New Slate Line-Up and Social Media Exposure

For months, the Cobble Hill Association has already been frequently posting news and updates to an existing Facebook Page for the neighborhood, but now jumped even farther into the realm of social media and begun a CHA Twitter account under the handle @CobbleHillAssoc. If you're on Twitter, be sure to follow us for loads more updates and info.

Also new for the Cobble Hill Association is our proposed slate for executive board officers to serve the 2012-2014 term.

President - Roy Sloane
1st VP - Dave 'Paco' Abraham  

2nd VP - Father Ron Lau
Treasurer - Rudy Kamuf            

Corresponding Secretary - Jeff Strabone
Membership Secretary - Jerry Armer
Recording Secretary - Nancie Katz

Additionally, we'll be having these talented leaders fill the following roles for the association as well.
CHA liaison to the new Atlantic Avenue BID - Karen Johnson
CHA liaison to the 76th police precinct - Jerry Armer
CHA liaison to PS 29 - Joanne Nicholas

Next Tuesday, May 29th, during our Spring General meeting the full membership will get to vote on this proposed slate, and then the evening will continue with awards being given to local historian Francis Morrone and dedicated preservationist Christabel Goug, followed by a discussion on the topic 'Can Cobble Hill avoid Manhattanization?'  All are invited to join!

Cobble Hill Association 2012 Spring General Meeting

One week from today, on Tuesday May 29th, all are invited to the Cobble Hill Association 2012 Spring General Meeting. The new slate of officers for the CHA's executive board will be installed and two distinguished NYC historians will be honored, Francis Morrone and keynote speaker Christabel Gough who will discuss an intriguing topic - Can Cobble Hill Avoid Manhattanization?

YOU’RE INVITED TO THE

COBBLE HILL ASSOCIATION’S

SPRING, 2012 GENERAL MEETING & RECEPTION

Honoring Christabel Gough, distinguished preservationist,

and historian Francis Morrone

Can Cobble Hill

Avoid Manhattanization?

Keynote Speaker: Christabel Gough

Reception: 6:00 PM

Meeting: 7:30 PM

Date: Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Place: Christ Church (corner of Clinton and Kane Streets)

For more information about the meeting check out Heather Holland's article here at DNAinfo.

Want to Perform in Cobble Hill Park This Summer?

If you are a musician or are a member of a musical group interested in performing in Cobble Hill Park, the Cobble Hill Association is looking for established local musicians for its concert series this summer at Cobble Hill Park.  The concerts are on Thursdays evenings in July and are dedicated to the youngest and oldest members of our community. If you are interested, please contact B Johnson at BFJ1959[at]aol.com.

And stay tuned to the blog for an announcement of our summer concert series full line up.

Baltic Street Anomaly?

Sliver between buildings (c) lostnewyorkcity.blogspot.com

Keen observations of NYC's oddities and intrigue is the norm over at the excellent blog Lost City and recently it focused its attention on small, but significant detail in our own Cobble Hill layout. While most row houses in our city's dense urban fabric touch the structures adjacent to them, our own Baltic Street has an unusual quirk.

Across from P.S. 29, on Henry Street, in Cobble Hill, there's a row of residences. Taking up the south side of the block is a group of austere buildings composed of yellowing off-white stone. Composing the north end are a couple of old, wide, red-brick structures, some with ornate detailing, followed by two brownstones. And in the middle is a gap, about two and a half feet wide.

Diving into the history of this detail, Lost City's entry reveals building plenty of backstory including that toy icon F.A.O. Schwartz himself owned in that area. Check out the post at this link and look our for plenty more Cobble Hill history coming your way with the soon to be released Cobble Hill History Project.

Welcome Capt. Schiff

The Cobble Hill Association welcomes our local police precinct's new Captain Jeffrey Schiff. Born on Henry Street and having already served as second in command at the 76th precinct just a few years ago, Captain Schiff is bound for success and presided over his first community council meeting last week.

I'm looking to continue some of the great traditions that already exist and improve on other areas that need work....I don't have that many officers," said Captain Schiff. "I have to make do with what I have. So what can I do? I can make use of my community, who have eyes everywhere—including the mailman who walks up and down the street every day. So I'm looking to expand the communication and that existing intelligence. That way, we can take the guesswork out of police work."

To read more about Capt Schiff check out this recent article in the Patch, or make use of his open-door policy and attend the next community council meeting, which meets the first Tuesday of each month at the 76th Precinct, 191 Union Street, at 7:30 P.M.

Slowing Hicks street Speedway

Is this sign needed next on Hicks Street?

 

Unless otherwise noted, the speed limit on all NYC streets is 30mph. However, many drivers routinely break that speed and evade ticketing by our police department so in recent years the Department of Transportation has changed the approach to ensuring safer streets. From striping new lanes, narrowing certain streets, and installing many bike lanes, new techniques have been added to the city's toolkit, the Street Design Manual.
 
One Cobble Hill street sorely in need of such traffic calming is Hicks Street, the road adjacent to the BQE trench that was the recent site of tragic fatality. Last week the Department of Transportation installed a digital speed sign to put drivers on alert. DNAinfo has more on the issue...

"The speed sign is a simple, but smart way to put drivers on alert," said Dave 'Paco' Abraham, vice president of the Cobble Hill Association. "But it’s just one small step forward."

For years the Cobble Hill Association has joined with other civic groups asking our elected officials to Fix the Ditch with both traffic calming and landscaping on Hicks Street as well as bike/ped pedestrian bridges that would link the streets cut in half by Robert Moses' trench so many decades ago. Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez secured federal transportation funds to develop The BQE Enhancement Study and hundreds of residents came to workshops to help create a series of potential improvements that are a piece-meal, but practical approach. Its imperative upon residents and local civic groups to continue demanding improvements, and with the Enhancement Study now laying out a clear path to that goal, its imperative upon all of our local elected officials to secure the funds to make a safer Hicks street a reality.

Update from E-waste event

Despite an unfortunate combination of pouring rain and unavoidable construction at P.S.29, the Cobble Hill Association had yet another successful electronics event last weekend with the Lower East Side Ecology Center and the PS29 PTA.  Nearly 150 households came to drop off over 5,120 pounds of electronics!

With 4 years of e-waste events now on the books, we may have finally cleaned out the bulk of the neighborhood's unwanted electronics. However, if you happen to find additional items that need to be safely disposed of before our next event, be sure to visit the Lower East Side Ecology Center's new permanent drop off location here in Brooklyn!

Their warehouse sits at 469 President St (at Nevins) in the Gowanus area and is open to the public on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, 10am-5pm; on Wednesdays, noon-7pm; as well as Saturdays, 10am-4pm. They accept household e-waste such as computers, monitors, printers, scanners, TVs, VCR's, DVD players, phones, audio/visual equipment, video games, cell phones and PDAs. All collected materials will be responsibly recycled or reused, so please do your part in helping keep electronics out of our landfills.

Annual Spring Plant Sale - Sat 4/28

Though its been warm for weeks already this year, it is just now time for the Cobble Hill Tree Fund's annual Spring Plant Sale. Come pick up fresh plants at Cobble Hill Park, Clinton Street between Congress & Verandah, this coming Saturday.

There will be a wide variety of annuals, herbs, and perennials to choose from as well as a selection of geraniums and hanging baskets.   You'll also be able to gather information about the Cobble Hill Tree Fund's other activities, composting opportunities, and the Cobble Hill Association in general. Due to the tremendous response last year, they will once again be setting up the Plant Identification Treasure Hunt in the Park. Bring the kids, it's fun for all ages! Winners will receive a free plant!


If you have any interest in volunteering at the event, please contact the Tree Fund directly.

Spring Plant Sale benefiting the Cobble Hill Tree Fund
Saturday, April 28, 2012 
(Rain date: Sunday, April 29) 
10:30 am to 2 pm @ Cobble Hill Park

REMINDER - Squadron's Community Convention

REMINDER - This Sunday, April 22nd Cobble Hill's local State Senator, Daniel Squadron, is holding his 4th annual Community Convention. This is a chance to raise concerns and make certain he knows what local issues to prioritize with his colleagues in Albany.

Additionally, MTA Chairman and CEO Joseph Lhota will join as a keynote speaker to share his thoughts on NYC's transit system and how riders can engage to make it work better today and help plan for its future.
Fourth Annual 25th Senate District Community Convention
Sunday, April 22, 2012, 2:00PM to 5:00PM
High School of Economics and Finance
100 Trinity Place (between Cedar Street &Thames Street)
New York, NY 10006 
RSVP below, at 212-298-5565 or squadron@nysenate.gov

Year round recreation for BK Bridge Park!

The Cobble Hill Association has long advocated for a true park along the east river, to serve as a year round recreational amenity for our residents. Brooklyn Bridge Park was to have been a year round active and passive recreational park. When the community plan for Brooklyn Bridge Park was replaced by private high rise condos with landscaping surrounding commercial buildings, the CHA worked hard to restore the year round recreational amenities that were taken out by the presence of condos.

Today, after 30 years of planning and 7 years of strenuous advocacy by the Cobble Hill Association and the coalition of neighborhood associations united under the Brookyn Bridge Park Defense Fund, we are very pleased to announce that a donor has come forward, offering to build a year round recreational facility at the south end of Brooklyn Bridge Park. This donor, Joshua Rechnitz, is proposing to build a $40 million year-round recreational center for public use. And while details about the facility will emerge in the coming months, we hope area residents will celebrate this generous donation by Mr. Rechnitz and tune in as plans coalesce. His generosity, initiated completely on his own, is a big statement for philanthropy in NYC today and wonderful news for area residents!

To read the full press release, check the links after the jump.

Electronics Recycling Event - April 22th, 10a-4p

With Earth Day right around the bend, the Cobble Hill Association is proud to again take part in a neighborhood electronics-recycling event. Despite the construction in the school yard, the collection will still be held at the PS29 and run by our good friends at the Lower East Side Ecology Center.

Find all those broken gadgets in the house and remind your friends that when electronics are simply thrown in the trash, dangerous wastes and metals seep into our soil and waterways. This event makes it simple to safely dispose of electronics – simply drop them off.

What: Electronics recycling
When: Sunday, April 22th, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Where: Schoolyard at P.S. 29, 425 Henry Street, entrance on Baltic between Henry and Clinton

All of the following will be accepted in either working or non-working condition:
-Computers and monitors
-Printers, scanners, fax machines, copiers
-Network devices (routers, hubs, modems, etc.)
-Peripherals (keyboards, mice, cables, etc.)
-PC components (hard drives, cd-roms, circuit boards, power supplies, etc.)
-Television sets, VHS and DVD players
-Radios and stereos
-Phones of all sorts, answering machines, pagers
-PDAs and games
-Batteries
* They CANNOT accept :
- home appliances (microwaves, refrigerators, etc),
- Media (floppy disks, cd's, VHS tapes)

Making Safer Neighborhoods

In February, NYC's premier advocacy group for walking, biking, and mass transit Transportation Alternatives, met with parents from the Cobble Hill/Columbia Waterfront/Carroll Gardens/Red Hook area to begin a study on street safety. This Wednesday night is a follow up meeting at the Carrol Gardens to have a community conversation on the project's scope as it seeks families with children ages 6 to 11 who can walk and who have a parent/guardian also able to walk.
Wednesday, April 18, 6-8 pm
Carroll Gardens Library - 396 Clinton Street at Union Street
light dinner will be served  

Those who do choose to participate will be asked to take pictures of streets and public spaces in their neighborhood and adults will also complete a short survey. Each family will receive a $25 gift card in thanks for their time, but more importantly will help advance all neighborhood's shared goals of safer streets.
 
Additional details are available on the flier above, and follow up questions, as well as an RSVP (requested, but not required) can be sent to Stephanie Kneeshaw-Price.
Phone: 646 873-6039
Email: stephanie@transalt.org