Sign Up For AARP Driver Safety Class Right Here In Carroll Gardens

Sign up for an AARP DRIVER SAFETY class hosted by the Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association and the Eileen Dugan Senior Center. It will help you to improve your driving, will save money on your auto insurance and/or reduce the points on your license.

The class with be held on Wednesday, October 12 from 8:30am-4pm at the Eileen Dugan Senior Center.The class is open to anyone with a driver’s license. Bring your driver’s license to the class.The cost is $14 ($12 for AARP members). A check payable to AARP should be given/mailed to Carol Reid, Eileen Dugan Senior Center, 380 Court Street, Brooklyn 11231 by September 28.
If you are a member of AARP, your membership number should be written on the check and you should bring your membership card to the class,
For additional information call Carol Reid at 718-596-1956.

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Council Speaker Christine Quinn Comes To Carroll Gardens And Speaks About The Budget, Parking And Helping Small Businesses

Council Speaker Christine Quinn at the Carroll School (PS 58)

Council Member Brad Lander

Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Organization's Glenn Kelly, Maria Pagano and Colleen Giunta

don't create more parking, but will ease the burden a little bit Challenges facing small businesses.

Council Speaker Christine Quinn came to last night's Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association meeting to talk about the City's budget, neighborhood parking and how she plans on helping small businesses. Oh, and she wanted the audience to know that after a visit to our neighborhood a few months back, her partner declared Carroll Gardens her favorite neighborhood and wants to move her.

The Council Speaker was introduced by our Councilman Brad Lander with high praises, a favor she returned when she spoke. It all felt very much like a pit stop on the campaign trail, but most in the audience seemed pleased to get a chance to meet Quinn, who is apparently planning on running for mayor.

The Speaker talked about New York City's budget as it relates to the State budget. "I think the Governor is right in trying to get the State's finances under control. And I am not saying that New York City should have no cuts, but we shouldn't be cut more than any other part of the State." Neither, she suggested, should the city be penalized for good fiscal planning by prepaying bills and having set aside money in a trust.

Quinn also gave some examples of how she plans on helping neighborhoods with their mounting parking problems. One solution would be to allow community boards, which have received the highest cleanliness rating in the Mayor's Management Report for two years in a row, to cut back on alternate side of the street parking, if they want.

"Now it doesn't make more spots, but it means you don't have to drive around an extra day a week [to find parking.]"

She credited Councilman Lander for this suggestion.

The Council is also going to pass legislation that would require the City to come up with an interactive map of parking spots to make it easier for drivers to avoid streets closed for construction and for filming. "It doesn't make more spots but it tells you: Don't go down those streets!"

Though these ideas are certainly worth looking into, the only real solution for the City's parking problem is to discourage people to own cars in the first place. As one member of the audience stated, one does that by strengthening public transportation.

The last issue brought up by Quinn is the overwhelming amount of bureaucracy and paperwork involved in opening a small business in New York City. As an example, she gave the problems facing new restaurant owners, who have to deal with several agencies and conflicting regulations. Quinn proposes to streamline the inspection process for new eateries and to put in place 'NYC Business Link,' a way for the city to embrace customer service the same way businesses do."

Let the campaigning begin...

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NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn Is Coming To Carroll Gardens Tonight To Speak About Parking

NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn

Yes, it's that time in the election cycle again! Our NYC officials are starting to campaign by making the rounds in neighborhoods that they haven't visited since the last time they needed votes.
Tonight, NYC Councilwoman and Speaker Christine Quinn will be attending the Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association meeting to talk about parking issues in our neighborhood.

(It would seem that she would like to run for mayor)

More interesting, Vincent Joseph, friend and member of the Union-Sackett Block Association, will speak about the future of the Clarett project at 340 Court Street, now that the developer has withdrawn from the New York real estate market.

Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association Meeting

March 23 at 7 PM to 9 PM

P.S. 58/ The Carroll School

Smith Street between First Place and Carroll Streets

Entrance on Carroll Street

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Great News! Second Place Entrance To F Train Station Will Re-Open Soon

Great news for Carroll Gardeners! The F train subway station at the corner of Second Place and Smith Street, which has been closed since September 2009, will re-open at the end of February, according to Andrew Inglesby of the MTA NY City Transit. The news was announced on Tuesday by Gary Reilly at the Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association's monthly meeting.

The F train subway plaza and the staircase leading to the station at Second Place were blocked off during construction of the new building at 360 Smith Street. Since then, riders have been forced to use the smaller, narrower entrance at the corner of Second Street.

The re-opening of the staircase should make commuting in and out of the neighborhood much easier for many in the neighborhood.

Related Reading:

When Carroll Gardens Commuters Come Home Tonight, The 2nd Place F Train Plaza Will Be Closed

2nd Place Subway Station Now History

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*Carroll Gardens Organizes To Fight Assault On The Historical Integrity Of The Neighborhood

Speaking for the Committee To Improve Carroll Gardens at their December meeting on Monday, Land Use Co-Chair Glenn Kelly reiterated the organization's strong opposition to any modification to the 150-year-old law which protects the signature front gardens from development.

Hannah Senesh Day School, a private school which moved to 342 Smith Street in Carroll Gardens two years ago, seeks approval to build an extension to their facility on the city owned courtyard which runs along at the corner of Smith Street and First Place.

The school has hired lobbyist Ken Fisher to influence political opinion on the matter. We can expect Hannah Senesh to apply for a zoning variance and an amendment to the Administrative Code which will allow a transfer of city property to the school. Should their application meet with approval and proceed through the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (U.L.U.R.P.,) Carroll Gardens will have to fight to keep its historical integrity and unique character intact.

CGNA had fought for decades to protect the front gardens. According to Glenn Kelly, the organization can therefore not support Hannah Senesh' s expansion.
Other neighborhood groups, such as C.O.R.D., have voiced their opposition as well.







Related Reading:

*Carroll Gardens Organizes To Fight Assault On The Historical Integrity Of The Neighborhood

*Bill De Blasio Courtyard Caper Delayed

*Carroll Gardens Protests "Bill": An Open Letter To De Blasio

*Dear Bill De Blasio: A Reader Strongly Protests

*In 2008, Hannah Senesh Paid Ken Fisher To Lobby For Acquisition Of Lot Currently Owned By City

*Will Bill And Brad Attend Hannah Senesh's 'Brief' Meeting About Expansion Into Publicly Owned Courtyard?

*Councilman 'Dollar Bill' De Blasio's Underhanded Move To Amend A 150-Year Old Law Angers Many In Carroll Gardens

*Breaking News! On His Way Out, Councilman Bill De Blasio Sticks It To Carroll Gardens



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At Last Night's CGNA Meeting, L.I.C.H. Immunized Carroll Gardeners With Free Flu And H1N1 Vaccines

Dr. Tucker Woods,
Head of Long Island College Hospital's Emergency Department

Dr. Pat Meade, R.N.
Head Of L.I.C.H. Nursing Department

At last night's Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association's meeting, Carroll Gardeners had a chance to get either a free seasonal flu shot or the H1N1 vaccine, compliments of Long Island College Hospital.

Dr. Tucker Woods, Head of L.I.C.H.s Emergency Department, and Dr. Pat Meade, RN, Head of Nursing, had come to the meeting to immunize and to give an update on the H1N1 virus and on the hospital's plan to deal with any outbreak.

Dr. Tucker explained that, here in New York City, a first outbreak of H1N1 started back in April 2009 and was wide-spread in the city by early May. Though the virus causes only mild symptoms in most, for a small portion of the population, it can cause moderate to serious disease. Contrary to the seasonal flu, H1N1 affects young people and children. The majority of patients are between 5 and 24 years old.

So far, in New York City, 74 people have died as a result of the H1N1 virus. The virus is wide-spread in 11 states, New York State being one of them.

Though a second wave of H1N1 this fall has been much smaller than predicted, Dr. Woods stressed that the vaccine is the best protection against it. He also stressed that, thankfully, the virus is still treatable with drugs such as Tamiflu

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Carroll Gardens Organizes To Fight Assault On The Historical Integrity Of The Neighborhood

Community Meeting On Hannah Senesh's Proposed Expansion Onto Public Land
Satrday December 12th at Carroll Gardens Library

Despite short notice, approximately 30 people gathered at the Carroll Gardens Library on Saturday morning, December 12th to discuss the plans recently unveiled by the Hannah Senesh school. The school has apparently painted itself into a corner by moving into a building which is not large enough or good enough for their needs after spending several years planning the move and spending millions of dollars to renovate and expand the old PS58 extension/District 15 building at the corner of Smith Street and First Place.
Since the school's board failed to anticipate growth requirements, they now intend to ask the city of New York to hand over one of (the first one !) the
signature courtyards (front gardens) of Carroll Gardens so that they can enlarge the school. The fact that the school (and the District 15 office before them) uses the courtyard as a parking lot in contravention to the community's requests and the requirement that the courtyards be maintained as open space does not diminish the fact that this proposal would, if enacted, forever change the streetscape. This would set a very dangerous precedent and make it more difficult to defend the nearly 160 year old city law which established the courtyards and resulted in the unique character of Carroll Gardens.
The Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association And C.O.R.D. have long fought to protect these courtyards against development and parking incursions and cannot support this action despite their wishes for the long term success of the school. Other neighbors and organizations have also stepped forward to fight against this assault on the historical integrity of our neighborhood. They intend to take this message to our elected officials, local residents, and the press in order to make sure that this does not come to pass.



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A Democrat, A Republican And A Green Candidate Met To Debate At CGNA Meeting

David Pechefsky

Brad Lander

Joe Nardiello

At Monday night's Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association's Council District Candidate Forum, I felt like Goldilocks.

One candidate was too angry (Republican Nardiello)
one was too smooth ( Democrat Lander)
and one was just right ( Green Pechefsky)

With the election just two weeks away, the three 39th District Council candidates answered questions on economic development, education, health, transportation and our budget during the present difficult financial times. The candidates each had two minutes to answer the questions. Glenn Kelly served as the night's moderator.
The audience had a chance to ask questions at the end.

Though the answers given by the candidates were all rather predictable, it became clear that the Republican candidate Nardiello tried to be forceful right from the beginning, calling himself an independent and "a blue collar man in a white shirt". His attacks against the establishment would probably have had more impact, if he had offered a clearer outline of how he himself would fix the city's problems. He attacked Democrat Brad Lander several times. He pointed out Brad Lander's association with the Working Family Party and with present Councilman, Bill de Blasio, telling the audience: "You are looking at a third term of Bill De Blasio in Brad Lander."


Brad Lander, on the other hand, was smooth, maybe just a bit too smooth. After winning the Democratic primary in September, Lander is the front runner in this race. He came across as very confident, having had plenty of time to rehearse his answers to the more divisive issues.
He vowed to bring "real honesty and transparency" to the City Council. In answer to Nardiello's attack that his tenure as Councilman would be too much like Councilman de Blasio's, Lander reminded everyone that he differed with De Blasio on Atlantic Yards (Lander is against) and the Gowanus Superfund designation (Lander is for).

Sandwiched at the table between Lander and Nardiello, David Pechefsky came across as the non-politician. Actually, it was very refreshing. He told the audience that he felt the need to run for office after Mayor Bloomberg's shameless disregard for term limits. "It was a pivotal moment" he said and he wondered "Where is our democracy? Someone has to stand up to Mayor Bloomberg !" Pechefsky also feels that true reform in the NY City Council will only be achieved when the power held by the Council Speaker is curbed. He feels that current Speaker Christine Quinn has undue influence. "Our local government does not work for us because there is a disconnect to our elected officials."

Whichever one of the three candidates will be our next councilman, the community wants to " see an improvement over the last 8 years" under Bill de Blasio.
How much change we can expect remains to be seen.

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Three 39th City Council District Candidates Guest Speakers At C.G.N.A. Meeting

This should be an interesting meeting. The Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association has invited the three 39th District Council candidates to its October meeting on Monday. In the running are one Green candidate, one Democrat and one Republican.
So come out to hear where the candidates stand on the issues which face this neighborhood.
The election is on November 3rd, 2009

CARROLL GARDENS NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION

October General Meeting

Monday, October 19, 2009
7:30 PM - 9:00PM
342 Smith St.
(GYM at the Hannah Senesh Community Day School
(between 1st and 2nd Places)

Agenda:

Report from 76th precinct

Updates from our local elected officials

CGNA Committee Notes



Guest Speakers:

City Council Candidates:

Dave Pechefsky (Green),

Brad Lander (Democrat),

Joe Nardiello (Republican)

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Carroll Gardeners Urge NYC Planning Commission To Re-Think R6A Zoning Pockets

NYC Planning Commission Hearing
on Carroll Gardens/ Columbia Street Contextual Rezoning

Amanda Burden, Chairperson of the NYC Planning Commission

Carroll Gardener Rick Luftglass

39th Council District Candidate and Carroll Gardens Resident Gary Reilly

Jerry Armer Testifying for Community Board 6

Raul Rothblatt, Director of the Four Borough Neighborhood Preservation Alliance

Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association President Maria Pagano

Tom Gray from Councilman Bill De Blasio's office

Norman Cox, of the Columbia Waterfront Neighborhood Association

The Carroll Gardens/ Columbia Waterfront Contextual Re-Zoning continued its progress through the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) on Wednesday, when area residents had a chance to testify in front of New York City's Planning Commission.

About a dozen speakers, some representing the Coalition For Respectful Development (CORD), and the Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association, thanked the Brooklyn Office of City Planning for their efforts to rezone Carroll Gardens and the Columbia Waterfront in order to protect the character and scale of this brownstone neighborhood. The plan calls for a zoning of R6B on most of the residential blocks, which will impose a height limit of 50 feet on the buildings.

But most every speaker commented on what many saw as a flaw in the re-zoning plan: the Office of City Planning is proposing to up-zone several blocks of Columbia Street, Henry Street and Clinton Street to R6A, which has a height limit of 70 feet.
This concern has been raised by local residents at every stop of the ULURP process. The office of City Planning claims that the R6A designation is needed to bring the buildings on those blocks into compliance, since they are already bigger than brownstones on surrounding blocks.

Amanda Burden, the Chairperson of the NYC Land Use Committee, explained that the re-zoning was a framework which would bring current out-of-scale buildings into compliance. The R6A designation for those particular pockets within the neighborhood would accomplish that.

Local residents seemed doubtful. Carroll Gardener Rick Luftglass felt that R6A was an up-zoning, increasing the Floor Area Ratio (FAR) from 2.2 to 3.00, thereby creating an incentive to homeowners on those blocks to use the extra FAR to build roof additions.

Unfortunately, it seems that the Office of City Planning does not possess the tools to properly deal with a case such as this. What is needed, in essence, is a special zoning in between an R6A and R6B to not only bring the out of scale buildings into compliance, but also to limit any additional height.
It seems unlikely that these tools will be created any time soon.
What a pity. As resident Maryann Young stated: "If Mayor Bloomberg can come up with the tools to run for a 3rd term," City Planning should be able to come up with to create a special zoning which would truly protect the neighborhood.




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C.G.N.A. March General Meeting Tonight

CARROLL GARDENS NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION

March General Meeting

Monday, March 9, 2009
7:30 PM - 9:00PM
342 Smith St.
(GYM at the Hannah Senesh Community Day School
(between 1st and 2nd Places)

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February C.G.N.A. Meeting

CARROLL GARDENS NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION

February General Meeting

Monday, February 9, 2009
7:30 PM - 9:00PM
342 Smith St.
(GYM at the Hannah Senesh Community Day School
(between 1st and 2nd Places)

AGENDA:

Report from the 76th precinct

MICHAEL CAIRL
President
Gowanus Tunnel Stakeholders Group
Power point presentation on the status of the planned Gowanus Tunnel

JAMIE EVANS BUTLER
Stop the H.O.D.
Update on the recent House of Detention master plan

Reports from CGNA committees:

Land Use: GLENN KELLY and JOHN HATHEWAY
Update on rezoning meeting with Brooklyn City Planning in January

Parks:BARBARA BROOKHART
Report on recent BBP meetings, plans, activities
Update on Carroll Park Reports from local groups:
CORD/COWNA/FOB/FROGG/SoBNA/USBA

Reports from our local elected officials

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State Denies L.I.C.H.'s Request To Close Their Obstetrics, Neonatal & Pediatric Services

photo credit: seeareelem on flickr

The physicians and staff of Long Island College Hospital are on a mission to reverse the damage done to the hospital by Continuum Health Partners, the hospital's parent company.
As the hospital is working to sort out its conflict with Continuum, it found an ally in the NYS Department of Health which has approved a $3 million loan to L.I.C.H.
Dr. Tucker Woods, L.I.C.H's Chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine and Doris Palazzo, an E.R. Administrator, attended Monday night's meeting of the Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association. Both Dr. Woods and Ms. Palazzo want Brooklynites to know that L.I.C.H. is still very much alive, is still operating as a full service hospital and is fully staffed with attending physicians.
In addition, they explained that the hospital has implemented an electronic medical record system. The emergency room has been able to cut down on the average waiting time. After triage, most patients are seen by an attending physician in about 30 minutes.
A separate area for less severe injuries has also been established. Also, L.I.C.H. has a Pediatric Emergency Center so that children do not have to wait in the regular emergency room.
Most impressively, L.I.C.H. has a cutting edge hypothermia center to treat heart attack victims. It is the first in Brooklyn. Employing a "cooling" technique, doctors can minimize the loss of brain function, which can occur during an attack.
Yes, the hospital still has financial woes, but according to Dr. Woods, "very few have no financial problems." He called L.I.C.H. " Brooklyn's best kept secret."

To learn more and to watch a video on L.I.C.H.'s hypothermia center, click here.


Related Posts:

State Denies L.I.C.H.'s Request To Close Their Obstetrics, Neonatal & Pediatric Services

Brooklyn Rallies Against Continuum Health 'Pirates'

A Message From LICH's Pediatric Ambulatory Care Unit

Carroll Gardens On The Losing End Of Continuum's LICH Sell-Off

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