 The Sixth Sense |
Greetings!
Welcome to The Sixth Sense - the monthly email newsletter of Brooklyn Community Board 6, serving the neighborhoods of Carroll Gardens/ South Brooklyn, Cobble Hill, Columbia Street Waterfront, Gowanus, Park Slope and Red Hook.
Last month we challenged YOU to get more involved in the community by volunteering for one of the numerous non-profit and/or community-based organizations that serve our district. At our third Community Volunteer Fair held at the Park Slope Armory Recreation and Athletic Center on May 13, 2010, organized by Assembly Member Jim Brennan, Assembly Member Joan Millman, New York Methodist Hospital, and Brooklyn CB6, roughly 900 people showed up looking for things they could do to give back to the community. That was nearly double the amount of people that came to our previously held fairs back in 2008 and 2005. Clearly, there's no shortage of volunteer interest or energy in our communities!
It is worth noting, too, that the community board itself is a volunteer-driven municipal body and that there's lots of things you could do for the community board as a volunteer. For example, right now we are looking for a graphic artist who can help us design a logo for our "Friends of Brooklyn CB6, Inc." organization. Please send a sample of your work, with your contact information to: FBCB6@brooklyncb6.org. We will be in touch!
You can also help us by volunteering 5 minutes of your time to complete a short online survey relating to the use of parks in our district. Such information can be extremely useful to us so that we can get to know more about how our parks are being used, and how we can more effectively plan and advocate for meaningful improvements to them. The survey will be open for the month of June, and we encourage you to pass the link along to your friends and neighbors too.
This is also the time of year when the community board solicits new members to serve on any of its standing committees. Membership terms are for one-year, effective September 1st. You need not be Board Member to serve. We typically recommend that before applying you consider attending committee meetings first to better understand the responsibilities of becoming a member. All CB6 meetings are open to the public and are posted on our website Calendar which is updated frequently.
June is the period of open enrollment for committee membership. Appointments will be made by our Chairperson over the Summer.
Board Members should click here to download their application, or one will be sent to you.
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! Click here for links to archived newsletters. |
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Recession-Busting Tips: Doing More with Less!
The national recession has hit everyone, some harder than others, but there's plenty of ways we can still have fun and make our dollar stretch a bit further.
Here are a few quick and simple ideas...
1) Use the library. The CB6 district is home to 4 branch libraries and is close to the Brooklyn Public Library's central library at Grand Army Plaza, and business library on Cadman Plaza. All of these branches have extensive collections of books, periodicals, music, movies, and all sorts of media. Give your Netflix account a rest and check out a movie from your local library. And if you absolutely must go book shopping, make sure to support one of our many wonderful locally-owned book stores. (Note: The Park Slope branch library is currenly closed for renovations, scheduled to reopen in Fall 2011.)
2) Collect MetroCards. Every day transit riders either lose or discard MetroCards with money left on them. A good friend of mine turned me on to this awhile back, and since then I have managed to significanly reduce my commuting costs by collecting found MetroCards. Often the found card will have the equivalent of loose change on it, less than the full fare amount of $2.25. Take your cards to the nearest staffed token booth where they will combine their value, up to five cards at time, onto one card. Sometimes you might get lucky and find an unlimited ride card that hasn't expired, or a card with a sizable sum on it. My friend's theory is that the further from the turnstile you are, the greater the value on the found MetroCard. So when you see a MetroCard somewhere out of context, pick it up - it probably has monetary value.
3) Visit our local parks. Where can you find free access to 2 swimming pools, lots of sprinkers, dozens of ballfields (basketball, baseball, soccer, football, tennis, handball), roughly 80 acres of open space, playground equipment for children of all ages, plus free movies, concerts and recreational programs? Right here in the public parks of the CB6 district. While we post Announcements of special events in the district, our website listing is by no means exhaustive. Visit a local park and find out more about how you can get involved. (We're also offering a parks user survey this month, which should only take about 5 minutes to complete, that will help us be more effective planners and advocates for our parks and open space.)
4) Claim what's yours. Government is holding billions of dollars that doesn't belong to it. They're hold money from old bank accounts, safe deposit boxes, stock sales, utility deposits, insurance accounts, inheritances, and other odd sources that were turned over to the government by someone else. The NYS Comptroller's Office has a wonderful online database that you can use to search for money that might be yours. Search for friends, family, neighbors, or anyone you might know. Need access to a computer with Internet access? You can always use your local library. And if you're not sure what to do with any found money, you can always consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Friends of Brooklyn Community Board 6, Inc.
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Helping our Seniors Age-in-Place in our Communities 
How "senior friendly" are our neighborhoods? Serving and supporting Brooklyn's older adults since 1971, Heights and Hills has received a planning grant from the NYS Office for the Aging to examine this very issue. They will inventory resources that exist for our seniors, and identify what's missing, which will make it easier for our seniors to age-in-place. The goal of the planning initiative is to allow more seniors to remain in our communities longer, preferably in their own homes.
What is unique about this study is that it is a senior-driven grassroots model. The study's Steering Committee members were recommended by our neighborhood civic organizations. They are all local seniors who think constructively and globally, and who are actively involved in our communities. The committee's goal is to have as many residents ages 55 and older complete the survey, especially those who may not be connected to a particular senior organization.
Heights and Hills, through this planning grant, will use the voice of our seniors to inform community leaders, agency representatives and elected officials about what is needed in our neighborhoods to make ours' a more livable community for people of all ages.
To receive a copy of the survey for yourself, your neighbors or your group, or for more information about this important study, contact the project coordinator Anne Perzeszty by email or call (646) 265-7835. |
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Brooklyn CB6's 2010 Youth Acknowledgement Awards
Pictured at the Brooklyn CB6 2010 Youth Acknowledgement Awards (left-to-right) are Assistant District Manager Leroy Branch, Youth Services Committee Co-Chair Derrick Vito, Robert Acito Award for Youth Involvement awardee Marisa Catalina Casey, awardee Amani Farraj, Chairperson Richard Bashner, awardee Hanin Dari,
awardee Duncan McInnes, District Manager Craig Hammerman.
(Photo credit by Stephen Brown) |
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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 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 organiza-tion. Donations are welcome and are tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. |
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For the Next Monthly General Board Meeting |  |
6:30pm, June 9
Secondary School for Law, Journalism and Research,
Brooklyn, NY 11215
(Board members should respond with corrections to minutes.)
All posted Community Board meetings (general, committee, informational, etc.) are open to the public and we encourage you to attend; however, participation may be limited depending on the agenda. Contact the district office if further clarification is needed. |
| Ask the DM |  |
A very common question we get at the district office nearly every single day:
"How can I get my neigh-bor to (maintain, fix up, clean up, improve) their property?"
It can be most frustrating to live next to a property in disrepair, or one that just isn't being maintained well. But unless there is a real and significant threat to public health or safety, the short answer is that government has very limited powers to act.
Signs of structural defects could include cracks in the building facade, falling bricks, windows, cornice, etc. or having walls out of plumb. Request an inspection - it is better to be safe than sorry.
However, just because an inspection is performed, even when a violation is issued, that doesn't mean that your neighbor will take action. The City can only step in for dangerous conditions, after notifying a property owner, when that owner fails to take correc-tive action on their own. Even then, the City has limited powers to act on private property, typically limited to protecting the public by removing any imminent threats.
Many "offensive" property conditions do not qualify as unsafe, though they may be a visual nuisance to their neighbors. The City does not have the power to remove visual nuisances (e.g., chipped paint, cracked/spalled areaways, dirty/cracked windows, etc.) on private properties.
If you know of a condition in need of attention, a first step may be to research and alert the property owner. See if they need help. If it's an absentee owner, they may simply be unaware of the problem. Give them the benefit of doubt.
Extending an offer to assist a neighbor is a great way to build a stronger community. It might also get your issue directly addressed too.
Got a question?
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Who's Who at CB6
CB6 2010 Officers:
● Richard Bashner,
Chairperson
● Ray Lohier,
First Vice Chairperson
● Nica Lalli,
Second Vice Chairperson
● David Reiss,
Treasurer
● Elly Spicer,
Secretary
CB6 Chairs:
● Ben Atkins,
Housing
● Richard Bashner,
Executive
● James Bernard,
Youth Services, Co-Chair
● Stephen Burzio,
Transportation, Co-Chair ● Peter Fleming,
Land Use
● Mark Kolman,
Human Services
● Daniel Kummer,
Permits & Licenses ● Nica Lalli,
Parks/Recreation/Cultural Affairs
● Robert Levine,
● Ray Lohier,
Budget; Public Safety
● Rick Luftglass,
Economic Development, Co-Chair
● Thomas Miskel,
Transportation, Co-Chair ● Greg O'Connell,
Waterfront Development
● David Reiss,
Economic Development, Co-Chair
● Suzanne Turet,
Education
● Derrick C. Vito,
Youth Services, Co-Chair
● Bob Zuckerman,
Environmental Protection
District Office Staff:
● Craig Hammerman,
District Manager
● Leroy P. Branch, Jr.
Assistant District Manager
● Liza Santiago,
Office Manager
● Helena Miskel,
Office Volunteer
● Peter Katz,
Planning Fellow
● Erika Pineda,
College Intern
Newsletter Production:
● Craig Hammerman,
Editor |
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