BROOKLYN COMMUNITY BOARD 6
GENERAL BOARD MEETING
BROOKLYN BOROUGH HALL
209 JORALEMON STREET
DECEMBER 8, 2010
ATTENDANCE
PRESENT:
R.S. BASHNER N. BERK-RAUCH J. BERNARD
L. BLYER S. BURZIO L. CIRANDO
P. FLEMING B. GINSBERG D. GIULIANO
M. HEYER H. HUGHES J. IGNERI
G. KELLY M. KOLMAN D. KUMMER
D. LALLI R. LEVINE R. LOHIER
R. LUFTGLASS T.L. MISKEL C. MOLINARI
L. NAPOLITANO G. REILLY D. REISS
Y. ROMAN M. RUIZ D. SCOTTO
M. SHAMES E. SHIPLEY L. SONES
E. SPICER J. THOMPSON S. TURET
D.C. VITO
EXCUSED:
B. ATKINS N.COX J. DRESSLER
E. FELDER M. KENTON A. McKNIGHT
G. O’CONNELL R. RIGOLLI
ABSENT:
T. ALEXANDER Y. GIRELA R. GRAHAM
A.A. PUGLIESE M. SCOTT M. VERRET
GUESTS
HON. JOAN MILLMAN, STATE ASSEMBLY MEMBER
L. DEPALMA, BOROUGH PRESIDENT MARTY MARKOWITZ’S REPRESENTATIVE
I. ACOSTA, CITY COUNCIL MEMBER LEVIN’S REPRESENTATIVE
M. CURTAIN & J. BLUMSTEIN, CITY COUNCIL MEMBER LANDER’S REPRESENTATIVE
A. SCHAETZEL, STATE ASSEMBLY MEMBER BRENNAN’S REPRESENTATIVE
O. JONAS, STATE SENATOR MONTGOMERY’S REPRESENTATIVE
A. DELISI, STATE SENATOR SQUADRON’S REPRESENTATIVE
V. AVEIS & P. RHEAUME, CONGRESSWOMAN CLARKE’S REPRESENTATIVE
D. WILEY, CONGRESSWOMAN VELÁZQUEZ’ REPRESENTATIVE
A. NOVEK, NYC COMPTROLLER LIU’S REPRESENTATIVE
Complete list of meeting attendees on file at the District Office
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Chairperson Richard Bashner called the meeting to order at 6:49 pm.
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CHAIRPERSON’S REPORT……………………………...……..………….....…...RICHARD S. BASHNER
Chairperson Richard S. Bashner began his report by reporting to the Board that Board Member Vanessa Twyford has resigned citing competing personal and professional demands on her time. He thanked her for her service to our community. He also extended condolences to her on behalf of the board for the loss of her grandmother, Connie Gibbons, who was one of the founding members of the First Place and Summit Street Tri- Block Association, which became the Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association, one of our foremost active civic groups in our district. Our roster is now at 48 members officially.
Chairperson Bashner informed that Board that Claire Hudson from Assemblywoman Joan Millman's office has moved to the west coast and will no longer be representing the Assemblywoman when Tamar Smith is unable to attend. In addition Michael Curtin, our representative from Council Member Brad Lander’s Office, has taken a new position and will be leaving the Councilman’s Office by the end of the month. Jonah Blumstein from the Councilman’s Office will be taking over Michael’s slot. He thanked Claire and Michael for all the help they have given us and our board office, and offered his best wishes to Jonah in stepping up to this new position.
Chairperson Bashner reported that Thursday, December 16th, commemorates the 50th anniversary of the plane crash in Park Slope. On the morning of December 16, 1960, 134 people lost their lives when United Airlines Flight 826 and TWA Flight 266 collided over the skies of Staten Island. The United aircraft crashed in Park Slope, at the intersection of Sterling Place and Seventh Avenue. The Green-Wood Cemetery, along with the Park Slope Civic Council and New York Methodist Hospital, are holding a memorial service and will be unveiling a new 8-foot tall granite monument near the grave where the unidentified remains of victims have rested for the last half century. The service will take place at 9:45am on Thursday, December 16, at the Green- Wood Cemetery at 25th Street and 5th Avenue.
Chairperson Bashner also reported to the Board that on November 18th, our incoming Chairperson Daniel Kummer, District Manager Craig Hammerman and he went to meet with City Council Member James Vacca who chairs the City Council’s Transportation Committee to talk about our experiences working with the Department of Transportation in planning bicycle lanes. Many people have been reaching out to Council Member Vacca from our community, and we thought it was important for him to get the history of our involvement in the Prospect Park West bike reconfiguration, along with our general work with the department in planning bike lanes, from us directly. The Council Member was also in the process of planning a hearing on bicycling in New York City, which has been scheduled for 10:00am tomorrow, December 9 th at 250 Broadway, 16th floor. The Chair has asked District Manager Hammerman to present testimony at that hearing to share with the Council some of the experiences over the years. The week after our meeting the Council Member also visited our district and got to walk Prospect Park West with our district manager.
Chairperson Bashner also informed the Board that the results of the Prospect Park West Reconfiguration community survey that was conducted by Council Members Lander and Levin, with help from our district office is ready for review. Council Member Lander’s Office will be formally presenting the results at our next Transportation Committee meeting. District Manager Hammerman sent out an email yesterday with the link to the survey results when it was released so that anyone wishing to can review the document in advance of our meeting.
Chairperson Bashner ended his report by reminding everyone that the CB6 holiday party is next Tuesday, December 14th from 6-9pm at The DRAM Shop, 339 9th Street (between 5th/6th Avenues) in Park Slope. The cost is $30 per person for food and soda, with a cash bar. Any proceeds from the event above our costs will go to Friends of Brooklyn Community Board 6, Inc., and our non-profit organization. Since your check will be a 2
tax-deductible donation to our organization to the extent the law allows, we are asking folks to consider rounding up their contributions above the costs of the party – to $50 or even $100 if that’s at all possible.
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ADOPTION OF MINUTES
Board Member Rick Luftglass made a motion to accept the minutes, seconded by Board Member Peter Fleming.
VOTE: 26 YEAS, 0 NAYS, 0 ABSTENTIONS
MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY
TIME: 6:55 P.M.
__________________________________________________________________________________________ DISTRICT MANAGER’S REPORT……………..................................................…CRAIG HAMMERMAN
District Manager Craig Hammerman began his report by informing the board that Board Member Nica Lalli and he had attended an on-site scoping meeting for the DiMatina Dog Run. Both Borough President Marty Markowitz and Councilman Brad Lander each set aside $225,000 to redo the run, giving the project a total budget of $450K. The Parks Department will come to a future committee meeting to present and discuss the new design.
District Manager Hammerman informed the Board that Assistant District Manager Leroy Branch and he met with the Department of Buildings Borough Commissioner Thomas Fariello to hear from him about a new system he is putting in place for the borough. They will be seeking input from the district office regarding request of contractors who would like to work outside of the normal working hours. Their normal hours are 7am – 6pm, Mon. – Fri. and 10am – 6pm on Sat. He would like to develop a draft of a policy giving the district office guidelines on how to participate in this new procedure. He will be sending a draft to the Permits & Licenses Committee for their recommendations.
District Manager Hammerman advised the board that he attended an on-site meeting at 4th Avenue and Sackett Street, which is the DEP Shaft 22B site where the Third Water Tunnel passes under our district. That site was originally envisioned to be a community garden when DEP finishes their work. In the interim, since it will be another 8 years before the community will get the site, DEP is open to the idea to give the community a portion of the site to use before they finish their work.. If everything works out the community could have partial use of the site by this spring.
District Manager Hammerman ended his report by informing the Board that he would be on vacation the week of December 20th. He also asked volunteers to help at the holiday party on December 14th.
First Vice Chairperson Raymond Lohier and incoming Chairperson Daniel Kummer expressed warm wishes and kind words to Chairperson Bashner, thanking him for his service to the district as the Community Board’s Chairperson for the last 4 years.
__________________________________________________________________________________________ Chairperson Bashner recognized the representatives of the elected officials.
Luke DePalma, representing Borough President Marty Markowitz stated that the Borough President because of the importance of road safety has compiled a road safety brochure that promotes civility, common sense and
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respect for all road users. He asked everyone to take home a copy to read as well as promote safety habits.
Assemblywoman Joan Millman began by thanking the Board for all their tireless efforts in making our district a better place. She also expressed her disappointment at the lack of a public process used to select Cathie Black for Chancellor of the NYCDOE. She urged New York State Commissioner of Education David Steiner to remove the waiver used for Ms. Black’s appointment.
Ivan Acosta, representing Council Member Stephen Levin stated that the Councilman is sponsoring a toy drive and asked if individuals could donate new toys for local kids at his office from December 1 st – 19th. He also stated that the Councilman has introduced a new street vendor bill that would protect street vendors by restructuring their very harse penalty system. Right now, they are penalized based the number of violations rather than the severity. Which could mean vendor could pay up to $2,000 for any violation no matter if it is minor or major because they have had prior violations. He ended by inviting everyone to look at the PPW bike lane community survey results that are available online (link below).
Jonah Blumstein, representing Councilmember Brad Lander introduced himself as our new liaison replacing Michael Curtain and invited everyone to view the PPW bike survey online at http://bradlander.com/ppwsurvey.
Ann Schaetzel, representing State Assembly member Jim Brennan stated that the Assemblyman was sponsoring free flu shots on December 15th at his office but you must call for an appointment. The flu shots will be administered by Maimonides Medical Center.
Oscar Jonas, representing State Senator Velmanette Montgomery stated that the Senator on January 28, 2010 would be hosting a forum on Community Empowerment on the Care of the Elderly. He also left pamphlets on how a bill becomes a law.
Veronica Aveis, representing Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke introduced Patrick Rheaume who will be our new liaison. She also stated that Appropriations request would be coming out at the end of January and if there are any concerns or project the board is interested in please let her or Patrick know.
Dan Wiley, representing Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez stated that there was a Gowanus CAG meeting this past Monday for the Gowanus Superfund. He pointed out that the process is going very fast and the remediation results will be out in January. In terms of Appropriations, the Congresswomen did get $300,000 for Sponge Park, which is a site along the canal. She also secured 2 million over the last eight years for the Army Corp of Engineers for the Gowanus canal restoration. He ended by asking everyone to look at the finished "Fix the Ditch" study, which is now online.
Asher Novek, representing NYC Comptroller John Liu stated that the Comptroller has rolled out a new initiative called “My Money” which is a online tool which shows New Yorkers when, where, and how government spends their tax dollars. Also real-time spending information for the City's 100+ agencies with Minority and Women owned business. For more information, please go to http://www.comptroller.nyc.gov/mymoneynyc/.
Alex Delisi, representing State Senator Daniel Squadron stated that last month along with the MTA, the Senator released an update to the first-of-its kind Full Line review of the F Train. It stated that service has improved and the MTA has replaced antiquated cars. He also stated that some car rental companies charge Brooklyn, Queens, and Bronx residents an extra fee just for living in these boroughs, even if they are renting the car somewhere else? Charging New Yorkers a hidden fee based purely on their place of residence is unfair discrimination. Senator Squadron worked with Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, Manhattan 4
Borough President Scott Stringer and Assemblymember Brian Kavanagh to launch a petition drive calling on the rental car companies to drop this discriminatory fee. To sign a petition against these charges please go to http://www.citizenspeak.org/campaign/nohiddencarrentalfees/end-hidden-car-rental-fees-nyc-residents. He th ended by inviting everyone to a Neighborhood Community Discussion on December 13 .
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COMMITTEE REPORTS
LANDMARKS/LAND USE COMMITTEE.............................ROBERT LEVINE, LANDMARKS CHAIR
…..……..………........PETER FLEMING, LAND USE CHAIR
Land Use Committee Chairperson Peter Fleming reported to the Board that the committee reviewed an application (ULURP No. C110118ZMK) submitted by the New York City Department of City Planning for an amendment of the Zoning Map, Section No. 16a, changing from an M1-1 District to an R6B District property bounded by Carroll Street.
Motion: by Committee;
Recommendation to approve an application (ULURP No. C110118ZMK) submitted by the New York City Department of City Planning for an amendment of the Zoning Map, Section No. 16a, changing from an M1-1 District to an R6B District property bounded by Carroll Street, a line 260 feet northwesterly of Columbia Street, a line midway between Carroll Street and Summit Street, and a line 380 feet northwesterly of Columbia Street, also known as 20-30 Carroll Street (Block 352, Lots 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24), subject to the conditions of CEQR Declaration E-264.
Board Member Elly Spicer asked if there was common ownership. Land Use Committee Chairperson Fleming stated no, there are different owners.
VOTE: 31 YEAS, 0 NAYS, 0 ABSTENTIONS
MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY
TIME: 7:49 P.M.
Land Use Committee Chairperson Peter Fleming also reported to the Board that the committee reviewed an application (ULURP No. C090225ZMK) submitted by the Center for Negative Thinking LLC for an amendment of the Zoning Map, Section No. 16a, changing from an M1-1 District to an R6B District property.
Motion: by Committee;
Recommendation to approve an application (ULURP No. C090225ZMK) submitted by the Center for Negative Thinking LLC for an amendment of the Zoning Map, Section No. 16a, changing from an M1-1 District to an R6B District property bounded by a line 100 feet southwesterly of President Street, a line 240 feet northwesterly of Columbia Street, Carroll Street, and a line 375 feet northwesterly of Columbia Street, also known as 25 and 33 Carroll Street (Block 347, Lots 50 and 54), subject to the conditions of CEQR Declaration E-263.
Board Member Spicer stated that if the contractor gets this they build as-of-right and we will not get the opportunity to discuss with them our goals when it comes to responsible development.
Board Member Mark Shames stated that the 5-story building we have been discussing has a different owner then the Center for Negative Thinking building.
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Board Member Nica Lalli asked if we were only looking at the rezoning not approving a particular building. Land Use Committee Chairperson Fleming stated yes.
Board Member Lou Sones stated that he was all in favor of both rezoning initiatives. He has sat through many meetings about the rezoning around the Gowanus canal with all the pollution and all the remediation because of the political will for the rezoning around the canal. Yet Red Hook that has vast amounts of land that are ready, willing and able to go towards affordable housing but because of the zoning policy and the IBZ zone policy, which has not added one new manufacturing business, they can’t build affordable housing. This Board should revisit the IBZ zone policy we looked at 5 years ago because if we had more housing it would be better for the economy.
VOTE: 29 YEAS, 0 NAYS, 2 ABSTENTIONS
MOTION PASSED
TIME: 8:00 P.M.
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TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE………..……..………………….THOMAS L. MISKEL, CO-CHAIR
…………………………………….STEPHEN BURZIO, CO-CHAIR
Transportation Co-Chairperson Stephen Burzio reported to the Board that the committee reviewed a request to co-name Court Street between 3rd and 4th Places as "Citizens of Mola Way”.
Motion: by Committee;
Recommendation to support a request to co-name Court Street between 3rd and 4th Places as "Citizens of Mola Way”.
VOTE: 29 YEAS, 2 NAYS, 0 ABSTENTIONS
AMENDMENT PASSED
TIME: 8:05 P.M.
_________________________________________________________________________________________ Continue with Landmarks Committee report.
Landmarks Committee Chairperson Robert Levine reported to the Board that the committee reviewed a Certificate of Appropriateness application submitted to the Landmarks Preservation Commission for the restoration of a below grade storefront and the introduction of new metal ramp and railings at the front entrance of 158 Court Street.
Motion: by Committee;
Recommendation to disapprove a Certificate of Appropriateness application submitted to the Landmarks Preservation Commission for the restoration of a below grade storefront and the introduction of new metal ramp and railings at the front entrance of 158 Court Street (northwest corner Court/Amity Streets), Cobble Hill Historic District.
Board Member Judith Thompson asked if it is possible to have a temporary ramp which is not attached to the building. Landmarks Committee Chairperson Levine stated that it was not part of their presentation, we do not know at this time and we do not have enough information to make a determination.
Board Member Lou Sones stated that we did not see any building plans and we did not want to approve without seeing if the building fit into the landmark district. The committee was torn between tabling this item and disapproving and since we wanted LPC to have something from us we decided to disapprove.
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Board Member Elizabeth Shipley stated that the applicant did not understand the process and was not prepared for the meeting.
VOTE: 30 YEAS, 0 NAYS, 1 ABSTENTION
MOTION PASSED
TIME: 8:13 P.M.
Landmarks Committee Chairperson Robert Levine also reported to the Board that the committee reviewed a Certificate of Appropriateness application submitted to the Landmarks Preservation Commission for the replacement and alteration of windows at 417-431 & 439-443 Hicks Street, 129 & 134-138 Baltic Street & 140 Warren Street.
Motion: by Committee;
Recommendation to approve a Certificate of Appropriateness application submitted to the Landmarks Preservation Commission for the replacement and alteration of windows at 417-431 & 439-443 Hicks Street, 129 & 134-138 Baltic Street & 140 Warren Street, Cobble Hill Historic District.
Board Member Debra Scotto spoke in favor of this motion.
VOTE: 30 YEAS, 0 NAYS, 0 ABSTENTIONS
MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY
TIME: 8:17 P.M.
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PUBLIC SAFETY/ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION/ PERMITS & LICENSES COMMITTEE
………………......................RAY LOHIER, PUBLIC SAFETY CHAIR
……...GARY REILLY, ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION CHAIR
………………DANIEL KUMMER, PERMITS & LICENSES CHAIR
Environmental Protection Chairperson Gary Reilly reported to the Board that the committee reviewed a renewal unenclosed sidewalk cafe permit application on behalf of Masaniello Restaurant Corp. at 72 5th Avenue.
Motion: by Committee;
Recommendation to approve a renewal unenclosed sidewalk cafe permit application submitted to the Department of Consumer Affairs on behalf of Masaniello Restaurant Corp. at 72 5th Avenue (southwest corner 5th/St Marks Avenues), to permit 10 tables and 20 seats.
VOTE: 31 YEAS, 0 NAYS, 0 ABSTENTIONS
AMENDMENT PASSED UNANIMOUSLY
TIME: 8:19 P.M.
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COMMUNITY SESSION
Jordan Zinovich, resident in the Cobble Hill Towers spoke to the Board in reference to the replacement of the windows in the Towers. He stated that about 150 families will be directly affected by this action in that they will be charged for the replacement of the windows. The residents were not notified by the developer to attend any of the meetings related to these changes. He was able to go to LPC and present a statement on behalf of the residents and would like to give that prepared statement to the Board. Also, they believe that the report 7
submitted to LPC on the scope of the work by the architect firm of the developer is inadequate in view of the residents involved because some want to buy their apartments and some want to remain tenants. They have commissioned their own engineers report about the condition of the buildings, which the submitted at the LPC hearing. Their report addresses the fact that the developer is only replacing the aluminum frame of the windows and not the wooden frame, which are badly, deteriorate. This item was approved by LPC and their staff will monitor the work very carefully. He also submitted to the Board the resident’s engineers report.
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NEW/OTHER BUSINESS
No new/other business presented.
Motion: by Board Member Peter Fleming, seconded by Board Member Gary Reilly; To adjourn the meeting.
VOTE: 31 YEAS, 0 NAYS, 0 ABSTENTIONS
MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY
TIME: 8:35PM
Minutes submitted into the District Office by Assistant District Manager Leroy Branch on December 30, 2010.
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