NYC Department Of Consumer Affairs Receives Greatest Number Of Complaints Against Home Improvement Contractors Based In Brooklyn

This is one distinction that Brooklyn shouldn't be proud of: NYC Department Of Consumer Affairs receives the greatest number of complaints against home improvement contractors based in Brooklyn.
To address the issue, Council Member Dan Garodnick, chairman of the New York City Council’s Consumer Affairs Committee, will be holding a hearing on "New York’s infamously unreliable home improvement contractors" at Brooklyn Borough Hall with an eye toward new rules.
Garodnick's office released this statement:
New Yorkers have expressed ongoing concerns about experiences with Home Improvement Contractors. The Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) ranks this industry - for the third year in a row - as the industry with the second highest number of DCA complaints, with many of those complaints concerning contractors operating without DCA licenses.
Customers have expressed frustration on a range of topics -- from being confused by legal documents to contractors simply walking off a job before it is finished. Some have cautioned that once a contractor has started a job, it becomes perilous to fire them and hire someone new, since most contractors are unwilling to sign documentation vouching for someone else’s work.
At this hearing in Brooklyn, the borough with the highest number of complaints against home improvement contractors, Chair Garodnick will explore new rules that would require home improvement contractors to use a model contract in their negotiations with consumers and to provide a written estimate of the work to be completed.
“It’s no secret that Home Improvement Contractors can be difficult, and the high number of complaints against them reveals a real problem," said Council Member Garodnick. “We want to give the maximum protections to consumers, and the Council is poised to act to do that.”
All New Yorkers are invited to share their experience with home improvement contractors and help explores ways to protect consumers from HIC scams. The hearing will be held on:

Wednesday, February 15 at 1:00pm 

at Brooklyn Borough Hall (209 Joralemon Street). 

 If you have any questions, or wish to testify at the hearing, please contact Consumer Affairs Committee Chair Council Member Garodnick's office at 212-788-7393 office at (212)-788-7393 or email the committee's consumer tip line at fightfraudnyc@gmail.com

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Hey! How Come Brooklyn Borough Hall Christmas Trees Don't Get Recycled?

How green is that?
Many Brooklynites brought their Christmas tree to be mulched during the annual Parks Department Mulchfest last week-end. In addition, the Sanitation Department will be picking up trees left at the curb so they can be turned into mulch until January 15th.

But Brooklyn Borough Hall was tossing two of its trees, complete with bows and lights, into a dumpster along with the trash.

What about setting a good example?

Not cool! Not cool at all...


UPDATE:

Good news from our Borough President's office.
I just received an email from Mark Zustovich, Borough Hall Press Secretary. It seems that they do recycle Christmas trees.
He writes:

Hi Katia:

In response to your story regarding the Borough Hall Christmas trees, please be aware that Borough Hall does recycle its trees. In fact, Borough Hall’s 40-foot balsam fir was mulched at Brooklyn’s Mulchfest at Green-Wood Cemetery just this past Saturday, and Marty was there personally to make sure it was done. The trees outside Borough Hall are being recycled as well. We respectfully ask that you clarify your story to reflect that all holiday trees from Borough Hall are recycled.

Thanks, Mark

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Halloween Vein Drain Blood Drive

Halloween Vein Drain Blood Drive
Watch horror movies while giving blood.
A great combination.

Get ready for the Vein Drain Blood Drive
At Brooklyn Borough Hall
(209 Joralemon Street)
11 AM- 4:30PM.

You have to love the name and the poster for this event.

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Carroll Gardens/ Columbia Street Contextual Rezoning Moves On To Brooklyn Borough Hall

The Carroll Gardens/ Columbia Waterfront Contextual Rezoning is moving through the Uniform Land Use Review Process (U.L.U.R.P.) at a nice clip. It was just on June 25th that the members of Community Board 6 and the public got to review and comment on the proposed rezoning.

The next step is a public hearing at the Brooklyn's Borough President's office on:

July 14 At 4:30 Pm

Court Room, Second Floor

Brooklyn Borough Hall

209 Joralemon Street

Brooklyn, New York 11201

Mark Your Calendar!

This is great news! This long-awaited rezoning will give this community the protection it needs from out-of-scale development and will hopefully preserve the unique character of our historic neighborhood.
The NYC Department of City Planning gave this overview on the re-zoning:

At the request of Community Board 6, community and neighborhood groups, and local elected officials, the Department of City Planning proposes zoning map amendments for an approximately 86 block area of the Carroll Gardens and Columbia Street neighborhoods within Community District 6 in Brooklyn.

The rezoning area includes the neighborhoods of Carroll Gardens and Columbia Street. The Carroll Gardens portion of the rezoning area is generally bounded by Degraw Street, Warren Street and Douglass Street to the north; Hoyt Street, Bond Street and Smith Street to the east; 3rd Street, 4th Street, 5th Street, Centre Street and Hamilton Avenue to the south; and Hicks Street to the west. The Columbia Street portion of the rezoning area consists of approximately 14 blocks bounded by Warren Street to the north, a line between Columbia Street and Van Brunt Street to the west, Hicks Street to the east and Woodhull Street to the south. The areas proposed to be rezoned are zoned entirely R6.

The rezoning proposal has been developed after extensive discussion with the Community Board, elected officials, and neighborhood residents. The rezoning responds to community concerns about recent out-of-scale development permitted under the current zoning by mapping contextual districts with height limits throughout the study area which would preserve the existing built character while allowing for new development and modest expansions where appropriate at a height and scale that is in keeping with the existing context. The rezoning would support and promote the local, vibrant retail corridors while protecting the residential character of nearby side streets.

The proposed rezoning builds upon the Department’s Carroll Gardens Narrow Streets Text Amendment which was undertaken at the community’s request and approved in 2008. That text amendment aimed to limit the size and configuration of new buildings and enlargements on certain streets with deep front courtyards which had been defined as wide streets under existing zoning and therefore permitted a higher density that was out of scale with the existing built context. The proposed rezoning of the Carroll Gardens and Columbia Street neighborhoods fulfills the Department’s commitment to return to the community with a more comprehensive set of zoning recommendations for the larger area.

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Blogger Breakfast With BP Markowitz And Staff

Yesterday morning, bright and early at 8:15 Am, Borough President Marty Markowitz and his staff sat down with a group of Brooklyn bloggers.
By his own admission, our BP has not quite gotten passed the email stage, but is quick to add that his wife is an avid blog reader. He seems to be interested in learning more about it and in reaching out to Brooklyn bloggers who write about local politics, developments and local issues. It is also clear that he is just a bit irritated by the new medium.

Over coffee and bagels, a very interesting conversation ensued about the differences between traditional reporting and blogging and whether bloggers are journalists and therefore should be held to the same journalistic standards. Also under discussion was the question of accountability: Do bloggers have a responsibility to check facts before publishing a post?
All valid points, as far as I am concerned.

However, they are rather difficult to answer generally since all blogs are uniquely different.
Personally, I explained, I never claim to be a journalist. I think I am always making it rather clear that the opinions expressed are mine. Blogging gives me a way of engaging in a dialogue with my readers and neighbors by asking questions related to issues in Carroll Gardens. Hence the name of my blog.

Kudos to Markowitz and his aids for reaching out and opening the dialogue. They made sure to let bloggers know that the office will gladly extend access to the borough president's press office for statements and information.

Of course, I immediately took advantage of the offer by asking for Markowitz's official statement on the Gowanus Canal's nomination as a Superfund site by the EPA.
I hope to receive it later today and to be able to post it here.

Thanks for the invite, Mr. Markowitz.



Bloggers In Attendance:
Flatbush Gardener
Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn
Ditmas Park Blog
Brooklyn Heights Blog,
GerritsenBeach.net
Brownstoner
Atlantic Yards Report
Noticing New York
The Local


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Marty Markowitz Simply Not Winning The Rat War!

Is Marty Camouflaging His Rat Problem?

Poor Marty Markowitz!
He can't seem to get rid of the rats that have taken up residence around Brooklyn Borough Hall.
Back in January of this year, I wrote about seeing big burrows in the surrounding planting areas. Obviously, steps had been taken by the city to exterminate the critters because bait stations had been places strategically against the building and the flower beds. But to no avail. The rats were here to stay.
A month later, Marty switched tactics in the rat war and a private enterprise was hired to eradicate the vermin. However, U.S. Exterminator, Inc. wasn't any more successful, judging by the huge tunnel openings that were clearly visible around Borough Hall. In April, the rodents were still happily residing there.
This week-end, I happened to walk to the main post office and guess what, dear Reader?
Yup, you guessed it! The rat population seems to be as healthy as ever. The Health Department is back in charge. Everywhere, fliers were taped on fences warning that the area was baited on September 10th.
But what's this? Instead of using those very recognizable black plastic boxes, the Health Department is now using bait stations that look like gray rocks. How fancy. Could this be an attempt by Marty to hide or camouflage the problem?
He isn't fooling this blogger... and I doubt he is fooling the rats. I am just amazed that it seems impossible to get a handle on this plague. But to be fair to our Borough President, this isn't only a Brooklyn problem. Just across the Brooklyn Bridge, Mayor Bloomberg is dealing with his own critters.

Related Reading:

Marty's Borough Hall Rats Doing Just Fine, Thank You!
Marty's Rats Still Going Strong And Playing In The Snow
Marty Switching Tactic In Fight Against Rats
Lots Of Rats At Brooklyn Borough Hall



This post linked to:
The Village Voice
New York Times City Room
The New York Observer

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Dear Reader, you remember when I wrote about Brooklyn President Marty Markowitz's rats at Borough Hall? Well, it turns out that he is not alone. Michael Bloomberg is surrounded by the rodents as well...

Dear Reader, you remember when I wrote about Brooklyn President Marty Markowitz's rats at Borough Hall? Well, it turns out that he is not alone. Michael Bloomberg is surrounded by the rodents as well...

Yesterday, I happened to pass by City Hall (yes, I do leave the neighborhood sometimes) and happened to notice the tell-tale black boxes, the pesticide notification fliers and of course.... the large burrows around City Hall Park. There is no doubt: the area is infested with rats.

There is a certain justice in the fact that the rodents don't seem to discriminate between Manhattan and Brooklyn elected officials. The growing rat population is directly related to an increase in construction, insufficient garbage collection as well as badly coordinated responses amongst the city's agencies. Though New York City spends millions of dollars yearly on baiting and has created a special "Inter-Agency Rodent Task Force," the rat population is thriving.

Of course it doesn't help that residents insist on leaving food for birds and squirrels (and rats) like the woman above at City Hall Park.

Related reading:


Lots Of Rats At Brooklyn Borough Hall

Marty's Borough Hall Rats Doing Just Fine, Thank You!

Marty's Rats Still Going Strong And Playing In The Snow

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