Cobble Hill Street Resurfacing

Next week several streets in our neighborhood will get some much needed resurfacing from the Department of Transportation.

1) Butler Street (between Court St and Gregory Pl aka Quisenbury Dr)
2) Gregory Place aka Quisenbury Drive (between Butler and Baltic Streets)
3) Degraw Street (between Hicks Street and 5th Ave)

The 1st stage of street resurfacing, a process called milling, involves the stripping away of the top several inches of asphalt. The removed asphalt is captured and returned to the Hamilton Avenue Asphalt Yard where it is recycled into a new asphalt product and reapplied to the streets. The City saves money and resources both in terms of decreasing its reliance on virgin product for fresh roadway application, and preserving precious landfill space by avoiding the disposal of the old product. The work can be loud at times, and it creates a temporary scarified, rough driving surface containing raised manhole covers and other protruding appurtenances.

The second stage of work, which usually lags behind the first stage by a couple-few weeks, involves a different work crew responsible for the laying of the new roadway surface. The final stage of work involves the reapplication of missing striping from crosswalks, lane markings, etc. In all, the total process can take a couple-few months to complete.

No one enjoys living through the process of resurfacing streets and weather or other unforeseen circumstances can slow down the process for everyone. Your patience and understanding during this time is truly appreciated.

If you experience any problems, or have additional questions, call either CB6 or 311.

Testify AGAINST Housing in BK Bridge Park

The Cobble Hill Association strongly urges its members to testify on March 31st and speak out against housing in Brooklyn Bridge park. Though developers try to convince the community that five additional buildings are the only solution to finance the park, the Brooklyn Bridge Park Defense Fund and many other sensible community advocates know this s not true. Bigger revenue opportunities include selling the Jehovah Witness properties immediately adjacent to the park, as well as creating an Atlantic Ferry Landing concept that would serve as an entertainment and recreational draw on Pier 6. Or perhaps most sensibly, eliminating the duplicative entity AND conservancy with mind-bogglingly inflated budgets and simply fold it into a properly funded NYC parks department scheme?

Please take just 1 hour to attend the hearing on Thursday, March 31st at 5:30 PM and TESTIFY

that we don't want nor do we need more private housing inside this park.

Congress Street Bike Lane

While last week's roundtable discussion with Councilman Brad Lander was an opportunity to bring practically any issue to light, many residents chose to focus their voices on rumors surrounding a new Congress street bike lane possibly coming to the neighborhood. While the NY Post fueled, or possibly started, a fire with misinformation...  more accurate details came out of the Q & A. As the Brooklyn Eagle notes... 

The city Department of Transportation insists that it’s only “a conceptual design made by a sub-consultant on a study [commissioned by the Economic Development Corp.] related to the BQE enhancement” and that “previous press reports were inaccurate in suggesting that DOT officials told community members that the project was moving ahead."...  Roy Sloane, current president of the Cobble Hill Association, said, “I was asked by the DOT to take the plan to key people on Congress Street to see what they thought of it, and not one person approved of it. I know there are numerous reports that it’s moving forward despite community opposition, but I spoke to DOT and they said it’s not true.”

The Cobble Hill Association recognizes many residents remain concerned, but appreciates that DOT sought local insight, even during concept phase. We have complete faith that if a detailed plan should come to fruition, once again DOT will seek resident's input to make the best possible solution in designing a safer east-west connection for pedestrians and cyclists moving in and through Cobble Hill.  

Councilman Lander Community Roundtable 3/16

Local Counilman Brad Lander joins the Cobble Hill Association for another roundtable discussion next Wednesday, March 16th. This is the 2nd year the CHA has hosted these open interactions allowing our residents to pose questions directly to area representatives.

Whether your issue is big like avoiding housing in Brookyn Bridge Park, keeping the Prospect Park West bike path, maintaining Long Island College Hospital... or something small and localized to your block or your building, this is a great opportunity to have the Councilman's assistance.

Wednesday, March 16th
7:30p - 9p, Community Roundtable with Brad Lander @ 326 Clinton - Christ Church (corner of Kane and Clinton)

Squadron's 3rd annual Community Convention

Please mark your calendars to attend our State Senator Daniel Squadron's upcoming Third Annual, 25th Senate District Community Convention.

Sunday, March 13th
2:00-5:00 PM.
St. Francis College, 180 Remsen Street in Downtown Brooklyn
RSVP to Rosemarie Diaz in my office at 212-298-5565 or rdiaz@nysenate.gov

Last year, more than 400 community members attended and offered valuable feedback on topics as far-ranging as school overcrowding, park planning and nightlife and many more... with everyone getting a chance to voice opinions in small discussion groups. It's a great way to let your representative know your concerns and help guide his work in Albany.

For a complete list of this year's topics & more info, please visit http://www.nysenate.gov/community-convention.

Gowanus Canal Remedial Investigation Report

The Cobble Hill Association blog has been too busy for posts the past month.

Regretfully we were unable to write up our deep concern at Gov. Cuomo's potential closing of Long Island College Hospital, as well as our deep appreciation to the local electeds who helped keep its doors open. Thankfully, the local papers have plenty to bring you up to speed on our behalf.
* http://cobblehillblog.com/archives/6127
* http://www.brooklyneagle.com/categories/category.php?category_id=21&id=41361

But now that we are back to blogging, we do want to alert you of another important matter on the horizon.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011 
6:30 PM to 9:00 PM 
at P.S. 32, 317 Hoyt Street, Brooklyn

The EPA offers a public information meeting on the Gowanus Canal Remedial Investigation Report, to discuss the findings of the investigation, conducted by the EPA, to determine the nature and extent of contamination in the canal.  

 

The RI is also available online at:

www.epa.gov/region02/superfund/npl/gowanus/ri_docs.html 

For more information about the meeting or other site related issues you can contact Natalie Loney at loney.natalie@epa.gov or (212)637 3639.

Feb 2 - Columbia Street Open Space Visioning

Image Credit: Christina Twomey

While much of the neighborhood's attention has been to the developing Brooklyn Bridge Park (and its unfortunate housing dropped into the park), there's another public space worth discussing;

Join the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative, Regional Plan Association, and your neighbors in a visioning for a new public open space on Columbia Street between Kane and Degraw Streets.

When the Van Brunt Street reconstruction and the Gowanus Flushing Tunnel construction are complete, the 80-ft deep area on the west side of Columbia Street is planned to become an open space element of the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway. It is one of three open space nodes that we are either designing or commencing the community visioning process.

On February 2nd, background research that has been compiled will be shared with the Columbia Waterfront community.

What:  Columbia Waterfront Park Visioning Meeting
When:  Wednesday, February 2nd, 2011, 6:30-8:30 PM
Where:  The Union Street Star Theater, 101 Union Street
Please RSVP to info@brooklyngreenway.org with Columbia Waterfront Park in the subject line.
To see all the current research, download the briefing book here... http://bit.ly/gTD5po

Comptroller Town Hall

Wednesday, January 26th, NYC's Comptroller will be visiting Brooklyn for a town hall session regarding audits. Many find the thought of an personal audit frightening, but the Comptroller is not out to check your records, he's there to check the city's. The Comptroller is the city's chief financial officer and during the town hall will discuss ways citizens can make suggestions for needed audits of city agencies and departments.

For more info, check the flyer below or read the press release on Comptroller Liu's website.
http://www.comptroller.nyc.gov/press/2011_releases/PR11-01-008.shtm

Jan 26th, 6-8 pm
The Brooklyn Public Library
Dweck Center for Contemporary Culture
10 Grand Army Plaza at Eastern Parkway
Brooklyn, NY 11225

Electronics Recycling Event

We've had some great e-waste events in Cobble Hill, but today is one just a few blocks farther in Prospect Park.  Sunday, January 16, 2011, 10am to 4pm, Prospect Park entrance at PPW & 3rd Street.

BK Bridge Park CAC meeting

Tuesday, January 11th @ 6pm is the 2nd meeting of the Brooklyn Bridge Park Community Advisory Council.

Why is such a meeting important?....because this CAC is made of local politicians and community reps working in conjunction with the Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Corp. The Brooklyn Bridge Development Corp itself will be deciding a crucial issue for our neighborhood - will there be additional housing in our local park?

The Cobble Hill Association stands firmly by the opinion... NO! We want NO additional housing built in the Park and urge the committee to consider any of the many other revenue raising ideas such as potential revenues from the sale of the Watchtower buildings, more concessions, including food and fine dining, and fee-based recreational facilities. A park with housing is simply someone's nice backyard. We want to see a park that is the equal and open backyard for ALL of Brooklyn.

Bk Bridge Park CAC Meeting
1-11-11 @ 6pm
St. Francis College, 180 Remsen Street, Brooklyn Heights
The meeting is open to the public.

Please attend and voice opinions if allowed.

Cobble Hill's anniversary

Postings will be less frequent during this holiday weekend, so instead fulfill your intrigue for neighborhood info with a throwback to the Brooklyn Eagle's December 30th article recapping Cobble Hill's 42 anniversary as a historic district... what's kept its layout and look so desirable for all these years.

Illustration courtesy of Brooklyn Historical Society

On Dec. 30, 1969, one of Brooklyn’s most desirable residential neighborhoods was designated an historical district. It is a community of modest row houses, handsome churches and some historically important model tenements developed primarily during the mid-19th century. It retains the character of that period to a surprising degree....

"Stop Choking Brooklyn" Rally

As soon as the new year starts, so do the efforts to get our waterfront ports leans and green. Read below for details about a rally for "Shore Power" led by our local Councilman Brad Lander and State Senator Daniel Squadron. In spite of a gimmicky 'surgical mask' idea to highlight the current pollution, the matter is serious and could go a long way to making Cobble Hill and it's neighboring communities much cleaner.

Photo by Joshua Kristal, http://bit.ly/g9E3Or

Switching to shore power — so that ships can hook up to the electric grid instead of idling their engines in port — would stop tons of unnecessary and life-threatening pollution, which is equal to thousands of cars idling.
The Port Authority and the Environmental Protection Agency have obtained $15 million in funding to build the necessary infrastructure. However, for shore power to become a reality, the Economic Development Corporation, which operates the cruise terminal, Carnival Cruise Lines which uses the terminal, and New York Power Authority, which delivers electricity to the terminal, need to come to a final agreement about the price of electricity.
Join us on Monday to rally for an agreement now, so the work needed to bring shore power to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal can begin and idling cruise ships stop choking Brooklyn!

• What: Tour of the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal
• When: Monday, January 3rd, noon
• Where: corner of Van Brunt Street and Pioneer Street

Councilmember Lander and Senator Squadron
For more info, check out a comprehensive post on the topic at A View From the Hook as well as this article from the South Brooklyn Post.