1 Community Board No. 8 Concern For
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Community Board No. 8 Concern for Independent Living 151 Rochester Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11213 October 11, 2012 Members Present Members Absent Kim Albert Wayne Bailey Akosua Albritton Viola Bing Glinda Andrews Bay Brown Desmond Atkins Renaye Cuyler LeeAnn Banks Diana Foster Princess Benn-James Adelaide Miller Samantha Bernadine Cy Richardson Julia Boyd Patricia Scantlebury Gail Branch-Muhammad Stacey Sheffey Dr. Flize Bryan Audrey Taitt-Hall Helen Coley Launa Thomas-Bullock Phu Duong Sharon Wedderburn James Ellis Robert Witherwax Ede Fox Greg Yerman Fred Frazier Vilma Zuniga Nizjoni Granville Curtis Harris Elected Officials Present Xeerxeema Jordan Shalawn Langhorne NYC Comptroller John C. Liu Tarves Lord Priscilla Maddox Elected Official’s Representatives Robert Matthews Kwasi Mensah Darryl White, NYC Comptroller Liu’s Office Dr. Fred Monderson Jaree Markowicz, Assemblymem. Robinson’s Office Atim Oton Pooja Bansal, Borough President’s Office Alton Pierce Charles Jackson, Congresswoman Clarke’s Office Angelina Pinto Nora Daniel, Councilwoman Mealy’s Office Mary Reed Sam Pierre, Mayor’s Office Marlene Saunders Jesse Hamilton, Senator Adams Office Meredith Staton Lee Church, Assemblyman Jeffries’s Office William Suggs Gregory Todd Liaisons Present Ethel Tyus Yves Vilus Ronda Messer, Dept of Transportation Deborah Young Jennifer Harris-Hernandez, Dept. of Transportation Wallace Murray, Dept. of Transportation CB Staff Present Michelle George, District Manager Julia Neale, Community Associate 1 Ms. Granville called the meeting to order at 7:15 PM and thanked Concern for Independent Living (CIL) for use of the space. She asked for an official welcome from Mr. Oaks. CONCERN FOR INDEPENDENT LIVING – Mr. Larry Oaks, Director of NYC Operations Mr. Oaks welcomed the community board to Concern for Independent Living. He stated that with the help and support of Community Board No. 8, they were able to turn a 1913 era building into a state of the art facility that re-opened last year. The building was initially St. Mary’s Hospital Shelvin Hall, and after years of neglect, was old and dilapidated and an eyesore on the block. A complete renovation was conductedd, creating 65 units of housing for people with mental disabilities. Part of the rehabilitation plan and community response was to make the space available for use by the community. As such, CIL is proud to host the Community Board meeting and looks forward to hosting others in the future. Ms. Granville thanked Mr. Oaks and opened the public hearing. PUBLIC HEARING ON THE CAPITAL AND EXPENSE BUDGET FY 2014 Public hearing items on the budget for FY 2013 were distributed to all community board members and community residents. The Capital and Expense Budget items for FY 2014 were read by Ms. Ethel Tyus and Ms. Shalawn Langhorne. After a brief question and answer period, Mr. Pierce made a motion to accept the Public Hearing items for Community Board 8’s Capital and Expense Budget for FY 2014. The motion was seconded by Mr. Staton and carried with a vote of 28 in favor, 0 opposed, with 1 abstention. Ms. Granville closed the public hearing and called the general meeting of Community Board No. 8 to order at 7:35 PM. ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES – The minutes of the last meeting were accepted with the following corrections: the Youth and Family Services Committee report was omitted from the minutes. Ms. Granville apologized for the mishap. CORRESPONDENCE – CB 8 newsletter and other correspondence was distributed. Ms. Granville asked for a report from the following committees: AGING/HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES – Ms. Marlene Saunders, Chair The Aging/Health & Human Services Committee met Monday, October 1, 2012 at Center Light Health Care Center (CNR) located at 727 Classon Avenue, Brooklyn, NY at 6:30pm but did not have any action items. In addition to the Chair Marlene Saunders, present were: Dr. Flize Bryan, Natasha Eziquiel-Shriro, Verna John and Adelaide Miller. 2 The Aging/Health Committee invited everyone to a Health & Harvest Fair to celebrate the arrival of fall and learn about healthy living. This event will be held on Saturday, October 27th, 2012 on Underhill Avenue between St. John’s Place and Sterling Place. The fair includes fun for the entire family; food samples, workshops, massages, cooking demos, medical screening and many more free activities. Anyone interested in participating should contact Alison Conforti: [email protected]. The next Aging/Health Committee meeting will be held Monday, November 5, 2012 at Center Light Health Care Center (CNR) at 6:30 PM. All are encouraged to attend. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT – Ms. Atim Oton, Chair The Economic Development Committee met on Tuesday, October 9, 2012 at CNR-Center Light Health Care Center. In attendance were Kempton Mooney, Ethel Tyus, Stacey Sheffey, Evan Franca, Sonja Sharp (reporter), Jerry Garcia (Police 77th Precinct), Denis O'Mahoney (Police 77th Precinct), Lee-Ann Banks, Robert Puca, Mark Thurton and Atim Annette Oton. The Committee discussed a proposed plan for CB8. The plan is to increase businesses in the community, diversify and expand the economic base. The goal is to attract businesses to the community and create jobs within the community and develop a comprehensive strategy for the entire board, bring together and engage all stakeholders from community residents, merchant associations, community groups and organizations, local development corporations and cultural institutions from museums, churches, temples, to mosques. The plan outlined 4 objectives: Development of a Tech Zone and the creation of a Business Incubator (potentially Bedford Avenue/Nostrand Avenue or Utica Avenue areas) Development/Expansion of Commercial Corridors as well as Marketing and Promoting the Avenues o Restaurant Rows – Flatbush, Underhill, Vanderbilt and Washington Avenues o The “Village” in Brooklyn – Franklin Avenue o Caribbean Brooklyn/Arts & Culture Zone and Health Zone - Nostrand Avenue o Creation of an Inter-generational (Children, youth and elderly) Corridor with Culture/Jazz – Brooklyn Avenue and Kingston Avenue o Culture, History and Preservation Zone - Utica Avenue Attracting Healthcare, Fitness Venues to CB8 and Expanding Services for Seniors, Youth and Children Establish and encourage Eco-districts, Green Innovations and Businesses in the community; and Expand Green Zones and Green Spaces across the District Members of the committee discussed what was missing in the community and their ideals of what they felt CB8 needed. A need for outreach and partnership was stressed as well as the involvement of businesses owners and building owners in this visioning of CB8. 3 The next Economic Development Committee meeting will be on Tuesday, November 13, 2012 at CNR- Center Light Health Care Center located at 727 Classon Avenue, Brooklyn, NY at 6:30pm. All are invited to attend. EDUCATION – Ms. Sharon Wedderburn, Chair The Education Committee met on Wednesday, September 19, 2012 at Center Light Health Care Center (CNR) located at 727 Classon Avenue, Brooklyn, NY at 7:00pm. Present were: Phil Hawkins, Mykel Isabel, Xeerxeema Jordan and Kwasi Mensah. The Committee discussed the importance of Parent Coordinators becoming active and participating in community boards of that schools’ district. As part of the committee’s outreach initiative for schools in this community; Mr. Hawkins will contact the Board of Education in hopes of obtaining the participation of Parent Coordinators and to find out if it is mandated that Parent Coordinators attend Community Board meetings. Ms. Isabel from the Association of Black Educators of New York (ABENY) stated that Parent Coordinators are supposed to create networks and “expand catchment areas”. She informed the committee that a letter may also be sent to DOE Headquarters to get clarity on the involvement of Parent Coordinators and Community Boards. The next two Education Committee meetings will be held on Wednesday, October 17, 2012 and November 21, 2012 at Center Light Health Care Center (CNR) located at 727 Classon Avenue at 7:00PM. All are encouraged to attend. ENVIRONMENT/SANITATION – Ms. Ede Fox, Chair The Environment/Sanitation committee met Tuesday, September 18, 2012 at Center Light Health Care Center (CNR) located at 727 Classon Avenue, Brooklyn, NY at 7pm but did not have any action items. The next two meetings will be held on Tuesday, October 16, 2012 and Tuesday November 20, 2012. All are encouraged to attend. HOUSING/ULURP – Ms. Nizjoni Granville, Chair The Housing/ULURP Committee met on Thursday, October 4, 2012 at Center Light Health Care Center (CNR) located at 727 Classon Avenue, Brooklyn, NY at 6:30pm. In addition to the Chair Nizjoni Granville, present were: LeeAnn Banks, Phu Duong, Diana Foster, Curtis Harris, Terence Kinee, Tarves Lord, Earl Rose, Stacey Sheffey, Meredith Staton, Ethel Tyus, Sharon Wedderburn and Vilma Zuniga. 4 The committee discussed 192 St. Marks Avenue in the Prospect Heights Historic District. The project is for a rear façade alteration. Mr. Terence Kinee of Built In Studio discussed Fidelis Maximus LLC’s (owner’s) application to the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) for a Certificate of Appropriateness (C of A) to alter the rear façade of this Romanesque and Renaissance Revival Style flats building designed by George M. Miller and built c.1893. The building is in an R6B zone and is being converted from four units into three units where the first and second floors will be the owner's duplex. The project will eliminate an illegal apartment in the basement, and will make the building more environmentally sustainable through the addition of large windows at the rear ground floor level. The exterior work includes restoration of wrought-iron railings and fencing of original design similar to that at 194 and 198 St. Marks Avenue, a double ground floor front window becomes a single double-hung window, all of the rear windows will become tilt and turn (while retaining their alignment with the neighboring buildings), and the rear wall stucco will be removed and the wall pointed. In a companion project, a geothermal heat pump will be installed to reduce energy consumption by the heating and central air conditioning systems.