Tuesday, January 30, 2018

QUEER PARTY THIS WEEK


Q-Train Queer Party
Thursday, February 1st, 9:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m.

Q-Train, Ditmas Park's only queer party, will feature

  • queer bingo hosted by Christina Ashton, the reigning Miss West Village, at 9 p.m.,
  • DJ GoGo Gadget spinning music at 10 p.m., and
  • live, late-night performances by Cissy Walken.

No cover charge.

Board the Q-Train on the first Thursday of every month.

Location
Sycamore Bar
1118 Cortelyou Road
between E. 11th Street and Argyle Road
Ditmas Park, Brooklyn
(347) 240-5850
sycamorebrooklyn @ gmail . com
http://www.sycamorebrooklyn.com
https://www.facebook.com/sycamore.brooklyn
https://twitter.com/SycamoreBklyn


AMPLE HILLS CREAMERY WILL OPEN NEAR BARTEL-PRITCHARD SQUARE


The Ample Hills Creamery ice cream chain has signed a lease to rent the building next to the former Pavilion Theater (the future Nitehawk Cinema Prospect Park), with plans to open in fall 2018.

The curved one-story building at 192 Prospect Park West fronts on Bartel-Pritchard Square and is located in the Park Slope Historic District Extension. It was constructed in 1921.

Ample Hills Creamery's owners, Brian Smith and Jackie Cuscuna, will renovate the interior to make it resemble a 1930s-era ice cream shop, which it had been in the 1930s. The ice cream parlor will occupy the portion of the building that has rooftop access.

This will bring Ample Hills' locations in Brooklyn to six (four permanent and two seasonal), in addition to having two permanent locations in Manhattan, one in Jersey City, and one in Walt Disney World.

The menu for the shops in Prospect Heights and Gowanus are posted here on Facebook.

Additional information can be found in these articles:


Sunday, January 28, 2018

PUBLIC TOILET PROPOSED FOR PROSPECT PARK SOUTHWEST


UPDATE, February 24, 2018: "City Dumps Plans For $300K Toilet Near Prospect Park." -- Windsor Terrace Patch 

UPDATE, January 31, 2018: "This $300K Self-Cleaning Toilet Could Be Coming To Prospect Park" -- Windsor Terrace Patch
"Windsor Terrace Street Should Become 1-Way Truck Route, DOT Says." --Windsor Terrace Patch

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Community Board 7 Transportation Committee Meeting
Monday, January 29th, 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

The 20th Street Truck Route Study: Final Preferred Alternative and an automated public toilet located at Prospect Park Southwest and 16th Street are the two agenda items for the next meeting of the Transportation Committee of Community Board 7. 

The self-sanitizing pay toilet measures 12 feet wide by 7 feet 6 inches deep. It would be accessible daily from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. at a cost of $.25 per use. Twice a day, the facility would be serviced for inspection and system maintenance.

Advertising company CEMUSA won a contract with New York City in 2006 to install twenty of these automated public toilets. They installed the first one in 2008. So far, only four have been installed; the remainder are stored in a warehouse in Queens. JCDecaux purchased CEMUSA in late 2015.

All committee meetings (as well as all board meetings) are open to the public.

The meeting will be held on Monday, January 29th, from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Location
Shepherd's Hall
Holy Name of Jesus Roman Catholic Church
245 Prospect Park West
between Prospect Avenue and Windsor Place
Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn

Enter Shepherd's Hall through the parking lot on Prospect Park West.

RUSSIAN STORIES AND SONGS FOR KIDS


Russian-language stories will be read and songs will be performed for children and their parents or caregivers on Tuesdays from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Check the Windsor Terrace Library calendar weekly to make sure the event is still being offered.

Location 
Windsor Terrace Library
160 E. 5th Street
corner of Fort Hamilton Parkway
Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn
(718) 686-9707 
https://www.bklynlibrary.org/locations/windsor-terrace

Friday, January 26, 2018

66TH PRECINCT COMMANDER PROMOTED

Deputy Inspector David A. Wall

Captain David A. Wall was promoted to Deputy Inspector (DI) this month. DI Wall has been the Commanding Officer of the 66th Precinct (Kensington, Borough Park, and Midwood) since January 2017.

Prior to his current appointment, he was the executive officer of the 71st Precinct (Crown Heights, Wingate, and Prospect Lefferts). Prior to that, he was the executive officer of the 72nd Precinct (Windsor Terrace and Sunset Park).  Since joining the NYPD in 1998, he has worked in a total of ten precincts, six of them in southern Brooklyn.

Compstat crime statistics for the 66th Precinct for 2017 and 2018 are posted here, along with figures for 1990, 1993, 1998, and 2001 for historical perspective.

66th Precinct
Address
66th Precinct

5822 16th Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11204

Phone Numbers
Precinct: (718) 851-5611
Community Affairs: (718) 851-5601
Crime Prevention: (718) 851-5620
Domestic Violence: (718) 851-5625
Youth Officer: (718) 851-3413
Auxiliary Coordinator: (718) 851-5617
Detective Squad: (718) 851-5603

Community Council
President: Marc Katz
Meetings: 66th Precinct Community Council meetings typically take place on the third Thursday of each month at 7:00 p.m. in the office of Community Board 12, located at 5910 13th Avenue.


Thursday, January 25, 2018

"BLISSVILLE...AN INVESTIGATION" DOCUMENTS A NEIGHBORHOOD THAT DEVELOPMENT SHRANK


Blissville...An Investigation, ( Trailer ) from Hank Linhart on Vimeo.

"Blissville...An Investigation"
Saturday, January 27th, 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

"Blissville …An Investigation" documents a "forgotten" community in a remote area of Queens, New York. A hamlet until 1870, the tiny triangle that is Blissville became a neighborhood within Long Island City. Hemmed in by Calvary Cemetery, the Long Island Expressway, Newtown Creek, and Dutch Kills, Blissville is comprised of only about eighty houses.

In the making of "Blissville," videographer Hank Linhart conducted informal street interviews with past and present residents and investigated the origin of the name of Blissville and the character(s) of the town.
"We learn of a nearby Romani village in the 1930s. It was the largest gathering of Romani in the US, with the people actually building houses. They were Ludar from Romania, noted for training bears for circuses, including the WPA Circus. The village was condemned and razed to make way for highway access to the 1939 World’s Fair. The video features an interview with a woman who grew up in the village and who remembers having to move when she was 6.

The video is not so much a mourning of things past nor a nostalgia, although both those elements are present. It is more about the resiliency of a community remarkably rich in nationalities and ethnicity, many of the people on the first rung of immigration; and it is about residential neighbors living in close proximity with active industries.

With development threatening from all sides, it is not to be idealized by any means; it is a precarious dynamic mix."

Prospect Range will host a screening of the video on Saturday, January 27th, from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. The free screening of the one-hour video will be followed by a question-and-answer session. 

About Prospect Range
Prospect Range is a performance/community space dedicated to the creative talents of artists, and their families, living and working in the central Brooklyn diaspora.

Since 2009, the Range has served this community of creative people, and their families through performance, exhibitions, and performing arts education.

Location

Prospect Range
1226 Prospect Avenue
between Vanderbilt Street and Reeve Place
Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn
(917) 776-6834
info @ prospectrange.com
https://www.facebook.com/groups/prospectrange
https://twitter.com/prospectrange
http://www.prospectrange.com


Wednesday, January 24, 2018

JAZZ AND LAP STEEL GUITAR IN CONCERT AT CHURCH AVENUE SESSIONS


Church Avenue Sessions Music Series
Thursday, January 25th, 7:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

Performances by Cat Toren's Human Kind and Myk Freedman and the Mykfreedmans will be featured at "Church Avenue Sessions," the monthly music series at Flatbush Jewish Center. The concert will take place on Thursday, January 25th, from 7:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

"Two Canadian born veterans of the NYC new jazz scene, Cat Toren and Myk Freedman showcase brilliant projects using unique composition and instrumentation to create a brand new world of sonic possibility."

Cat Toren's Human Kind is "inspired by both the free form jazz of the 1960’s and a personal expression of the resurgent civil rights movement that is upon us."

"Lap-steel whiz Myk Freedman excels at intensely evocative instrumentals that draw on Dixieland, klezmer and avant-garde jazz. His aesthetic is wistful yet subtly surreal."
                                                --Time Out New York  

The cost of admission is $15 per adult and $7 per child under 16.

About Flatbush Jewish Center
Flatbush Jewish Center, a Conservative synagogue offering programming and services for families, adults, and children, serves the Windsor Terrace and Kensington communities and offers traditional egalitarian services.

Event location
Flatbush Jewish Center
327 East 5th Street, corner of Church Avenue
Kensington, Brooklyn
phone: (718) 871-5200
fax: (718) 871-5204
office @ flatbushjewishcenter.org
http://www.flatbushjewishcenter.org
https://www.facebook.com/FlatbushJewishCenter 


PROSPECT PARK TENNIS CENTER SHOULD REMAIN AFFORDABLE


A petition by a neighbor to keep Prospect Park Tennis Center affordable to the community
Dear Neighbors,

Many of you have benefited from the Prospect Park Tennis Center whether through leagues, lessons, afterschool programs, summer camp, or special aces. But this could change as the Prospect Park Alliance's concession contract is up. 

The Alliance is a 501(c)(3) and any profits made by the Tennis Center are put back into the maintenance of the parade ground and into the center.

What does this mean for you? 
This means the Prospect Park Alliance must compete with outside organizations bidding for it, including those that are for-profit and with a known record for substantially increasing rates. We are concerned about significant rate increases that will reduce the access to tennis for many of our neighbors.

Additionally, there is no guarantee that the new vendor will keep the current pros employed, many who are our neighbors and reflect the vibrancy and diversity of this community.

What Can You Do? 
Could you take two minutes and sign the linked petition to support the Prospect Park Alliance’s bid to continue to run the Tennis Center?

1. Keep the rates affordable 
2. Continue to serve the community and keep tennis accessible
3. Ensure that any vendor who wins the contract is a not-for profit 501(c)(3) organization with a mission that benefits Brooklyn and our park
4. Ensure the employment of current staff who not only teach but are our neighbors.

Please sign the petition and share it with others. 

Amelia Costigan

Tuesday, January 23, 2018

20TH STREET TRUCK ROUTE PROPOSAL

Community Board 7 Transportation Committee Meeting
Monday, January 29th, 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

  1. The 20th Street Truck Route Study: Final preferred alternative and 
  2. Automated public toilet located at Prospect Park Southwest & 16th Street 
are the two agenda items for the next meeting of the Transportation Committee of Community Board 7. 

All committee meetings (as well as all board meetings) are open to the public.

The meeting will be held on Monday, January 29th, from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Location
Shepherd's Hall
Holy Name of Jesus Roman Catholic Church
245 Prospect Park West
between Prospect Avenue and Windsor Place
Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn

Enter Shepherd's Hall through the parking lot on Prospect Park West.

Tuesday, January 16, 2018

SNOW WILL AFFECT PARKING BUT NOT TRASH COLLECTION, JANUARY 17TH




Alternate side of the street parking regulations will be suspended on Wednesday, January 17th, to facilitate snow removal by the Department of Sanitation (DSNY).

All other regulations, however--including parking meter regulations--will be in effect. Those are only suspended on major legal holidays: New Years Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. 

A total of one to three inches of snow is predicted overnight. The accumulation is expected to be less than one inch.

Go to http://www1.nyc.gov/site/severeweather/index.page to determine the priority designation of any street and find out about how long it's been since a DSNY salt spreader or snow plow was on that street. 

Put trash/recycling/organics out according to your normal schedule. Currently, collection is planned for tomorrow. Christmas tree collection is ongoing, and the pickup schedule has been extended to January 20th. Check the DSNY website tomorrow or call 311 for up-to-date information.

FREE LIVE ACOUSTIC ROCK ON CHURCH AVE.


The Flip Side: Purple Pam, The Flip Man, and Friends
Friday, January 19th, 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.

Purple Pam, The Flip Man, and their friends will play acoustic instruments live at Church Bar this Friday from 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.

Purple Pam is a rock/metal/blues and opera singer with a seven-octave range.

Listen to a plugged-in Purple Pam and the Flesh Eaters here.

Church Bar is open every day from 4:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. Happy Hour is daily from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Location
Church Bar
416 Church Avenue
between E. 4th and E. 5th streets
Kensington, Brooklyn
phone (718) 435-2574
@churchbarbk

Sunday, January 14, 2018

FREE MOVIE NIGHT: "THE BOSS BABY"


Movie Night: The Boss Baby
Friday, January 19th, 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

"Meet a most unusual baby. He wears a suit, speaks with the voice and wit of Alec Baldwin, and stars in the animated comedy, DreamWorks' The Boss Baby. The Boss Baby is a hilariously universal story about how a new baby's arrival impacts a family, told from the point of view of a delightfully unreliable narrator, a wildly imaginative 7 year old named Tim." -- Dreamworks Animation

The PG-rated, computer-animated comedy, released in March 2017, features the voices of Alec Baldwin, Lisa Kudrow and Steve Buscemi.

Admission is open to the public and is free. The d
oors will open at 5:30; the movie will start at 6:00. The film's running time is one hour and thirty-seven minutes.

Pizza, popcorn, snacks, and more will be available to purchase, with all proceeds benefiting the P.S. 130 PTA.


Location
P.S. 130 Upper School
713 Caton Avenue
between e. 7th and E. 8th streets
Windsor Terrace - Kensington, Brooklyn

Friday, January 12, 2018

PAID FAMILY LEAVE WORKSHOP; THE LAW HAS GONE INTO EFFECT


Paid Family Leave Workshop
Sunday, January 14th, 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

The law firm Crumiller P.C. and the Gender Equality Law Center (GELC) will hold a free workshop for the public on negotiating paid maternity and paternity leave. The workshop will focus on New York's new Paid Family Leave law, which went into effect on January 1, 2018.

Caroline Piela, a pregnancy discrimination attorney, will lead the workshop at Lark Cafe on Sunday, January 14th, from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.


Most employees who work in New York State for private employers are eligible for paid family leave. Public employees are eligible if their employers choose to offer it.

The Paid Family Leave law provides job-protected, paid time off so that employees can, among other life situations, bond with a newly-born, adopted, or fostered child.


Topics to be discussed at the workshop include
your rights under state, city, and federal law; strategies for your particular office environment (hierarchies and politics); and New York’s new paid family leave legislation.

About Caroline Piela
Ditmas Park resident Caroline Piela is a litigation attorney with Crumiller P.C., where she fights for victims of pregnancy and gender discrimination. She has eight years of litigation experience. In September 2017, she was elected Judicial Delegate of the 42nd Assembly District. She has a J.D. from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and Master and Bachelor of Arts degrees from New York University.


Location
Lark Cafe
1007 Church Avenue
between E. 10th Street and Stratford Road
Ditmas Park, Brooklyn
(718) 469-0140
e-mail: info @ larkcafe.com
http://www.larkcafe.com
https://www.facebook.com/pages/LARK/280529368626056

Thursday, January 11, 2018

LIVE JAZZ ON PROSPECT PARK WEST


Live Jazz with Sydney & Jake
Thursday, January 18th, 7:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.
 
Jazz duo Sydney & Jake will perform classics popularized by Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, and others at Oggi Pizza Bar on Thursday, January 18th.

Let their vocals, guitar, and saxophone delight your ears while artisanal brick-oven pizza and other menu items, along with a wide selection of wines, delight your palate.

Sydney & Jake will perform two sets, one at 7:00 p.m. and the other at 8:00 p.m. Admission is free.

Location
Oggi Pizza Bar
217 Prospect Park West
between 16th Street and Windsor Place
Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn
(718) 499-3150
@Oggipizzabar
oggipizzabar @ gmail.com

SELF-STORAGE FACILITY FOR CATON PLACE WILL BE LOOKED INTO BY OUR CITY COUNCILMEMBER


A proposal for an eight-story self-storage facility at 72 Caton Place--the site of a parking lot formerly owned by Calvary Cathedral of Praise and used by its congregants--has evoked negative reactions from some nearby residents. New York City Councilmember Brad Lander responds:

Dear Kensington/Stable Brooklyn friends,

Like many of you, I was very distressed to read about this. The owners did not come to talk to me or my office about it in advance. As you may remember, we invited them to attend last summer's community meeting.


While we had representatives from the stables and from the 57 Caton site (next door to the stables), the owners of the 72 Caton site (i.e., the Calvary Cathedral parking lot) did not attend. We had not heard any more from them when we read this article in the paper.

We are reaching out to them again now to push them to present to the community on their plans.

It looks like they are trying to do the project "as-of-right" (i.e., without a rezoning). Self-storage is an allowable usage in a C8-2 zone . (And, for what it's worth, while C8-2 does mean 2.0 FAR*, that is not the same as a two-story building; depending on the lot & building size, it could be possible to build 8 stories.)


That does not mean, of course, that what they are proposing complies with the zoning automatically. We are reaching out to the Department of Buildings, to push them to carefully & fully scrutinize the project, and my office will look at it as well. If there are technical, building-code problems with their proposal, we will work hard to find them.

As we discussed at the meeting this summer, we had assumed that the owner/developer would likely seek a zoning change to propose a residential development (as, for example, the owners of 57 Caton are doing).


At that meeting, many of you made clear that your top priority was, understandably, to preserve the lot-line windows of the neighbors at 346 Coney Island Avenue.

I agreed to push hard for this and to only be open to any rezoning if it addressed this issue. Because the owners never reached out to us, we never had the chance for that conversation.

In the coming days, we will stay in close touch and look forward to working with you to achieve the best possible outcome. And we also hope to know more soon about what is taking place with regard to the stables and the 57 Caton site as well.

Brad

* Floor Area Ratio (FAR): The floor area ratio is the principal bulk regulation controlling the size of buildings. FAR is the ratio of total building floor area to the area of its zoning lot. Each zoning district has an FAR which, when multiplied by the lot area of the zoning lot, produces the maximum amount of floor area allowable on that zoning lot. For example, on a 10,000 square foot zoning lot in a district with a maximum FAR of 1.0, the floor area on the zoning lot cannot exceed 10,000 square feet. http://www1.nyc.gov/site/planning/zoning/glossary.page

Tuesday, January 9, 2018

SELF-STORAGE BUILDING PLANNED FOR CATON PLACE



UPDATE, January 20, 2018:
From the Department of Buildings website: Last Action: PLAN EXAM - DISAPPROVED 01/19/2018 (J). Development Challenge Process is pending Zoning Approval.

"Zoning approval" is the decision the Department of Buildings (DOB) makes to indicate that a proposed new building complies with zoning. Zoning approval is pending for this building because (DOB) disapproved the plan exam.

If and when the job receives zoning approval, the Development Challenge Process will begin. The project's architects and engineers will submit diagrams showing its size and scale. Those diagrams will be posted online for the public to view. People have forty-five calendar days from the date of the zoning approval to review the job and to challenge the approval.

-------------------------------

The parking lot at 72 Caton Place--formerly owned by Calvary Cathedral of Praise--might be converted to an 8-story, 109-foot-tall CubeSmart self-storage facility. Permits were filed with the Department of Buildings on January 4, 2018.

The facility would open in 2020. 

The location is mapped as a C8-2 district. All commercial uses (except large, open amusements) as well as certain community facilities are permitted in C8 districts. Introducing a self-storage facility there wouldn't require rezoning.

The previous purchaser, who bought it from the church and later sold it to the current developer, had intended it to be a mixed residential and retail building.

The property is located between Coney Island Avenue and E. 8th Street.

For additional details, see the articles in New York YIMBY and Windsor Terrace Patch.

ADDITIONAL DAYS WITHOUT ALTERNATE SIDE PARKING, JANUARY 11TH, 12TH, 13TH, AND 15TH




With the just-announced suspension of alternate side of the street parking rules this Thursday through Saturday, January 11th through 13th, and next Monday, January 15th, alternate side of the street parking regulations will have been suspended for almost two weeks. Thursday, January 4th, was the first day that they were suspended.

All other regulations, including those for parking meters, will be in effect.

Parking meter regulations are only suspended on major legal holidays: New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

Monday, January 8, 2018

AGENDA FOR COMMUNITY BOARD 7 (SUNSET PARK, WINDSOR TERRACE) MONTHLY PUBLIC MEETING

Community Board 7 Monthly Meeting
Wednesday, January 17th, 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

The regular monthly board meeting of Community Board 7 will be held on Wednesday, January 17th, from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., at the board's office at 4201 4th Avenue in Sunset Park. The entrance is on 43rd Street.
All community board meetings are open to the public. The public is invited to comment twice during every meeting of Community Board 7 (items 6 and 13 below).
The following is the proposed agenda:
1. The Pledge of Allegiance
2. Opening of the meeting
3. Adoption of the agenda
4. Adoption of the minutes of the board meeting of December 20, 2017
5. Adoption of the minutes of the public hearing of January 10, 2018
6. Public Comment
7. Committee Reports:
   A) Transportation Committee (Tabled from December; Vote required)
      1) Presentation by the Department of Transportation on the 4th Avenue study
   B) Land Use/Landmarks Committee (Vote required)
      1) ULURP #C150253 PQK – Proposed sale of first floor and outdoor area of 4917 4th Avenue (St. Andrew’s Church) by the Administration for Children’s Services for continued use as a child care center
      2) Board of Standards & Appeals #2017-304-BZ – An application for a special permit to permit a school in a M1-2D zoning district located at 160 17th Street
      3) Presentation by the Economic Development Corporation on the design and build of a pre-engineered metal building maintenance facility for EDC at the Bush Terminal Industrial Campus
8. Elected Officials and Representatives
9. District Manager’s Report
10. Chairperson’s Report
11. Old Business
12. New Business
13. Public Comment
14. Adjournment

Friday, January 5, 2018

EXTENSION OF SUSPENSION OF ALTERNATE SIDE PARKING, JANUARY 8TH, 9TH, AND 10TH


With the addition of Monday, January 8th, Tuesday, January 9th, and Wednesday, January 10th, alternate side of the street parking regulations will have been suspended for an entire week as the Department of Sanitation (DSNY) continues to dig the city out from the snow.

All other regulations, including parking meter regulations, will be in effect.

Read updates on city services, weather alerts, and staying safe in such cold weather at  http://www1.nyc.gov/site/severeweather/index.page. 


Parking meter regulations are not suspended because they're only suspended on major legal holidays: New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.
 

GROOVIN' ON A SATURDAY AFTERNOON



Adirondack Beat
Saturday, January 6th, 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

DJ Kyle Brown will spin rhythm & blues, soul, girl groups, oldies, instrumentals, and more on 45 rpm vinyl at The Adirondack on Saturday, January 6th, from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. 

Admission is free. 

The neighborhood bar focuses on New York State craft beer, featuring beer on tap, bottled, and in cans, cocktails, and snacks.

Subway directions to The Adirondack: Take the F or G to the Fort Hamilton Parkway station. Exit at the Reeve Place-Prospect Avenue end of the station (the back of the Coney Island-bound train or the front of the Queens-bound train).


Adirondack Beat takes place on the first Saturday of each month.

Event location

The Adirondack
1241 Prospect Avenue
between Greenwood Avenue and Reeve Place
Windsor Terrace
(718) 871-0100
theadirondackbar @ gmail.com
http://www.theadirondackbar.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/The_Adirondack
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theadirondack/