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A 911 call came in around 6 p.m. Monday from 135 Ocean Parkway in Kensington, Brooklyn, where Joel Grossman, 73, was complaining of stomach pain. “He was very much alive, and we knew he needed help,” said a neighbor, Judith Friedman, who was with Mr. Grossman. “It was very difficult for us to explain to him how bad the weather was because he was in such pain, so we didn’t want to make him feel worse.”
About an hour later, dispatchers were told that Mr. Grossman was now unconscious. At 7:47 p.m., the Fire Department said, its ambulance arrived, although Ms. Friedman said the first to arrive was Hatzolah, the private ambulance service.
In any case, it was too late. About five minutes before the ambulance arrived, she said, “He keeled over, fell off of the couch and died.”
I know many of you are frustrated with the inadequate response to the storm in Kensington. We have communicated the following information to OEM, DSNY and the Mayor's Office:
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While the plows have allegedly "hit" all streets according to the Mayor, most of the neighborhood of Kensington is inadequately plowed. This is unacceptable!
Kensington must be addressed this afternoon.
My staff spent the morning walking around the neighborhood and most streets, including major E-W streets still have 3 inches of packed, uneven snow on them! Pictures of Ditmas Ave, Ave C and E 8th street are attached as an example.
Streets that need attention are:***the major E-W streets of the neighborhood, most notably->Ave C->Ditmas->Cortelyou->Ave FWe have repeatedly pointed out to DSNY and OEM that these streets needed attention throughout the cleanup and they have not been addressed.
***All N-S streets that are parallel to McDonald and Coney Island Ave (except Ocean parkway), which includes:-> E9, E8, E7, E6, E5, E4, & E3 (all from Caton to Ave F)-> The one block of E2 (between Cortelyou & Ave C) that the vehicle described below is stuck at.
Abandoned vehicles that need to be removed are at the following locations:National Grid truck on Ave C @ E 8th streetGrayish minivan at Ditmas & E 8th streetGreen jeep van on E 2nd Street between Cortelyou and Ave C
Please keep my office informed about what progress has been made.
WE ARE ASKING EVERYONE TO PLEASE REFRAIN FROM PARKING THEIR CARS ON THE SAFETY MEDIAN ON OCEAN PARKWAY, IT HAS BECOME A SAFETY ISSUE. WE WILL BE RE-LOCATING ALL VEHICLES TO OTHER LOCATIONS WITHOUT SUMMONSES OR FINES. IF YOU NEED ASSISTANCE IN LOCATING YOUR VEHICLE PLEASE CONTACT THE 66TH PRECINCT AT 718-851-5611. WE WISH YOU ALL A VERY HEALTHY AND HAPPY NEW YEAR
Dear Neighbor-
Thank you for submitting your snow removal issue to our office. It's quite frustrating that the storm clean up is taking so long and it's been a trying couple days for everyone.
However, we will be reviewing your submission and sending street clearing issues to the Department of Sanitation and other issues to the appropriate agencies.
We would also like to share the following information about time frames for snow removal, as many of you have inquired about them.
We cannot obtain time frames for specific streets, but our understanding of the time frame given the extent of work today is that many side streets will be cleared tonight and tomorrow, with the hope that the bulk of the side streets will be reached by tomorrow evening. However, we cannot guarantee that this will be the case, as there clearly is a lot of work to do and this was an extraordinarily large snowstorm.
For street crossings that are blocked for pedestrians by mounds of snow, our understanding is that this is a lower priority for the Department of Sanitation behind ensuring emergency vehicle access to all streets but that they are responsible for making street crossings passable for pedestrians after plowing them.
There is a very long wait for a tow for abandoned vehicles. Abandoned cars on major streets will get a higher priority. We are unclear when MTA buses that are stuck will be moved.
Please follow up with us tomorrow mid-morning using our webform at www.bradlander.com/snow to report any updates so we can tell how many issues have been resolved.
Michael Freedman-Schnapp
Office of Councilmember Brad Lander
Director of Policy
Dear Neighbors,
I know it's been an extremely frustrating few days for many of you. My staff has been hard at work, trying to help the scores of people who have contacted my office while I’ve been on my way back from out of town.
To comment on this post, click on the post's title. Underneath the post, click on "Post a Comment."From the many of you who have e-mailed or called, I know that the snow (and car and bus) removal seems to be taking much longer than usual. We are still following up with the Department of Sanitation to address some of the major streets in the district (including Henry Street, Prospect Park West, McDonald Ave, and Cortelyou Road in Kensington) and have passed many of your requests about other streets on to them as well.
Unfortunately, we now hear that it may not be until the end of Wednesday before some streets in our neighborhood are plowed, even for the first time. (FYI-- alternate side parking remains suspended for Wednesday).
If your street hasn't been plowed or if there is a sidewalk that needs attention, my office has set up an online form at http://www.bradlander.com/snow. You can also e-mail us at lander [at] council.nyc.gov, or call us at (718) 499-1090.
You should try 311 first, but I know they have been overwhelmed, and slow to respond. I know that one more web-form is NOT what you need if you’re still stuck on your street – but we will do our best to follow up to requests submitted at www.bradlander.com/snow. Of course, if there is an emergency, you should call 911.
The City Council has set up a hearing to review the City’s response to this storm for January 10th at 1pm. We’ll be asking questions about what happened, why the response seems so inadequate in so many neighborhoods across the city, and what needs to be done for the future. I’ll be eager to hear your stories – however frustrating – as we prepare for that hearing.
In the meantime, good luck. And thanks so much to all of you who have helped your neighbors get through the storm and dig out afterwards!--Brad
P.S. Area hospitals are short on blood because of the storm. If you’re able to donate, please consider doing so. You can contact the New York Blood Center at 800-933-2566, or http://www.nybloodcenter.org.
Some Brooklyn residents are still snowed in as unplowed side streets have prevented them from digging out their cars.
Some who had to show up for work this morning say they had to commute on foot because some unplowed streets just weren’t drivable. Other residents say their streets are still barely even walkable.
Coney Island Avenue is jammed up with abandoned cabs, cars and a coach bus. Vince Vivona, who lives on Newkirk Avenue, said the heavy snow was no match for even a plow: it got stuck in front of his home for hours.
Many residents say they feel short-changed by the borough's snow removal efforts.
One example of the department’s reluctance to give out data involved statistics for minor crimes — offenses like misdemeanor thefts and assaults, marijuana possession and sex offenses other than rape. The department acknowledged last month that it had not forwarded the data to the state since 2002. It was one of only two police agencies in the state that had not done so.
This is not a pretty-boy crowd; it is middle-aged, leathery, wise in the ways of a Brooklyn separate from the preciousness of Park Slope. Its welcome is not to shake your hand, but to bust your chops. The regulars are a microcosm of Kensington’s nonallegiance to any particular ethnicity or social crowd.