State Senator Daniel Squadron will host his fourth annual Community Convention this Sunday, April 22, from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m., at the High School of Economics and Finance, 100 Trinity Place (one block west of Broadway, between Cedar and Thames Streets), in downtown Manhattan. The keynote speaker will be MTA chair and Brooklyn Heights resident Joseph Lhota. After the opening ceremonies and keynote speech, you’ll be invited to participate in discussion groups on issues of community concern. If you’d like to attend, please RSVP here, where you’ll also find a list of topics for discussion groups, or call 212-298-5565.
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Cobble Hill Association Calling for Executive Board Candidates
The Cobble Hill Association has issued an open call for nominations to form its new Executive Board of officers for the 2012-2014 term. Its Nominating Committee invites any interested residents to join an open meeting Monday, April 30 at 7 p.m. in the Cobble Hill Community Room at 250 Baltic Street, off Court Street.
Please come with questions and ideas, so that the committee can discuss interested individuals’ potential for filling one of the seven positions on the executive board.
Squadron to Hold Community Convention Sunday, April 22
State Senator Daniel Squadron, whose district includes Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens (where he lives), Brooklyn Heights, DUMBO and much of lower Manhattan, will hold his fourth annual Community Convention Sunday, April 22, from 2-5 p.m. He has alternated the site of the conventions between Brooklyn and Manhattan; this year it’s Manhattan’s turn, so it will be at the High School of Economics and Finance, 100 Trinity Place (one block west of Broadway, between Cedar and Thames Streets).
Previous conventions have seen productive discussions on topics of particular interest to Cobble Hill residents like traffic, helicopter noise, schools, Brooklyn Bridge Park (Sen. Squadron is represented on its board of directors), and neighborhood preservation. Continue Reading →
Cobble Hill Charter School Battle
The battle over the issue of Charter Schools in NYC, has opened a new front in a proposal to create a school run by the the Success Academy in Cobble Hill. The decision to accept the proposal is the subject of a hearing tonight, as reported by the NY Daily News and the New York Times. Controversially, the hearing will be held in Newtown High School in Elmhurst, Queens. Adding further controversy, proposed charter school will be sharing a location with both Brooklyn School for Global Studies and the School for International Studies 284 Baltic Street. Is this a good idea for parents, children, and the neighborhood?
CHA Prexy Says Dumping of BQE Reno Plan is “Pathetic”
The NYS Department of Transportation trashed plans for a $280 renovation of a portion of the Brooklyn Queens Expressway this week. That announcement has community leaders here fuming.
“We were told by the state that the BQE was in danger of collapsing in the 80s,” CHA President Roy Sloane tells 1010 WINS. “It’s also pathetic that they put all these years and effort in, spent money on all sorts of designs and are now dropping it.”
Update on Park Deal
More information is now available on the deal on Brooklyn Bridge Park funding announced yesterday. Under the agreement, the city will proceed with funding park construction and development of recreational facilities which, according to a press release from State Senator Daniel Squadron, will include “a temporary pool for at least the next five summers, a Pier 5 recreational ‘bubble’ that will make the park usable in the winter, an ice skating rink, two tennis courts, and 2,200 feet of community space.” Also, we note that because no request for proposals may be issued for housing at Pier 6 before January 1, 2014, no such request can be issued by the Bloomberg administration, as he will be out of office by that date. Whoever succeeds him as Mayor may not have the same commitment to the idea of funding park operations and maintenance with housing.
Along with Senator Squadron, Assemblywoman Joan Millman and City Council Members Stephen Levin and Brad Lander have agreed to the deal.
City Announces Plan That May Reduce Scale of Park Housing
Mayor Bloomberg announced this evening that city and state officials plan to sign an agreement tomorrow concerning the funding of Brooklyn Bridge Park that may result in smaller scale housing being built on park land, and may even eliminate the need for the two planned new buildings near the foot of Pier 6.
The New York Times: After months of uncertainty over the fate of the popular Brooklyn Bridge Park, city and state officials plan to sign an agreement on Tuesday that would allow limited private housing to be built there, to help pay an expected annual operating cost of $16 million.
The agreement ensures that the park, which now measures 20 acres, will be completed, eventually expanding to 85 acres on five disused piers along the East River. Continue Reading →
CB6 Transportation Committee Endorses DOT Proposals for Pier 6 Access, but Urges Further Action
Following a lengthy presentation by City Department of Transportation personnel of DOT’s proposals for improving access to Pier 6 of Brooklyn Bridge Park, and an even lengthier question and answer session from an audience that filled Conference Room A at Long Island College Hospital, the Transportation Committee of Community Board 6 unanimously agreed to a resolution expressing support for DOT’s proposed changes, but added (by way of “friendly amendments”) recommendations that (1) as initially suggested by Brooklyn Heights Association Executive Director Judy Stanton, a light be installed to govern left turns off Atlantic Avenue onto the BQE access ramp; and (2) as suggested by Cobble Hill community activist Roy Sloane, that a light also be installed at Columbia and Congress streets and that truck traffic from Phoenix Beverage, the tenant at Pier 7, be redirected there instead of to the foot of Atlantic Avenue near the park entrance. The resolution also urged that DOT begin study and planning for a more comprehensive solution to the park access and safety issue, which could include a pedestrian “flyover” or tunnel. Continue Reading →
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