantic Avenue) portion of the project.

The motion reads:

"The CB6 Transportation/Public Safety Committee supports the planned 4th Avenue redesign as presented, while strongly encouraging DOT to prioritize extending the project northward during Phase A, and to use temporary materials to extend the protected bike lanes to Bergen and Dean Streets pending the Phase B capital project."

At the encouragement of the committee and vocal support from Council Member Brad Lander,
DOT Commissioner Trottenberg has since committed to extending the interim improvements to Atlantic Avenue by fall of 2019, using in-house materials. Next year DOT will return to the Transportation & Public Safety Committee to present an update reflecting the adjusted timeline and full proposal.

The full Brooklyn CB6 board will vote on the Transportation & Public Safety Committee's motion at Wednesday's board meeting.

Sidewalk Snow Removal Rules
Every owner, lessee, tenant, occupant, or other person having charge of any lot or building must clean snow and/or ice from the sidewalk after the snow has stopped falling. Snow may NOT be thrown into the street.

If the snow stops falling between:

7:00 am and 4:49 pm: must be cleared within four hours;
5:00 pm and 8:59 pm: must be cleared within fourteen hours;
Example: If the snow stops falling at 7:00 pm, the owner, lessee, tenant, occupant, or other person in charge of any lot or building has until 9:00 am the following morning to clear.

9:00 pm and 6:59 am: must be cleared by 11:00 am.
If the snow or ice becomes frozen so hard that it cannot be removed, the sidewalk may be strewn with ashes, sand, sawdust, or similar suitable material within the same time limits. The sidewalk must be thoroughly cleaned as soon as the weather permits.

Fine: $100–$150 (1st Offense); $150–$350 (2nd Offense); $250–$350 (3rd and Subsequent Offenses)

Temporary Snow-Removal Employment Opportunities
Wagons removing snow in New York City, 1908

The New York City Department of Sanitation is recruiting temporary, per diem snow laborers. These workers are called on after heavy snowfalls to remove snow and ice Citywide from areas like bus stops, crosswalks and fire hydrants. Pay starts at $15.00 per hour and increases to $22.50 per hour after the first 40 hours worked in a week. To be eligible, applicants must be:

  • At least 18 years old.
  • Eligible to work in the United States.
  • Able to perform heavy physical labor.

To register, workers must have:

  • Two small photos (1-1/2 inch square).
  • Two original forms of ID, plus copies.
  • A Social Security card.

Bring the photos, IDs (and copies) and Social Security card to any local DSNY district garage weekdays between 7am and 3pm. The garage that servers Brooklyn CB6 is located at 127 2nd Avenue in Gowanus.

Closures on Brooklyn Queens Expressway
The New York City Department of Transportation, Division of Bridges is rehabilitating the Sackett Street Bridge over the Brooklyn Queens Expressway (BQE) in Brooklyn. In order to accommodate rehabilitation work, lane closures on the BQE northbound and southbound near Sackett Street will take place according to the following schedule:

  • Weekdays: one travel lane will close at 12:01 a.m., and a second travel lane will close at 1:00 a.m. All lanes will reopen by 5:00 a.m.

  • Saturdays: one travel lane will close at 12:01 a.m., and a second travel lane will close at 1:00 a.m. All lanes will reopen by 6:00 a.m.

  • Sundays: one travel lane will close at 12:01 a.m., and a second travel lane will close at 2:00 a.m. All lanes will reopen by 9:00 a.m.

For more information about this project, please contact Community Liaison Melissa Johnson at: 917-750-0042.
HOPE for the Homeless
On Monday, January 22nd, 2018, DHS will conduct its annual Homeless Outreach Population Estimate (HOPE), a citywide community volunteer effort to count every New Yorker sleeping on the street across the five boroughs during the coldest time of the year. HOPE relies on thousands of volunteers, and they are asking you to sign up to make this large-scale canvass a reality.

What is Zoning? A Guide
The Brooklyn CB6 District Office often fields calls from constituents inquiring about zoning, specifically what can be built where and how high. Questions about zoning are often too complicated and nuanced to do justice over a quick phone call. We'd like to share a wonderful resource created by The Center for Urban Pedagogy (CUP) called the What is Zoning? toolkit.

The toolkit includes a guidebook that uses simple diagrams to explain how zoning works.

Things To Do In The District
Snow Cap Mushroom

Friday, January 12, 6 - 9pm
Opening Artist Reception. Between the Color at Site:Brooklyn in Gowanus. As the title suggests, the six abstract artists in this show rely on color as a primary constituent in their pictorial gambits for engaging the viewer. The risk, as is always the case with color, is to short-circuit the viewer’s experience with a reflexively pleasurable experience that is pleasing but goes no further.

Friday, January 12, 6 - 8pm
Opening Artist Reception. Kentler International Drawing Space is pleased to present Sublimation: An Iceberg's Story, a large-scale installation of drawing, photography and video projection by Brooklyn-based artist Itty S. Neuhaus.This site-specific installation includes a free hanging, thirty-foot panorama featuring vivid photographic representations of arctic scenes. Free. Location: Red Hook

Friday, January 12, 7 - 9pm
Opening Artist Reception. Solid Light Works: Anthony McCall. Come celebrate the opening of Solid Light Works: Anthony McCall, on view through March 18, 2018. This exhibition marks the artist’s first institutional exhibition in New York and first time that his vertical installations will be shown alongside their horizontal variants.

Saturday, January 13, 4-7 pm
Opening Reception at 440 Gallery. Vicki Behm: A Retrospective. 440 Gallery is proud to present Vicki Behm: A Retrospective, a gallery-wide solo exhibition. In the long arc of her career, Vicki Behm has shifted easily between the restrained elegance of architectural commissions to quirky line drawings that immortalize the beauty and sheer joy of extraordinarily ordinary things. Vicki’s hand-drawn journals are treasure troves of personal documentation and convey an intimate, wide-eyed look at a life lived in real time. Free.

Sunday, January 14, 10am - 4pm
E-Waste Recycling Event by The Lower East Side Ecology Center: Prospect Park. First Ave & First St. They accept working and non-working:Computers, monitors, printers, scanners, keyboards, mice, cables, TVs (all sizes),VCR & DVD players,Phones, audio/visual equipment,Video games, Cell phones.

Monday, January 15, 12-4pm
Martin Luther King Jr. Day at Prospect Park. Join Prospect Park Alliance on Martin Luther King Jr. Day for family-friendly programs at Lefferts Historic House and the Prospect Park Audubon Center. Nature Exploration, Prospect Park Audubon Center, noon – 4:00 p.m., Free, Discovery Pack, noon – 3:00 p.m.: Prospect Park Alliance invites you to get inspired by nature with our Discovery Packs, ready-to-go kits filled with nature activities for families. Animal Encounter, 3–4 pm: Join Alliance naturalists in learning more about the animals in the Audubon Center’s collection and assist in an actual feeding. Freedom Songs and Stories with Tammy Hall Lefferts Historic House, 2:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m., Registration Required.

January 18 from 7-9pm
Grand Opening Party for Interference Archive. The start of 2018 is especially exciting for all of us at Interference Archive, as we kick off the new year having just settled into our new home at 314 7th Street in Park Slope. Join us for an evening of friends and refreshments. Free. Location: 314 7th Street in Park Slope.

Wednesday, January 31, 6:30- 9pm
Park Slope Civic Council Small Business Committee Meeting. Calling all Small Business Owners in the Park Slope area! The Park Slope Civic Council has started a small business forum to support merchants across the neighborhood in exchanging ideas and working together for a thriving commercial district.Every small business owner is welcome to come and share and get involved. Free.
Who's Who at CB6

CB6 2018 Officers:
● Sayar Lonial, Chairperson
● Mike Racioppo, First Vice Chairperson
● Pauline Blake, Second Vice Chairperson
● Jerry Armer, Treasurer
● Elena Santogade, Secretary

District Office Staff:
● Vacant, District Manager
● Ty Beatty , Assistant District Manager 
● Liza Santiago-Sierra ,Community Associate 
● Sarah N. Phillips , Special Projects Manager
● Helena Miskel, Office Volunteer

Newsletter Production : 
● Sarah N. Phillips
CB6 Committee Chairs:
● Jerry Armer, Finance/Personnel & Law, Landmarks Co-Chair
● Richard Bashner, Waterfront/Community Development
● Paige Bellenbaum, Human Services
● Peter Fleming, Land Use, Elections
● Glenn Kelly, Parks/Recreation
● Ariel Krasnow, Housing
● Sayar Lonial, Executive
● Robert Levine, Landmarks Co-Chair
● Rick Luftglass, Budget, Economic Development
● Eric McClure, Transportation Co-Chair
● Thomas Miskel, Transportation Co-Chair
● Mike Racioppo, Permits & Licenses
● Mark C. Shames, Environmental Protection
● Matthew Silverman, Public Safety
● Suzanne Turet, Education & Youth Services
Friends of Brooklyn Community Board 6, Inc. supports the work of Brooklyn Community Board 6 in improving the quality of life in the district. Friends provides planning, advocacy, research and administrative resources to supplement the limited capacities and budget of the Community Board, thus enabling it to properly carry out its City Charter mandated tasks of evaluating the needs of the district and advocating on behalf of its communities.
 
Friends of Brooklyn Community Board 6, Inc. is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization (Federal EIN 04-3780020). Donations are welcome and are tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.
  Ph: (718) 643-3027 | Fx: (718) 624-8410 | fbcb6@brooklyncb6.org | www.fbcb6.org