Public and private development continues to add value to the district, enhancing the built form and infrastructure of our neighborhoods. Most people don't exactly relish the thought of living through the temporary inconveniences associated with construction. But all of us benefit in the end, particularly when projects are done safely, on time and within budget.

 

The Office of Council Member Brad Lander recently created and launched an online tool, www.stalleddevelopment.com, to help track stalled and abandoned development sites in the 39th Council District. This nifty tool helps shine a bright light on sites that may pose a threat or hazard to neighbors, and will hopefully help spur activity designed to "turn blight into benefit."  If you know of any sites, please consider adding to the list.

 

Good news for our Columbia Waterfront Neighborhood! In a recent letter from DDC Commissioner David Burney to CB6, the department has finally announced a May 10th start date for the remaining portion of the project along Van Brunt Street between Degraw Street and Hamilton Avenue.  This last stage of the Reconstruction of Columbia Street project, began in October 2005, is expected to take 6 months.

 

And even more good news for the Columbia Waterfront as applications are now being accepted for 94 new units of affordable housing rental units that are currently under construction at 414 Hicks Street. It is anticipated that the building will be ready for occupancy in Summer 2010.

 

Applications can be requested by mailing a self-addressed envelope to: Columbia Hicks Apartments, PO Box 119022, Williamsburg Station, Brooklyn, NY 11211, or from www.columbiahicksapartments.com, and must be received by June 25, 2010. 

 

The Brooklyn Public Library's Park Slope Branch was closed in October 2009 for 2 years while the branch is upgraded with an exterior ramp, interior elevator and other interior upgrades.  They now have regular Bookmobile services available on Mondays, 11am-4pm, and Wednes-days, 1pm-6pm, adjacent to the library on 8th Street near 6th Avenue, and on Tuesdays, 11am-4pm, it will be located on 7th Avenue near 6th Street by NY Methodist Hospital and Barnes and Noble.  BPL has also created a special webpage for constructon updates.

 

And in Red Hook, where the Department of Transportation installed 2 new bicycle lanes and pedestrian refuge islands on Columbia Street between West 9th Street and Bay Street in August 2009, DOT will be extending the bicycle lanes south to link them into the existing IKEA Greenway along the waterfront. Installation of this facility is currently scheduled for June 2010.

 

New streets, affordable housing, refurbished library, extended waterfront bike lanes - Build, baby, build!

 

In the mid-1980's neighbors from the area successfully petitioned a study of the BQE trench with the idea of decking over a portion of it and constructing a linear park. Unfortunately, the combination of vehicular particulate emissions coupled with the limitations of air-scrubbing technology doomed the project as infeasible at the time. Flash forward two decades -- neighborhood leaders working with CB6 once again petitioned for a new study to take a fresh look at the problem. The "Fix the Ditch" movement was re-born.

 

With a $300,000 allocation from Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez, the New York City Economic Development Corporation has undertaken a new study of the problems associated with the trench. Over the course of the next year, the BQE Trench Enhancement Study will be examining the problems associated with the trench, and recommending a range of possible remedies that could become Capital improvements.

 

Got ideas? We want to hear from you! Come to the kick-off meeting on Tuesday, May 4, 2010, from 6:30pm-8:30pm at Long Island College Hospital, Atlantic Avenue and Hicks Street.