Brooklyn Community Board 11

Monthly Minutes - February 2011

Minutes of Community Board 11's General Meeting and Public Hearing
Held on February 10, 2011 at the:
St Athanasius, 2261 Bay Parkway

Table of Contents



The meeting of Community Board 11 was opened with Matthew Bromme having the honor of leading the Pledge.

Public Portion top

Mary Placanica spoke regarding damage caused to her curbing and sidewalk when her street was resurfaced by the Department of Transportation. She stated that she contacted the community board some time ago and she is still waiting for the Department of Transportation to address the issue.

Adam Szcepanski of Citywide Disaster Services, Inc. gave a presentation on the services the company provides. Citywide Disaster Services, a non-profit organization, provides emergency services access to residents and corporations of New York City via two-way radio network. If anyone has questions or is interested in the service, they can contact Mr. Szcepanski.

The Chairman inquired if anyone else from the public sought recognition. Hearing none, a motion was made by Frank Segreto to close the public portion of the meeting. Seconded by John Garvey. Unanimously adopted.

Minutes top

Bart Allegretti made a motion to accept the minutes of the December 9, 2010 meeting. Seconded by Rabbi Pollack. Unanimously adopted.

Presentation top

The Chairman presented a plaque to Police Officer Jim Sparacio of the 62nd Precinct, Community Affairs Unit in recognition of his retirement. On behalf of the members, officers and staff of Community Board 11 he thanked Officer Sparacio for his dedication to the Bensonhurst community.

Officer Sparacio thanked the Community Board for their continued partnership and support throughout the years.

Assemblyman Peter Abbate top

The Assemblyman reported that the legislature is back in Albany reviewing the Governor's recently released Budget. He stated that this budget does not itemize where additions and/or reductions to an agency have not been made and the Governor wants the legislature to pass this budget and then worry about where funding was cut. He stressed that this would not happen and there may be a late budget.

Assemblyman Abbate reported that he and his colleagues are very concerned with cuts to the education budget. He stated that District 20 and 21 has some of the finest schools that have the highest amount of senior teachers. The Assemblyman stated that he agrees that bad teachers should not be teaching and there must first be an evaluation procedure in place to determine a teachers' rating.

Chairman's Report top

The Chairman addressed the issue of damage caused to the curbing and sidewalk during resurfacing. He advised that this matter was reported to the Department of Transportation and the office will follow-up.

Mr. Guarinello reported that Congressman Nadler has advised that the National Institute for Public Safety and Health will be holding a public meeting on March 3, 2011 in Conference Room A/B on the 6th Floor of the Javits Federal Building at 26 Federal Plaza in lower Manhattan from 9:00am to 4:45pm. The meeting will provide first responders and survivors information on the Zadroga Bill.

The Chairman reported that he and the District Manager met with Nick Curran, Brooklyn Director for Congressman Grimm. Mr. Guarinello discussed the importance of the repair of the promenade along Shore Parkway from Bay Parkway to 14th Avenue.

Mr. Guarinello reminded board members seeking reappointment to return their applications as soon as possible to the Brooklyn Borough President's office.

The Chairman discussed the December blizzard and the changes the City implemented since then. He advised that the Department of Sanitation has appointed a new Brooklyn Borough Superintendent, Chief Killeen. Additionally, new Assistant Chief Mark Richies, who was our former District Superintendent, will only be handling our Board.

He further stated that a formal request was sent to Commissioner Parvizi, Mayor's Community Affairs Unit and Deputy Mayor Stephen Goldsmith requesting that Community Boards have access to the Office of Emergency Management's Emergency Operation Center during citywide emergencies.

Mr. Guarinello advised that based on a review of the events that transpired during the blizzard, as they related to requests from the community, or allocation of city resources within Community Board 11, we have instituted a best practice model for communication between our office, CERT, the 62nd Precinct and our Sanitation garage. This will ensure that we work together and not duplicate our efforts.

The Chairman thanked Marnee Elias-Pavia for her performance on behalf of the Board during the blizzard.

The District Manager advised that she can be reached at all times by either emailing info@brooklyncb11.org or melias-pavia@cb.nyc.gov.

Mr. Guarinello introduced and welcomed Lily Wong of the Borough President's Office, who will be Community Board 11's liaison.

The Chairman announced that the March meeting will be held at the Bensonhurst Home for Nursing and Rehabilitation. He thanked St. Athanasius for their hospitality.

District Manager's Report top

Marnee Elias-Pavia reported that notification has been received from the Department of Transportation regarding the new siting procedure for the identification and installation of bicycle racks. She stated that the agency will be reviewing the following corridors: New Utrecht Avenue between 62nd Street and 86th Street, 14th Avenue between Cropsey Avenue - 62nd Street, 15th Avenue between Belt Parkway - 60th Street, 18th Avenue between Belt Parkway and 61 Street, Kings Highway between McDonald Avenue and Bay Parkway, Stillwell Avenue between Avenue U and Bay Parkway, Cropsey Avenue between Bay 8th Street and 26th Avenue, Benson Avenue between 14th Avenue and 26th Avenue.

The District Manager voiced her concerns that segments of the proposed locations are within residential portions of the district and not commercial corridors or recreational facilities.

After brief discussion, a motion was made by Frank Segreto to notify the Department of Transportation that Community Board 11 will only support the installation of bicycle racks on commercial corridors, and around parks or libraries; and opposes the siting in residential areas and schools. Seconded by Man Wai Lau. Unanimously adopted.

The District Manager provided an update on the West End D Line rehabilitation. The project which includes the repair of 495 column bases along the line structure. Prior to the holiday embargo 300 columns were opened along the elevated structure. As of today, 80 of the 300 column bases have been repaired and closed.

When the contractor and engineers opened and inspected the columns, they found 60 that are classified as type V repairs for which they needed to find and agree upon a design solution. They have come up with a design fix, and plan to work on 5 of the type V columns this weekend when they have a service diversion. The District Manager has been advised that once they conduct this weekend's repairs they will determine if more columns can be repaired during upcoming service diversions. The steel repairs will be made but the concrete pours around the base will not be made until appropriate temperatures.

The contractor will begin repairs on the remaining 160 columns that are open; however, they are limited to the kind of work they can perform due to the temperatures.

With regard to the remaining 200 columns, the contractor is moving ahead so that the columns can be inspected and the steel ordered for the repairs. They will be working on 86th Street between 20th and 21st Avenues, and they will be opening about 15 columns. The work will be performed as requested by the Board between the hours of 7AM to 3:30PM. The columns will be opened and then plated so that there is no loss of parking.

The Department of Environmental Protection has notified the Board that they will be doing emergency sewer repairs at the following locations: 71st Street between 16th and 17th Avenues, Bath Avenue between Bay 31st and Bay 32nd Streets, Bath Avenue between Bay 34th and Bay 35th Streets and Benson Avenue and Bay 35th Street.

In addition, before the Christmas Holiday an emergency sewer repair and the installation of a catch basin began on Shore Parkway between 15th and 16th Avenues. This job will be completed next Friday and final restoration of the roadway will be done in approximately 9 weeks, which is standard operating procedure.

The Mayor's Street Activity Permit Office has advised that due to the increased amount of permitted street activities and the impact this has on resources, they will be initiating a strategic review of all permits for 2011. This will include all block parties, street festivals and multi-day multi block events with the view of assessing the location of the proposed events as well as reducing their hours of operation and/or length.

The Department of Sanitation will be collecting garbage in the district on Lincoln's Birthday. If you receive garbage collection on Saturday, please put out only household refuse. There will be no recycling collection.

The Department of Transportation will be installing new traffic signals at the intersections of Benson Avenue and Bay 28th and Bay 29th Streets. Installation will be performed by contract and the work is tentatively scheduled to be completed by May 31st.

62nd Precinct top

Inspector Rooney reported that there has been a citywide pattern of commercial robberies. The precinct is allocating additional personnel to the midnight tour to combat these patterns.

New Business top

The 62nd Precinct Community Council will be holding their monthly meeting on Tuesday, February 15th at 7:30 PM, at the Jewish Community Center of Bensonhurst, 6222 23rd Avenue.

On motion the meeting was adjourned.

Attendance top

    Present
  • Bart Allegretti
  • Ross Brady
  • Matthew Bromme
  • Maria Campanella
  • Albert Campanelli
  • Dr. Joseph Caruana
  • Rosa Casella
  • Thomas Colasanto
  • Louis Crispiano
  • Mafalda DiMango
  • Sal D'Allessio
  • Joseph DiSanto
  • Paul DiSpirito
  • Charles Farrauto
  • Anthony Favale
  • Shirley Fineman
  • John Garvey
  • William Guarinello
  • Eileen LaRuffa
  • Man Wai Lau
  • Albert Milone
  • Nicholas Miraglia
  • Rabbi Gary Pollack
  • Frank Segreto
  • Antonio Troia
  • Laurie Windsor
    Absent
  • Leonard Beninson
  • Angel Geraldi
  • Anthony Mallozzi
  • Corrado Manfredi
  • Vito Marangelli
  • Rosalee Manitta
  • Camillo Messina
  • Ella Nigro
  • Angelo Russo
    Excused
  • Msgr. David Cassato
  • Jerry Chiapetta
  • Don Clark
  • Yoketing Eng
  • Tim Law
  • Vincent Nativo
  • James Orlando
  • Barbara Parisi
  • Stanley Roher
    Guests
  • Katy Rosa - Parks Dept.
  • Sylvia Maraia - CM Domenic Recchia
  • Kenneth Lazar - Dept. of Buildings
  • Mary Placanica - AM William Colton
  • Adam Szczepanski - Citywide Disaster Services
  • Kake Oliver - CM David G. Greenfield
  • PO Stephen Agosta
  • Rocco Buopane - CM Vincent J. Gentile
  • Lisa Garvey
  • John Orlando - Senator Golden
  • Hisham Morgan - Muslim American Society
  • Maya Kremen - Rep. Nadler
  • Lily Wong - Brooklyn Borough President