The Albemarle Neighborhood Association (ANA) had a recent zoom community meeting.
Here are the minutes:
Here are the minutes:
Minutes of the Albermarle Neighborhood Association Meeting October 6, 2021
Larry Jayson: President
Diana Sanzone: Vice President
Peter Gomori: Treasurer
Jannette Katz Gomori: Secretary
Attendance on zoom : 19 people
CAMBA Shelter: Larry Jayson started the meeting by introducing Denise from the CAMBA shelter on MacDonald Ave. She gave an update on the services currently being provided to homeless adults and children. Services include liaison with local educational facilities, Brooklyn Public Library bookmobile once a week, recreational services, job search support, etc. Monthly newsletters provide a listing of neighborhood resources.
Questions were asked regarding when clients are supposed to be returning to the shelter during the evenings. The curfew times are 9 pm for families and 10 pm for adults.
Comments include praise for the way the shelter is run.
Volunteer opportunities are being created as fall programming continues. Donations gladly accepted include diapers for the 3 to 1 matching Diaper Program, meals that are individually wrapped, no perishables.
Efforts to clean up the front yard are being taken. Protocols for Covid are being observed as are provision of vaccinations.
Any concerns , please email denisel@camba.org
Motorbikes: a discussion of the danger of motorbikes on streets, and sidewalks, as well as in Prospect Park took place. The delivery service bikes as well as others often do not observe traffic rules and are not ticketed when they are in violation of rules. It was suggested that people boycott restaurants of delivery people who violate rules. This issue should be addressed in the upcoming mayoral administration as well as the City Council.
Clean-up on Ocean Parkway
Peter Gomori reported on recent efforts in clean up in collaboration with the NYC Parks Department.
Garbage cans have been placed. Funding of a job box has been gotten through grant money so that volunteers can continue clean up efforts. There is a noticeable improvement in the cleanliness of Ocean Parkway.
Looking towards the future, efforts to clean up local city streets is being considered by encouraging volunteer participation.
Safety of Streets: Complaints have been made regarding harassment by local people who hang out on Albermarle Road and are currently be addressed.
Robberies of catalytic converters: There has been an uptick in robberies of catalytic converters in cars. The robberies take less than 5 minutes and are difficult to report. An incident was discussed of a robbery that occurred in our neighborhood was reported by the car owner after she moved her car due to alternate side regulations and therefore the police refused to take the report since the car was moved. This was unjust and it was suggested that future complaints be made in person to the captain of the 66th precent.
Docks for CItibike: Complaints about the saturation of bike docks in our neighborhood were made. One of the attendees suggested that complaints be made to Lyft who owns citibikes. Of particular concern are the bike docks placed in the streets such as the dock on the intersection of Church Ave and MacDonald Ave. It is a concerning location for bus drivers and pedestrians.
Rite Aid: the vacant store on Church Ave has a lot of unsightly graffiti. Efforts to remove it were made by volunteers to partially remove some of the graffiti. It was realized that the job is a much bigger effort to undertake. Several attendees volunteered to paint over the graffiti. It was suggested that a mural be drawn in place of the graffiti.
Rite Aid still leases that property , according to an investigation.
Sterling Bank recently merged with Webster Bank. The merger with Webster bank was discussed as well as quality of services currently being provided.
A Zoom meeting with the current candidate for City Council for our district, Shahana Hanif was announced for Thursday, October 28 at 8 pm. Below is the link to register
https://forms.gle/4cCyXL6jfjHExXtr5
Regarding the Deli on Church Ave: it was reported that there is much sidewalk obstruction because of garbage outside a deli on Church Ave between East 4 and East 5 street. It will be brought to the attention of the community police .
Composting : Efforts to bring back the Brown Bins for composting have yet to be successful. There needs to be participation via signing on to a website to indicate a desire to do this. The Department of Sanitation is happy to send representatives to any community event to publicize the website and sign people up. The more willingness to participate , the greater likelihood that brown bins will be placed in our neighborhood. If you want a representative to come to a community event, please reach out to jodi.cook@corcoran.com.
Next Zoom ANA meeting will be in a month. Tentative date is Wednesday, November 17 at 6.30pm
Respectfully submitted by Jannette Katz Gomori
