January 4th, 2014 - Christmas Tree mulching at Cobble Hill Park

Ten stripes for safety

Cobble Hill's newest crosswalk adds predictability to our pathways

It's now been over two months since NYC's Department of Transportation implemented a much needed crosswalk on Court street (near Bergen St) at the request of the Cobble Hill Association. Pedestrians had been walking sans crosswalk for years and risking their safety along what is a very obvious desire line for those crossing Court Street. Though it has likely taken both pedestrians and drivers some time to adjust to the new changes, there is now zero confusion as to when a pedestrian has right of way and drivers are legally obligated to yield.

Before the stripes were added, pedestrians crossed without a signal or any clear pathway.

Just how well does the new set up work? Yesterday I spotted an entire family walking safely and dragging a last minute Christmas Tree purchase across this safety zone. Cars calmly waited for them to pass before making the left turn from Bergen onto Court Street. While the tree itself probably made the family visible, there is no denying the new stripes and new signal made their intended pathway entirely predictable. Predictable patterns for cars, peds, and bikes alike, help keep us all safe on the road.

Once again, many thanks to the NYC DOT for their continued involvement and willingness to listen to the Cobble Hill Association's concerns along the Court Street corridor. Most especially, on behalf of the thousands who now cross Court street much more safely, thank you to Christopher Hrones at DOT. He has been the point person hearing us out, offering input, and coordinating our requests with the agency. We look forward to working with him to achieve even more improvements on our local streets in 2014.

LICH updates

What seemed like an early Christmas miracle come to Cobble Hill last week when SUNY Downstate succumbed to our community's vigilant voices and withdrew its plan to convert Long Island College Hospital to condos. Our own local leader, Jeff Strabone, told the NY Times "This is a victory for community power." For more on the story, read the full article and other associated links pasted below.

NY Times: SUNY withdraws development plan
Crain's; SUNY tables LICH mall plan
Curbed: Condo Redevelopment Plan Halted For Brooklyn Hospital
The Real Deal: SUNY officials reject fortis hospital to condos plan

Brownstone Blues: Update

Last week we mentioned the sidewalk construction that got neighbors wondering what would happen to the historic brownstone slates in the ground. Thanks to Catherine Zinnel at Councilman Brad Lander's office, we are happy to announce the Department of Transportation confirmed...

National Grid is required to replace the sidewalk in kind. This means that National Grid will lay down new bluestones (as opposed to filling them in with concrete). DOT's Highway Inspection & Quality Assurance Office (HIQA), which inspects sidewalks, is also going to visit this location.

We are very happy to know the bluestone sidewalks of Cobble Hill will be replaced and Henry Street's visual character will be returned.

Bluestone Blues

19th century brownstones and a 50 foot heigh limit help give Cobble Hill its visual character, but they are only part of the equation. In our landmarked area, the most overlooked element may be what rests underneath our feet - the sidewalk.

Unlike most of the city that has concrete squares, much of Cobble Hill offers unique bluestone slates providing a smooth walking surface.

Construction began in late October along Henry Street's sidewalk, ripping up much of the surface with no notice of what project was underway. A tweet to Community Board 6 put it on their radar and brought the project's details to light. A water line running along Henry Street needs to be replaced. In order to safely replace it, Natural Grid needs to relocate an adjacent gas main currently too close to the water line for Department of Design and Construction to do the replacement work. Only the work done by National Grid requires cutting the sidewalk, which means it is National Grid's responsibility to repair the sidewalk.

Unfortunately their typical sidewalk repairs only involve poured concrete.

Having heard many concerns from the neighborhood, the Cobble Hill Association will work with the local community board to make sure the Department of Transportation pushes National Grid repair the sidewalks to their original condition when all construction work is complete. Stay tuned for more updates on this issue and ways to help make sure our landmarked area retains its distinct look.

76th Precinct Community Council Meeting, Tuesday Dec. 3rd

The next 76th Precinct Community Council Meeting will be held on Tuesday, December 3, 2013, 7:30 PM at the 76th Precinct Station House, located at 191 Union Street, between Henry Street and Hicks Street. We encourage all residents to attend these meetings and get to know their local officers. Whether its complaints or compliments, this is the place to have an open discussion of what's happening in the neighborhood and what else you'd like to see.

Eat Pie and Shop at PS29

On Sunday December 8th, PS 29 is hosting its fifth annual Eat Pie and Shop holiday event. It's a pie social, celebrity-judged pie contest, artisan gift fair, professional portrait studio and children's activity (face painting, kids' choice pie contest, batiking) wrapped into one awesome family event.  

Eat Pie & Shop @ PS29

Sunday December 8, 11am - 4pm

425 Henry Street, between Baltic and Kane

www.eatpieandshop.org

• Pie Social: Taste delicious homemade and premium pies for $5 a slice or 5 for $20. Both sweet and salty options, so come for lunch and desert. Plus frozen custard from Shake Shack. 
• Celebrity-judged pie contest:  At 1pm, Gail Simmons, judge of “Top Chef,” Melissa Clark, food columnist for the New York Times and other kitchen pros will name the best pie of the pie contest. Come toast the winner and taste the winning pie. 
• Artisan Holiday Gift Fair: Take care of your holiday shopping while the kids do crafts. More than 30 vendors from Brooklyn flea markets will be displaying and selling their handmade goods, including jewelry, clothing and beautiful paper products as well as books and classic toys from fork + pencil.
• Children's Crafts and Activities: Face painting, glitter tattoos, batiking and a Kids Choice pie contest of kid baked pies. Your kids will have a blast!
• Professional Portrait Studio: You can get a beautiful portrait of your child/children taken during the event. $30 for one high-resolution image which you can print, email, gift to grandparents, etc. 
• Toys for Tots:  U.S. Marines will be on hand to pick up all donations of holiday gifts. 

All proceeds go to PS 29 programs. For more information, contact ps29eatpieandshop@gmail.com or visit www.eatpieandshop.org.

Transforming Health Care in Brooklyn Town Hall 11/19 @ 6pm

With the ongoing efforts to save our vitally important local hospital, we are happy to share news of a Brooklyn Law School Town Hall Meeting entitled "Transforming Health Care in Brooklyn." The event is free and open to the public and could offer valuable insight for the #SaveLICH fight. See the flyer below from Karen Porter, Associate Professor of Clinical Law.

Atlantic Avenue Tree Lighting, Dec 3rd @ 6pm

Come join the Atlantic Avenue local development corporation's annual holiday tree lighting party. It will be held on Tuesday, December 3rd, 2013 from 6-8PM at the Belarusian Church, 401 Atlantic Avenue. Full details in the flyer below.

Senator Squadron Town Hall, Monday Nov 18th @ 7:30pm

Next week, local State Senator Dan Squadron is holding another Community Convention that enables residents of our district to help shape his priorities at home and in Albany.

With a new mayoral administration on the horizon, there is an exciting opportunity for true change. Come out now and make sure its the change you want to see.

7:30PM to 8:30PM
Brooklyn Law School - Geraldo's Cafe, Feil Hall
205 State Street (between Court Street and Boerum Place)

RSVP by emailing squadron@nysenate.gov (please indicate which town hall you'll attend).

Pumpkin art gets some serious press

The beloved Jane Greengold Halloween art exhibit that is on display in Cobble Hill has not only caught the eye of local trick-or-treaters but also from the Wall Street Journal. Columnist Jackie Bischof quoted locals about the installation. Excerpts are copied below, as is the link to the full article.

"She takes what seems like a simple thing anyone can do and she elevates it to a higher level," said Dave Paco Abraham, vice president of the Cobble Hill Association....

Michelle Mannix, co-owner of nearby restaurant Ted & Honey, said Ms. Greengold's work is a must-see for a neighborhood that treats Halloween "like New Orleans treats Mardi Gras....Cobble Hill takes Halloween very seriously," said Ms. Mannix.

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304073204579167801662345392

The always intriguing blog Lost City also wrote up a story, and contributed a pumpkin, for the display. Check out that article in full right here.
http://lostnewyorkcity.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-pumpkins-go-up-one-last-time-in.html

Halloween Parade, today @ 4pm!

Come one, come all to the 2013 Cobble Hill Halloween Parade. Meet at Cobble Hill park, parade around the neighborhood, & join the fun!

Cobble Hill Association 2013 Fall General Meeting

YOU’RE INVITED TO THE COBBLE HILL ASSOCIATION FALL, 2013 GENERAL MEETING!

Long Island College Hospital Update:
Where are we now?
A report to the community on what we know.
* Legal actions

* Timeline

* Possible Outcomes

Participants:
Toomas Sorra, MD, Concerned Physicians of LICH,
New York State Nurses Association and Local elected Officials
Jim Walden and Adam Cohen Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP,
Dr. Jon Berall, the court appointed "LICH Watchdog"

General Meeting: 7:30 PM
Date: Monday, October 28, 2013
Place: Cobble Hill Health Center,
Main Entrance: 380 Henry Street

Refreshments will be provided courtesy of Ted & Honey Cafe

UPDATE: Below is video of lawyer Jim Walden's message to standing room only audience at tonight's meeting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfCNUP_GNq8#t=95

Halloween-themed Save LICH rally

The Cobble Hill Halloween Parade is October 31st, but there's a chance to give your Halloween outfit a pre-holiday test drive with word from Brad Kerr, one of many locals fighting hard to keep our hospital open.

Halloween is scary. But it’s even scarier to lose your neighborhood hospital. This Saturday, join our Halloween-themed rally to protest Governor Cuomo’s truly frightening plan to close LICH.  Meet at the LICH playground at 10:30 a.m. — and dress up as a ghost or another scary thing that might happen if Cuomo succeeds and we lose LICH. 

WHEN: Saturday, October 19th
TIME: 10:30 a.m. – Noon
WHERE: LICH Playground
ADDRESS: Henry Street between Amity and Pacific

A lot of people aren’t sure what’s happening now with LICH. The good news is LICH is open for care, despite Governor Cuomo’s best efforts to close the hospital and sell the land for condos. Two court cases plus a lot of community and political pressure are keeping the hospital open.

But right now there is no operator to run the hospital in the future, because Cuomo wants to close it, and we need to keep up the pressure until a new operator is found. That’s why you should come to the Halloween-themed rally this Saturday, and forward this email to all of your neighborhood friends — we are winning and with your support we won’t lose our hospital.

Halloween Impalements—the Final Year!

The Cobble Hill Parade through the park is not the only Halloween tradition in our neighborhood. For years Jane Greengold has also made a site-specific, holiday themed public art display called Impalements. 

She writes

For years, with the help of friends and family, I have impaled 100 pumpkins on the spikes of the iron fence on the corner of Kane and Strong in Cobble Hill for Halloween. Every pumpkin is unique. The impaled pumpkins are left for months, to age as nature commands, into gnarly remnants of themselves.

This will be my last version of Impalements at this location. Next year, it may appear at a new location. Please join in for this final year, and help impale the most heads ever. Everyone can bring a head. There are 274 spikes so there is room for a lot of participation.

To join in choose the right size and kind of pumpkin – 4 ¾” - 5” inches in diameter, taller than it is round, and soft enough to carve; LEAVE THE TOP ON; cut a 3/4” square hole in the middle of the bottom (for the spike); carve a face; remove the innards of the pumpkin through the facial features; and bring the carved pumpkin to the corner of Kane and Strong between 3 pm and 7 pm on October 31, 2013. We will impale it!

Smith Street's 4th annual Festivale des Soupes

SMITH STREET’S 4th ANNUAL FESTIVALE DES SOUPES
Saturday, 10/19/13, 1-4pm

It's a "Soup Crawl" for a very good cause. The South Brooklyn LDC shares this fundraiser with a culinary arts program at local public high school, the School for International Studies. Unlike most courses where a textbook or two is the semester expense, in this case it is food... and these raw ingredients are costly. The Soup Crawl helps local students afford these expenses.

FOR YOUR TASTING PLEASURE -- 4 OZ SOUP SAMPLES ARE FROM:
Lunetta, Bar Tabac, Coco Roco, Cibao, Ceol, Hop Hap Thai Restaurant, Hunter’s, The H.S. for Int’l Studies, Stinky Brooklyn, Angry Wades, Pazzi Pasta, Jolie Cantina, Peoples Republic of Brooklyn, Shelsky’s Smoked Fish, Bombay Dream, Provence En Boite, Dassara Ramen, Cubana Café, Savoia, , VIP Thai, Zaytoons, Etons, The Jakewalk, Kittery, Seersucker/Nightingale9, Avlee Greek Cusiine

Listed in the order of a walk from Atlantic Avenue to 2nd Street.

A panel of Celebrity Judges will rate the soups and award Gold, Silver, and Bronze Ladles in three categories - Veggie, Meat/Chicken, & Fish/Seafood based. Compare your palate against theirs . Help us to give soup the respect it is due on the menus of New York!!

Purchase Tasting tickets from the High School students at tables on the corners of Smith & Bergen, Butler, and President Street starting at 1PM. Each ticket entitles you to a 4 oz tasting at the restaurants of your choice from the list above. F or G Train to Bergen or Carroll Street .

$5.00 for a 5 Tasting sampler.
$10.00 Couples/Gourmets for 12 Tastings,
$20.00 for Families - 25 Tastings.
www.smithstreetbk.com

Get Ready! Cobble Hill Halloween Parade 2013 is coming.

Calling all ghouls, ghosts and goblins!
the Cobble Hill Halloween Parade will be Thursday October 31st
TIME: 4:00PM
DATE: Thursday, October 31st
PLACE: Cobble Hill Park
MUSIC: Jah Pan Steel Drum Band

Bring noisemakers to help the Jah Pan Steel Drum band ring in Cobble Hill Halloween, and check out this video montage of photos from years past.

We need a crew of volunteers to help set up at 11AM and then another group of volunteers to help clean up at 8:00PM on the day of the parade. If you would like to volunteer to help, please email us at cobblehillassociation@gmail.com

Thank you to 76th Precinct Captain Schiff

For more than a year, Cobble Hill's safety has been in the hands of NYPD veteran, Deputy Inspector Jeffrey Schiff. Yesterday he passed along word of his reassignment to Queens' 106th precinct and we thank him for his service. Please read his message below in full and also be sure to soon welcome our new head of the precinct, Captain Justin Lenz.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Dear Friends:

After an extremely productive year and a half as the Commanding Officer of the 76th Precinct, I must inform you all that I have been transferred from the 76th Precinct to the 106th Precinct located in Howard Beach/Ozone Park Queens effective midnight tonight. Being the Commanding Officer of this precinct since April 2012 was a wonderful and exciting experience for me, one that I shall never forget!

I feel privileged and honored to have served with the hard working men and woman of the innovative 76th Precinct. I also feel privileged and honored to have known so many people who obviously care about their community as evidenced by the great number of notable arrests that were affected because of direct community intervention, the number of Auxiliary volunteers that report to the precinct each day to help out with various needs and events of the community, and the number of Youth Explores that volunteer their time working in the community. Through this police-community cooperation, we were often able to arrest those persons who were responsible for burglary patterns, car break-in patterns, and those who committed violent crimes in our community.

LICH is open for care!

Earlier this week, Judge Baynes issued his decision nullifying the SUNY/Downstate Closure Plan for Long Island College Hospital. Ambulance service has been resumed, the ER is open, and LICH is open for care! This is an important victory that will provide much needed time for find a new operator and re-structuring the hospital.

Much thanks to Public Advocate Bill DeBlasio and all our elected officials for their support over the past seven months. And a special thanks is due to Jim Walden and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP for their vigorous pro bono representation of our community. Much hard work remains to be done, but today we can celebrate a hard won victory.

For more on this milestone, check out some of the local press coverage at the NY Daily News, the

Brooklyn Eagle, and NY1.

LICH Lives. Say Good-Bye to SUNY.

Thank you to Jeff Strabone (the CHA Board member who researched and prepared the extensive LICH Factbook) for providing this statement on yesterday's court action regarding LICH. 

Dear Neighbors,

You may have heard confusing news today about a new court order to do with LICH. The news is fantastic beyond belief. It's also fairly complex, so we thought we'd do our best to break it down for you.

The short version is that Justice Carolyn Demarest of Brooklyn state court has vacated SUNY's 2011 acquisition of LICH. That means that SUNY no longer owns LICH and cannot profit from its sale. How is this possible, you ask? Let us explain.

When SUNY acquired LICH in 2011, the acquisition was effected by an order of Justice Demarest. That's how it was done. Today Demarest issued a new Decision and Order. In it, she found that SUNY's running of the hospital was "a travesty of the mission of LICH". She reminds us that the reason for SUNY's acquisition was "to ensure LICH's ongoing existence and safeguard its charitable mission". SUNY instead did the opposite of what they were bound to do: they tried to destroy LICH. For this reason, the hospital was taken away from them today.

Justice Demarest's language in the order is harsh. She does not beat around the bush in pointing the finger at SUNY. Indeed, she suggests that SUNY may have deceived the court in 2011 and that it intended to sabotage LICH in order to sell it as real estate from the very beginning. This is something the CHA and our allies have been saying for many months now. Today our accusations have all been vindicated by the court's action.

Here are the key elements:
1. SUNY failed to uphold its obligation to run LICH properly.
"this Court finds that SUNY-Downstate has breached its contractual obligations"

2. SUNY may have failed by design as part of a deliberate scheme to sell LICH for real estate.
SUNY "has failed, possibly by design, and that this Court, and many of the other interested parties, may have been deliberately misled at the time the transfer was approved."

3. SUNY has lied about LICH's finances.
SUNY expected losses of $144.4 million over three years when it acquired LICH in 2011. What actually happened instead: "SUNY-Downstate's actual losses attributable to LICH approximate $30 million dollars at this time." Remember that SUNY has been falsely claiming that LICH is losing $15 million a month.

4. In fact, LICH is so relatively sound that SUNY has tried to pilfer it for its own sake.
"Moreover, LICH's Liability Fund is actually in very good condition, to the extent that SUNY has sought to cover its own financial difficulties by accessing LICH's retained assets." While SUNY claimed LICH was bankrupting SUNY, the opposite was true.

5. The court would never have approved of SUNY's acquisition of LICH had it known that SUNY Downstate was in even worse financial condition than LICH.
Justice Demarest cites the NYS Comptroller's January 2013 audit of SUNY Downstate. Those of you who read the CHA's LICH Factbook may recall that we made a big fuss about the audit, too.

6. SUNY's repeated attempts to close LICH have been "in flagrant defiance" of stays and orders by the court.

7. A full hearing would be needed to determine SUNY's motives.
"Without a full hearing, it cannot be determined whether SUNY's [...] original design and intent was to seize the very substantial assets of LICH and convert them to SUNY's own purposes in disregard of the stated intent of the Transaction." Furthermore, "The wave of enthusiasm [in 2011] for a solution that would preserve LICH may have blinded many to a more sinister purpose to seize its assets and dismantle the hospital."

8. SUNY cannot appeal today's Decision and Order until and unless there has been a full hearing first before Justice Demarest.

9. If the NYS Attorney General cannot represent the public due to conflict of interest, the Court may turn to the NYC Public Advocate.
That would be Bill de Blasio.

So where does this leave LICH ownership-wise? Does it revert to its previous owner, Continuum? Not exactly. Justice Demarest suggests that Continuum "resume operation of the hospital", but Continuum publicly said today it would not. The ruling says that, in that case, the NYS Commissioner of Health "may apply to this Court to designate a receiver".That is what we expect to happen, but no one knows for sure.

What we do know is that SUNY's scheme to destroy our hospital and walk away with a $1 billion real estate profit has been thwarted. Could this victory be overturned? Maybe, but see point 8 above.

Justice Demarest will hold a conference on Thursday in her chambers to sort out some of the consequences. We will stay on the case and keep you informed.

Jeff Strabone

Additionally, please see these links to current press stories:

Brooklyn judge orders SUNY to give Long Island College Hospital back to Continuum | Brooklyn Daily Eagle

SUNY Downstate must return LICH assets, Brooklyn judge rules | Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Judge Rejects Long Island College Hospital’s Ownership Deal - NYTimes.com

Court Order to maintain services at LICH!

DE BLASIO, NYSNA, 1199SEIU AND CIVIC GROUPS SECURE COURT ORDER TO MAINTAIN AND MONITOR SERVICES AT L.I.C.H.

Major milestone will keep hospital open and install independent ombudsman to assure SUNY and State DOH compliance

NEW YORK—Plaintiffs in the legal action to keep Long Island College Hospital open secured a major victory late Friday with a court order that binds SUNY and the State Department of Health to remove impediments to medical care and will appoint an independent monitor to assure compliance. After weeks of SUNY unlawfully curtailing medical services, putting staff on leave and obstructing patient care, the new order puts in place a regime to preserve vital services and prevent further violations of the law until litigation is resolved.

The order was secured through litigation by Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, New York State Nurses Association, 1199SEIU, Boerum Hill Association, Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association, Cobble Hill Association, Brooklyn Heights Association, Wyckoff Gardens Association, Riverside Tenants’ Association and two community residents.

The judge’s order requires SUNY to immediately put into effect:

· Full restoration of staffing and services which were available as of July 19, including an active Emergency Department, Intensive Care Unit, inpatient medical beds, as well as laboratory, radiology, social work and pharmacy services

· Recommencing in-patient surgeries that are deemed medically necessary by treating physicians to the extent such surgeries were permitted on July 19

· Removal of armed guardsother than those deemed necessary for crowd control and safety.

· Issuance of a formal “retraction letter” telling patients that LICH clinics are not slated for closure unless and until the Court deems otherwise. The letter will countermand the “closure letter” sent by SUNY on August 9.

· Court appointment of an ombudsman who will monitor SUNY’s compliance with court orders to maintain services, and serve as point of contact when violations are reported;

“SUNY tried to padlock this hospital four weeks ago. We’ve watched it violate court orders in broad daylight. Now, the court is putting all that to an end. These steps will ensure this community will have continuity of care for the immediate future,” said Public Advocate Bill de Blasio. “This is a huge step forward.”

De Blasio, NYSNA and other petitioners continue to participate in negotiations with SUNY to find a path forward for L.I.C.H.

Read the court order: http://advocate.nyc.gov/LICH-order

2013 Cobble Hill Concert Series - FINAL PERFORMANCE TONIGHT @ 7pm

Tonight we close out the 2013 Cobble Hill Concert Series in Cobble Hill Park at 7pm with the musical stylings of jazz man Adam Smale.

August 15: Adam Smale
This Canadian native has played jazz worldwide but now calls the Big Apple home sweet home, and we're lucky enough have him as a local closing out this year's concert series. With a masters in Jazz performance, Adam Smale, will delight the crowds his unique, self-built seven string performing exciting jazz standards beside his fantastic Quartet.

We'd like to also thank all of this years musicians for taking part and hope you have enjoyed the shows.

UPDATE: 2013 Cobble Hill Concert Series continues TONIGHT @ 7pm

Rescheduled because of rain... tonight, Friday, August 9th, we will continue the 2013 Cobble Hill Concert Series in Cobble Hill Park. We'll have the musical stylings of folk artist Nadim Silverman. 

August 9th: Nadim Silverman
The Cobble Hill Association welcomes its youngest performer to date, 17 year old musician Nadim Silverman. He mainly plays folk music himself but also has loads of sonic experience organizing concerts for teenage performers with his organization called Teen Concert NYC.

If you can't join tonight, then how about next Thursday at 7 when we close out concert season with the smooth jazz of Adam Smale. 

Reminder: Lock your bike the right way, in the right place

Chaining to the fence is both illegal & damaging to the paint and plants.

With nice weather upon us and more lanes being rolled out each year, biking has never been quite so popular in the city. However, there are rules to follow and etiquette to abide by. At Cobble Hill Park many bikes are repeatedly locked to the park's fencing alongside Veranda Place. Though this may seem harmless, it chips the paint on the iron railings and can damage the plantings at the ground level. Volunteers and the Parks department staff work hard to maintain the park's beautify and repairing the fencing here need not be such a frequent task. Please remember to look for proper bicycle racks and follow these tips on how to lock up securely.
http://gothamist.com/2012/05/15/basic_bike_lock_etiquette_and_safet.php

Want to request additional bicycle racks somewhere? Follow the steps in this DOT link.
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/bicyclists/cityrack-suggest.shtml

2013 Cobble Hill Concert Series continues TONIGHT @ 7pm

Tonight we continue the 2013 Cobble Hill Concert Series in Cobble Hill Park. We'll have the musical stylings of Brooklyn's own Kenn Lowry. 

August 1: Kenn Lowy 
A marathon swimmer, former Green Party candidate for State Assembly, and owner of the beloved shoebox Brooklyn Heights Cinemas, Brooklyn mainstay Kenn Lowry also adds talented singer-song writer to his resume and will be sharing his sounds with the Cobble Hill crowd this summer. What type of music you ask? Imagine Elliot Smith meeting Rod Serling and deciding to form a band with David Lynch and Chris Carter. For a taste, check out this little number. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59oNQ9WisBA  

If you can't join tonight, then how about next Thursday at 7 when we have Nadim Silverman join us. 

2013 Cobble Hill Concert Series continues TONIGHT @ 7pm

Tonight we continue the 2013 Cobble Hill Concert Series in Cobble Hill Park. We'll have the musical stylings of the barnstormers from Brooklyn, The Bodega Tallboys on hand. If you can't join tonight, then how about next Thursday at 7 when we have Brooklyn icon Kenn Lowry with us. 

July 25: The Bodega Tall Boys 
A gang of barnstormers from New York City and Brooklyn, The Tallboys have been at it for only a year but their sound is the timeless kind, born of lost highways and deep woods. Collectors of roughhewn country and soul tunes, rambling ballads, original barnyard stompers, and classics turned on their heads, this five-piece heart-on-its-sleeve outfit of guitars, mandolin, banjo, harp, sax, and percussion, plays musical chairs every time they take the stage. They swap instruments, trade off vocals, and always deliver a high-octane performance and their infectious brand of urban Americana  

Massive Rally for LICH

Please join our community's work to keep LICH open by attending a rally and march this Wednesday sponsored by NYSNA and 1199.

The march will begin at Cadman Plaza Park at the intersection of Tillary and Cadman Plaza East at 4:00 PM. The rally will be at City Hall on Broadway between Park Pl. and Chambers St. at 5:00 PM.

Call To Action to help Save LICH

It's been a see-saw weekend of near hospital closure and temporary restraining orders and so on at LICH. Please continue checking @CobbleHillAssoc on twitter for all the latest updates.

In the meanwhile, please see the below details from a Patients for LICH flyer that is making the rounds in our  neighborhood.

Call To Action to help Save LICH  We’re looking for patients of Long Island College Hospital (LICH) (past and present) and their families and friends to help with one or more of the following:* · Make a phone call to an elected official · Write a letter and/or send an email · Attend a rally or two · Speak at a rally or community meeting · Speak to the press *Assistance will be available If you are interested or for more information, please contact: Sue Raboy (former patient) 917.822.4381 suerab1@gmail.com We are supporting the work of: The Concerned Physicians of LICH  (www.lichmedicalstaff.org) The NY State Nurses Association (NYSNA) 1199 SEIU Healthcare Workers East Parents for LICH . Cobble Hill Association Brooklyn Heights Association and many more of your neighbors and friends!

2013 Cobble Hill Concert Series begins TONIGHT @ 7pm

Tonight we kick off the 2013 Cobble Hill Concert Series in Cobble Hill Park. It begins with the musical stylings of Amelia Robinson, who's bio & picture are below. Can't join tonight, then how about next Thursday at 7 when we have the barnstormers from Brooklyn, The Bodega Tallboys on hand. 

Amelia Robinson (c) www.lizzydoe.co.uk

July 18: Amelia Robinson 
Founder/Creator Mil's Trills a series of live interactive performances introducing grown-ups with young children to the world of instruments through original, quirky and whimsical songs on the electric ukulele. Mil’s Trills has also appeared with Sesame Street’s Elmo & Gordon at South St. Seaport’s Children’s Day in 2011 and has been recommended by New York Magazine, Time Out Kids, The New York Times, AOL’s Patch, plus Brooklyn Parent Magazine, A Child Grows in Brooklyn and the Brooklyn Heights Blog.

Where will the ambulance take you?

Important message to area residents:

In it's continuing effort to close Long Island College Hospital, SUNY Downstate has now diverted all ambulances from LICH-- even though it is fully staffed and open. Even if you live immediately adjacent to the hospital you will NOT be taken to LICH if you call 911 for emergency service. All ambulances will be sent to Methodist, Brooklyn Hospital or any other hospital that has available beds. Only walk-in patients will be admitted to the LICH emergency room. Emergency patients requiring critical or acute care will be stabilized and then sent at other hospitals.

The Cobble Hill Association made a TV commercial highlighting this issue:
LICH Two Minutes to Live commercial - YouTube

What can you do:

Let Governor Cuomo know that he needs to take charge. So far, he has refused to meet with our local elected officials. Tell Governor Cuomo that we expect him, as our elected representative, to act in the best interests of the western Brooklyn residential and business community.

Write to: The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo
Governor of New York State
NYS State Capitol Building
Albany, NY 12224 

Call: (518) 474-8390
Email: Greg.Smiley@exec.ny.gov

For your convenience, simply sign and send the following message:

Governor Cuomo,
As a constituent, I urge you to develop a plan to save Long Island College Hospital so that it can provide needed health care for the fast-growing residential and business communities of western Brooklyn. As Governor, you must act to insure (i) that the process is transparent, (ii) that Downstate makes current audited LICH financial records available to all interested parties, and (iii) that a 150-year-old teaching hospital is not summarily closed without a full assessment of the community's needs by the NYS Department of Health.

Arrests at the Save LICH Protests

Pasted from News 12 Brooklyn website (for those who do not have cable and cannot access the site). 

Protesters, Public Advocate Bill DeBlasio arrested at Long Island College Hospital Rally at SUNY Midtown office

BROOKLYN - A group of 15 people was arrested for civil disobedience today after they blocked the doors of SUNY’s Midtown office in protest of the potential closure of Long Island College Hospital.

Among those arrested was Public Advocate and mayoral candidate Bill DiBlasio and Brooklyn Councilman Steve Levin.

The protest is part of a long battle with SUNY Downstate and workers who say SUNY is diverting ambulances and cutting staff at LICH.

SUNY Downstate says it was forced to stop ambulances from bringing patients to LICH because it lost too much staff to adequately serve patients. Nurses and Brooklyn residents who were arrested today say that SUNY is playing a dangerous game and putting people's lives at stake.

SUNY Downstate is expected in court on July 15 for a contempt hearing, where it will be determined whether or not it has violated two restraining orders, calling on the hospital to remain open and fully staffed.

*Update: during this Rally the CHA's Jeff Strabone was also arrested. The following day at another rally to #SaveLICH Assemblywoman Joan Millman, and local activists Dorothy Seigel and Peter Sakora were also arrested. 

March to "Save LICH" - happening now!

The march is on with the community and electeds rallying strong despite large police presence. If you're not there in person, follow the action live from our Twitter feed where Jeff Strabone is providing real time updates for us using the CHA twitter handle @CobbleHillAssoc

2013 Cobble Hill Concert Series begins in 1 week

One week from today, we kick off the 2013 Cobble Hill Concert Series in Cobble Hill Park. It begins with the musical stylings of Amelia Robinson, who's bio & picture are below. Hope you can make it on Thursday July 18th at 7pm to see her. if not, come check out the full line up here and join us anyone of the following Thursdays. 

Amelia Robinson (c) www.lizzydoe.co.uk

July 18: Amelia Robinson 
Founder/Creator Mil's Trills a series of live interactive performances introducing grown-ups with young children to the world of instruments through original, quirky and whimsical songs on the electric ukulele. Mil’s Trills has also appeared with Sesame Street’s Elmo & Gordon at South St. Seaport’s Children’s Day in 2011 and has been recommended by New York Magazine, Time Out Kids, The New York Times, AOL’s Patch, plus Brooklyn Parent Magazine, A Child Grows in Brooklyn and the Brooklyn Heights Blog.

Hundreds Rally at Gov Cuomo's office

A nurse at LICH just forwarded along these great images to share. The crowd was strong as hundreds of hospital workers, doctors, nurses, patients, elected officials, & community members insisted that Governor Cuomo "LISTEN TO BROOKLYN!" demanding "Save Our Hospitals" "No Hospitals -- NO VOTES!"

(photo: Tim Foley)


(photo: STOPNYMRT)


(photo Pete Sikora)


(photo: NYSNA)


(photo: Cara Noel)



(photo: NYSNA)

VIDEO:
HUNDREDS RALLY GOVERNORS OFFICE TO SAVE BROOKLYN'S HOSPITALS https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGGC_su4ZeU

Stroller March to Save LICH - Part Trois! - 7/11 @ 5:30pm

(c) CobbleHillBlog.com

Governor Cuomo is failing our neighborhoods - so we're taking it up a notch. With SUNY refusing to accept ambulances at the fully-staffed LICH ER, Methodist and Downtown Hospital ER's wait times are as long as 48 hours. And SUNY just shut down overnight pediatric care at LICH, so when kids tend to get sick, they can't get proper care. Meanwhile, developers are circling the property, waiting to get their hands on the real estate.

It's time to send Governor Cuomo a message loud and clear: we need hospitals - not condos. Our health, emergency care, and 2,000 jobs are at stake.

Please join us for Parents for LICH's biggest protest yet: We will rally at the LICH playground from 5:30 to 6ish, then hold our signs and raise our voices as we march to the Brooklyn Bridge (Adams and Tillary Streets).

At the Brooklyn Bridge, we will rally up on the big sidewalk near the entrance to the bridge. We will be done at 6:45. This event is kid and stroller-friendly. Elected officials will join also us, as will nurses, doctors and other health care workers from LICH.

Governor Cuomo is making a political decision: go with the community, or go with real estate developers. We all know LICH needs to be restructured with better management. But to close it down to build more condos is outrageous. We need to up the pressure on the Governor so he stops closing our neighborhood hospital.

The unions are also upping the pressure, with 2 rallies next week. The first is Mondayafternoon from 4-6pm outside the Governor's office at 633 Third Avenue in Manhattan. On Wednesday, they will rally at SUNY at 10amand deliver petition signatures to SUNY Chancellor Zimpher. The SUNY building is at 33 West 42nd Street (between 5th and 6th Avenues). Please come out to these rally's too if you can!

Again, our Toddler Speak-out and Stroller March to Save LICH will be this Thursday the 11th at the LICH playground (Henry St between Amity and Pacific Streets), rallying from 5:30 to about 6:00, then march to the Brooklyn Bridge. Thank you.

LICH patients REFUSE to be transferred

A concerned staffer at LICH shared with us this story from the past few days, giving a sense of both how urgently we need to keep the hospital alive as well as the power we as the community has in assuring a positive outcome. 

The other day, a LICH neighbor came in to the ER & was deemed to require hospital admission. Of course he was told he would be transferred someplace else. This guy was smart.  He refused transfer, saying that his doctor & records are here & LICH is his hospital, it's open, staffed, and theres no "closed" sign on the door.  He insisted on being admitted to LICH or he would take legal action.  Guess what? He was the first patient to be admitted to LICH since June 19th.

Many of our dialysis patients are refusing to go elswhere for their treatments...and they aren't.  Maternity patients are calling to say they are coming & will refuse to be transferred.  Yesterday, one of them was admitted to LICH and had her baby safely delivered. 

Moral of the story, the community has the power.

New Save LICH poster in the area

Our  community has been crystal clear that it wants to keep emergency services open at LICH and so many windows of homes and business have been seen sporting this #SaveLICH poster. Now it seems there is another poster popping up around the neighborhood, put out by Parents for LICH and the Working Families Party - South Brooklyn Club, suggesting the best approach to keep the fight alive - Call Governor Cuomo. 
(518) 474-8390

Concerned patients ask legitimate question: "Who do I sue?"

Many thanks to all the Save LICH supporters who have helped keep up the pressure on our elected officials as well as Governor Cuomo, who unfortunately still remains completely silent on the health care crisis in our neighborhood. 

A registered nurse at LICH offered us this update below.  We urge everyone to read it in full, and call Governor Cuomo directly to voice your concern. 

(518) 474-8390

LICH EMT reports that yesterday, a Cobble Hill resident was suffering a heart attack just a block or so from LICH but ambulance was forced to take him to Methodist due to continued LICH patient diversions. According to the EMT, it took a full 9 minutes to get to that hospital and then more time to assess the patient and begin treatment. Heart muscles die with each delayed moment. In the first 9 minutes that it took just to travel to another hospital, the Cobble Hill resident could have already been in the LICH cardiac catheterization lab restoring his heart's blood flow, reducing the injury and increasing the chances for survival.

Also, The Brooklyn Daily Eagle reports on a woman who was choking in Carroll Gardens. According to that patient, because of LICH's diversion, the ambulance had to take her to Methodist & travel time was 20 minutes on a Sunday. Thank G-D for the paramedics who were able to treat her on the way. She asks the reporter "who do I sue" over this. Others report on the impact of long delays for care at Brooklyn Hospital as well. (see:http://www.brooklyneagle.com/articles/residents-fear-worst-brooklyn-er-crisis-drags-2013-07-04-160300)

This is no joke now. People's lives absolutely are in danger as SUNY Downstate continues to thumb its nose at everyone - elected officials, supreme court judges, community residents, etc.

Does there need to actually be a death in the ambulance before the city and state put a stop to this insanity and full services at LICH are resumed?

FYI: In LICH ICU today, there are 2 attending physicians present, plus one attending physician on call, 6 ICU Registered Nurses, 2 physician assistants, 1 nurses aide, a nurse manager and a case manager - all for just 2 patients - both of them being transferred out of ICU today. There's even more staff than that in ER. There's just 28 patients in the entire hospital, with a full staff of nurses, doctors, and other caregivers on those floors too.

So what is the reason again that our ambulances are being diverted, our admitting office cannot admit anyone, and patients cannot come to LICH?

Lives here are being put at risk because Downstate has big plans to build new care centers around Brooklyn but has no way to pay for it. Are people going to die in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn Heights, Carroll Gardens and Redhook just so LICH can be sold to fund SUNY's grand ideas? (see:
http://mcbrooklyn.blogspot.com/2013/07/how-can-suny-downstate-design-brooklyn.html)

The Department of Health's representative was just at LICH again, counting all the staff on each unit, saying nothing, but looking astounded at the incredulous situation here.

So where is the NYC public advocate and the NYC mayor for these NYC residents in Brooklyn? Where is the Governor? Do they all need to be sued by the family of a patient that SUNY causes to be harmed by continuing this debacle before they start to seriously advocate for this public and not just come out for a photo op? How is this all still being allowed to continue?

This is a tragedy with a mega-lawsuit waiting to happen and the city, state, SUNY and Downstate officials and Governor Cuomo will find themselves being held responsible. LICH's full hospital services need to be resumed now.

Become a CHA member....online!

The ability to become a paying Cobble Hill Association member online has been long overdue, but finally the option is here. Before you head out of town for the holiday weekend, check out the 'Join Us' link at the top of the gray box to right of this text and follow the simple instructions through our partners at NYcharities.org. Within minutes you can sign up as a member and submit payment to help any number of our advocacy efforts from Saving LICH to Fixing the Ditch to keeping Cobble Hill Park so perfect, and more.

LICH updates

The fight to save LICH continues and the community's relentless advocacy now has a small, but promising hope. Check out the Red Hook Star Revue and Brooklyn Eagle articles below for some of the latest right here -
http://redhookstar.wordpress.com/2013/06/28/new-administrator-for-lich/

http://www.brooklyneagle.com/articles/bombshell-brooklyn-judge-orders-suny-downstate-account-lich%E2%80%99s-money-property-2013-06-28

UPDATED:
Legislators propose new bills aimed to keep LICH services alive.
http://www.brooklyneagle.com/articles/brooklyn-state-representatives-put-%E2%80%98failsafe%E2%80%99-lich-bills-place-2013-07-02-204100

2013 Cobble Hill Concert Series Line Up announced

(c) Lukasz Gorcyzynski, June 2009

There's just too much good music to limit it to only 4 nights, so this year's series has expanded to 5 with the generous support of our sponsors Ted & Honey, Ridgewood Savings Bank, and Brooklyn Bridge Realty.

Look for the big billboard in the park in the coming weeks, wbut for now just mark you calendars for Thursday nights at 7pm in Cobble Hill Park to hear these wonderful sounds.

July 18: Amelia Robinson 
Founder/Creator Mil's Trills a series of live interactive performances introducing grown-ups with young children to the world of instruments through original, quirky and whimsical songs on the electric ukulele. Mil’s Trills has also appeared with Sesame Street’s Elmo & Gordon at South St. Seaport’s Children’s Day in 2011 and has been recommended by New York Magazine, Time Out Kids, The New York Times, AOL’s Patch, plus Brooklyn Parent Magazine, A Child Grows in Brooklyn and the Brooklyn Heights Blog.

July 25: The Bodega Tall Boys 
A gang of barnstormers from New York City and Brooklyn, The Tallboys have been at it for only a year but their sound is the timeless kind, born of lost highways and deep woods. Collectors of roughhewn country and soul tunes, rambling ballads, original barnyard stompers, and classics turned on their heads, this five-piece heart-on-its-sleeve outfit of guitars, mandolin, banjo, harp, sax, and percussion, plays musical chairs every time they take the stage. They swap instruments, trade off vocals, and always deliver a high-octane performance and their infectious brand of urban Americana 

August 1: Kenn Lowy 
A marathon swimmer, former Green Party candidate for State Assembly, and owner of the beloved shoebox Brooklyn Heights Cinemas, Brooklyn mainstay Kenn Lowry also adds talented singer-song writer to his resume and will be sharing his sounds with the Cobble Hill crowd this summer. What type of music you ask? Imagine Elliot Smith meeting Rod Serling and deciding to form a band with David Lynch and Chris Carter. For a taste, check out this little number. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59oNQ9WisBA 

August 8: Nadim Silverman 

(c) http://adamsmale-jazz.com/

The Cobble Hill Association welcomes its youngest performer to date, 17 year old musician Nadim Silverman. He mainly plays folk music himself but also has loads of sonic experience organizing concerts for teenage performers with his organization called Teen Concert NYC.

August 15: Adam Smale 
This Canadian native has played jazz worldwide but now calls the Big Apple home sweet home, and we're lucky enough have him as a local closing out this year's concert series. With a masters in Jazz performance, Adam Smale, will delight the crowds his unique, self-built seven string performing exciting jazz standards beside his fantastic Quartet.

"Governor Cuomo, we need your leadership"

Our local hospital is on life support. SUNY has defied court orders to keep it open, the community has rallied to save it, and all of our elected officials are stepping in to help. However, the fate of it truly lies in the hands of just one person who has been completely absent from the conversation thus far - Governor Cuomo.

At yesterday's rally, many leaders made this point. Check out the video below to hear local City Councilwoman and Public Advocate candidate Tish James make this same point. "Governor Cuomo, we need your leadership."

A weekend of #SaveLICH advocacy

Taken by Cobble Hill Blog

As many in the neighborhood know, the illegal LICH closure has moved forward at a rapid pace. SUNY Downstate, who has been mismanaging the facilities and aim's to sell off the property to pay other debt, has defied court orders and this weekend began diverting ambulances from the hospital and moving current patients out of the facility. This stirred not only many calls and emails aimed at Governor Cuomo, who has still yet to act in any way, but rallied the community and our local elected leaders to action.

For details of some of this weekend's rally, check out this article on the Cobble Hill blog.
http://cobblehillblog.com/archives/8860

Also, always find the latest LICH updates on the CHA facebook and twitter accounts.

Thanks for the Hicks Street enhancements

The Cobble Hill Association would like to give a big, resounding 'thank you' to our local City Councilman Brad Lander, The NYC Department of Transportation's Downtown Brooklyn Coordinator Chris Hrones, and Bonafide Deli owner Kameel Kassis for their efforts in helping create a safer Hicks street.

L-R, Jerry Armer (CHA), Councilman Brad Lander, Roy Sloane (CHA), Kameel Kassis (Bonafide Deli), Dave 'Paco Abraham (CHA), Chris Hrones (NYC DOT)

Pictured above, you can see each of these key players standing beside the sidewalk bulb-out that began transforming the dangerous intersection Hicks and Kane Streets, as well as the very recently installed painted neckdown with flexible bollards that have expanded the pedestrian space.

Advocates, Engineers, Electeds, and Deli Owner looking down along the safer street.

This helps daylight the corner, giving drivers and pedestrians alike more visibility of one another while also helping slow vehicle traffic on what has far too often simply been a speedway. The Cobble Hill Association has long fought for these types of changes and is grateful both NYC DOT and Councilman Lander helped make it happen along the entire Hicks Street roadway, and that Bonafide Deli owner Kameeel Kassis has agreed to be the maintenance partner at this Kane Street corner. He'll be sweeping the area of any debris and watering planters filled greenery that will arrive in the coming weeks to help beautify the neckdown.

Hicks Street, as it was last year without pedestrian enhancements

As part of this package, alternate side of the street parking regulation have been returned to the neighborhood which removes the 'No Standing' restrictions and gives local residents approximately 100  new parking spaces to use more regularly. Without question, these collected improvements have made the roadway safer for all users; but is not yet done. We are aware the crossings from west to east are still problematic and that there are still too few overpasses across the BQE trench. Thankfully, all parties involved continue to work together seeking other means to enhance the travel through Cobble Hill here and hope to one day utilize more ideas brought out by the community in our 'Fix the Ditch' workshops.