The Sixth Sense, v1, i2

Friends of Brooklyn Community Board 6, Inc.

February 2010, Vol 1, issue 2

The Sixth Sense

Greetings!

Welcome to The Sixth Sense - the monthly newsletter email of Brooklyn Community Board 6, serving the neighborhoods of Carroll Gardens/South Brooklyn, Cobble Hill, Columbia Street Waterfront, Gowanus, Park Slope and Red Hook.

One of the unique mandates of the community board is to disseminate information to the community about government policies, programs and projects that may affect daily life in the district. No other City agency or elected official is tasked with this role. You can imagine how challenging a job that is having access to very limited resources. Our newsletter is one way of introducing, involving and inviting you in the ongoing work of the board. An engaged community ensures that the community board continues to be truly representative; the more people who get involved - make a phone call, report a service complaint, write a letter or email, circulate a petition, attend a meeting, organize a group or join the community board - the more attention we receive. Certainly, there is no shortage of activism in our communities!

Now is the time of year to apply for community board membership. Community boards are not self-appointing bodies. Our 50 Board Members are appointed by the Borough President, half of them at the recommen-dation of a local City Council Member. They serve voluntary 2-year staggered terms. Becoming a member is a serious responsibility that requires a commitment of time and interest. If you've ever thought about getting involved in the community you can start today! Then consider escalating your level of commitment as your interest piques and personal circumstance will allow. When you're ready to apply you can call the Borough President's Office at (718) 802-3700, visit their website, or contact your local Council Member. Deadline for 2010 applications is February 22.

The community is in our hands. Get involved. Stay active!

Please enjoy our newsletter and do let us know what you would like to see in future editions.

P.S. If you like what you see here, please use the "Forward email to a friend" link at the bottom of the page to pass this email along to a friend or two. There are over 104,000 residents and thousands of businesses in our district. We'd love it if they would all sign up!

New Traffic Patterns For Pacific Street and Fifth Avenue

Beginning on or around February 1, 2010, the following Streets in Brooklyn will be permanently closed:

● Fifth Avenue (between Flatbush and Atlantic Avenues)

● Pacific Street (between Fifth and Sixth Avenues)

● Pacific Street (between Vanderbilt and Carlton Avenues)

Local and emergency vehicle access will be maintained as needed.

These streets are being closed to accommodate the Atlantic Yards project. Northbound traffic on Fifth Avenue can use Flatbush Avenue or Sixth Avenue to continue north; southbound traffic can use Sixth Avenue. Eastbound traffic on Pacific Street can use Dean Street; westbound traffic can use Bergen Street.

These changes necessitate the removal of the Cobble Hill-bound B63 bus stop on Fifth Avenue, between Pacific Street and Atlantic Avenue, the removal of parking in select locations, and the conversion of several nearby streets into two-way traffic flows.

A detour map is available on the Community Notice which is available as a download, at the CB6 district office, and in other distribution locations closer to the affected area.

The implementation plan for these changes, prepared by Sam Schwartz Engineering, details all of the specific changes in parking, signage, street directions, etc. and is also available as a download or at the CB6 district office.

For questions and comments about the Atlantic Yards project, please contact:atlanticyards@empire.state.ny.us

American Cancer Society and IKEA Brooklyn bringing Relay For Life to Red Hook in June 2010

The American Cancer Society (ACS) and IKEA Brooklyn are teaming up to bring this year's Relay For Life, ACS' signature annual event, to the Red Hook waterfront.

Since 1985, Relay For Life has spread to more than 5,000 communities. The relay is a major fundraiser in which teams of people camp out and take turns walking or running around a track or path. The relay is a life-changing event; it gives every-one a chance to celebrate those who battled cancer, remember loved ones lost, and fight back against the disease. The relay lasts for 24 hours because cancer never sleeps.

On June 5, 2010 the Relay For Life will take place at the IKEA Brooklyn's Red Hook waterfront. A kick-off event will be held at a special party on Wednesday, February 10th at 6:30pm at IKEA Brooklyn, 1 Beard Street, 2nd floor restaurant, Brooklyn. To RSVP, contact Jen Silvester at (718) 622-2492, extension 5134, or email her at jen.silvester@cancer.org.

Please participate, and help spread the word!

Open Nominations for Youth Awards

Know any exceptional young people doing extraordinary things in our community? We want to hear from you! Each year Brooklyn Community Board 6 honors youth who have made a substantial contribution to improving the quality of life in our neighborhoods through direct action or by serving as a positive role model for others.

We also recognize outstanding adults who work with youth on a voluntary basis, acting as a positive role model and keeping our youth engaged in constructive activities. Eligible adult candidates can be nominated for the Brooklyn CB6 Robert Acito Award for Youth Involvement, named after our former District Manager who served from 1980-1993.

Applications are now available for the CB6 Youth Acknowledgement Awards and Robert Acito Award for Youth Involvement and can be picked up from the District Office during regular business hours, or downloaded from the CB6 website. The Youth Acknowledgement and Robert Acito Awards will be presented at the beginning of the May 12, 2010 general meeting. Nominations are due by April 2, 2010.

CPR Classes at EMS Station 32 in Gowanus

Effective bystander CPR provided immediately can double your chance of survival. The Fire Department of New York is pleased to offer free bystander CPR training to all New York City residents. Each participant is given a free CPR training kit to bring home to friends and family.

A bystander training class takes less than an hour. Classes are being offered twice monthly, at 6:00pm and at 7:00pm, on the second Tuesday of the month at EMS Station 32 at 347 Bond Street (between 1st and Carroll Streets) in Gowanus.

The next class is on February 9, then March 9, April 13, May 11, June 8 and so on. Visit the EMS Station in Gowanus - learn CPR - make a difference - save a life!

Sign Up for Notify NYC!

Notify NYC is the City of New York's official messaging service, your source for information about emergency events and important City services. What you need to know, when you need to know it. Registration is free and simple, just click here to get started. Or if you are already enrolled, you can log in to customize your account.

All participants are automatically registered to receive Emergency Alerts that will require them to take action. You can also receive notifications about significant events that do not require public action such as public health notifications, public school notifications and unscheduled parking rules suspensions.

New for 2010! On January 1st, Notify NYC began providing expanded information on school delays, closings and early dismissals. To receive school notifications and alerts, register for Notify NYC or modify your existing account to add the address of your child's school to your areas of interest.

And now you can receive Notice NYC alerts via Twitter as well. Follow us at http://twitter.com/notifynyc. Stay alert!

Friends of Brooklyn Community Board 6, Inc. (Federal EIN 04-3780020) was established in 2003 to support the work of Brooklyn Community Board 6 in improving the quality of life in the district. Friends seeks to provide 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 and advocating on behalf of its communities.

Friends of Brooklyn Community Board 6, Inc. is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organiza-tion. Donations are welcome and are tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.