2022

Minutes of the ANA Meeting
President : Larry Jayson
Vice President: Jodi Cook
Secretary: Jannette Katz
Treasurer: Peter Gomori

-22 people were in attendance.

Guest speakers include New York State Assemblyman Robert Carroll, New York City Councilwoman Shahana Hanif and Tom Bauer, Director of Operations at the Ocean Parkway Community Development (OPCD) organization.

-It was noted with sadness of the passing of Diana Sanzone on September 17. A memorial service will be held at the Kensington Library on December 3 from 12-4. Diana was a valued contributor to the Kensington Community for many years. Diana was Vice President of the ANA, Executive Chair for the Kensington Stewards as well as being a volunteer at the CAMBA Kensington Shelter. A moment of silence was observed in her memory

-This ANA meeting was the second meeting for this year since March 2022.

-Tom Bauer spoke about the big push for Solar Panels on Roofs. A dozen homes in the neighborhood have solar panels. There are tax abatements from the NY State and NYC governments to assist in paying the cost of installation. OPCD office is located at 18th avenue and East 5 street. Mr. Bauer spoke about modern and affordable housing units built on 37th street between 12-13 avenue. OPCD is looking to create more affordable housing in the neighborhood. The process was monitored by HPD and other agencies.

Since 1979 there have been changes in the gestalt of the community from a sleepy , deteriorated neighborhood to a more vibrant one with art festivals, work with merchants on Church Avenue and engagement with the Bengladeshi community. OPCD has helped seniors and homeowners establish other neighborhood organizations.

-Parkway Pharmacy has a new awning which adds to the appearance of the neighborhood. The old Rite Aid store is still unsightly with graffiti always present. The space is owned by Walgreens and Walgreens will not permit a competitor business to rent it. There are 5 or 6 vacant stores on Church avenue. Peter Gomori wants more active policing of graffiti. Larry Jason will try to get a police officer from the local precinct to attend our next meeting

– State Assemblyman Carroll spoke about the issues regarding the BQE detour that will be occurring on weekends. It will impact East 5 street and Caton Ave, MacDonald and Church Ave. He is currently in contact with the NYC Department of Transportation. It is not fair to have the entire truck detour in Windsor Terrace that will impact this neighborhood on weekends. Bob Carroll was congratulated on the birth of his baby 7 weeks ago.

– Complaints were voiced regarding the semi annual Brooklyn half marathons that take place without warning to residents. It would be great to send an Eblast 2 weeks ahead of the time of the marathon to warn residents. Maybe Shahana can assist on getting the word out as well.

-A positive intervention in street cleaning was mentioned. There was an ANA member, Phoebe, who spoke on a Sunday to some shopkeepers at Macdonald Ave and Ave C about the dirtiness of the streets between Mac Donald and C. The following day the streets were spotless.

-State Assemblyman Carroll was contacted three weeks ago regarding the obstruction to a walkway by a cement company. It was removed and now there is safe passage on that street.

-East Third Street between Church Ave and Albemarle Road is the site of many car accidents.

Recently there was an accident where the citibikes were crashed into. There should be alternate routes in place of Caton Ave. An email will be sent regarding the citibike crash to Bob Carroll’s office who will in turn send it to the Department of Transportation.

– City Councilmember Shahana Hanif was commended for getting rid of a no standing sign on Albemarle Road. Her co-worker Faiza Azam was at the meeting and is responsible for constituent services and is a neighborhood liaison for Councilmember Hanif. Appointments can be made with Faiza at her office on 118 Beverly Road. There is no longer a 5th avenue office due to redistricting.

– Sanitation issues are being addressed by the Association for Community Empowerment (ACE) members. Please give sanitation requests to the Ms. Hanif’s Beverly office.

– Meeting in the Greenwood Playground was held by Ms. Hanif and community members. Over a million dollars have been allocated for resurfacing and other issues. Please alert any street safety concerns to 311.

– Agenda of Councilmember Hanif will be posted on her website after Thanksgiving. Activities include hosting a town hall meeting with the Department of Environmental Protection regarding flooding issues. There will be a turkey giveaway.

– Legislation regarding rat mitigation was passed by New York State. Rat violations will be followed up with a mandate to correct the circumstances. Any construction that is occurring should not be given a permit if an exterminator is not on board at the construction site.

– Legislation was introduced in New York City regarding composting, which would be the largest program in the nation, by April 2022 -2023 in the 39th district in Brooklyn . More legislation includes protection of reproductive rights, plans for immigrant communities to be housed In hotels and not tents. EWaste initiatives will be continued on a regular basis. PTA “Fun Run” raised $100,000 . There will be participatory budgeting sometime this coming spring. Please sign up for the newsletter from Councilmember Hanif’s office which goes out on Sundays in addition to social media platforms.

– Construction site on the end of the Prospect Expressway at Caton Ave and the Ocean Parkway Service Road was a Flood Project and should be done by the end of this year.

– Regarding sanitation pick up concerns, Faiza should be contacted in the Beverly Road office with complaints made to 311 and the truck number gotten to report any sanitation issues

– Theft problems at Walgreens were mentioned at our meeting as a chronic ongoing problem.

– Meeting was adjourned at 8 pm

– Happy holidays to all

Respectfully submitted,

Jannette Katz Gomori

Secretary

Albemarle Neighborhood Association (ANA)

Larry Jayson presided over the Zoom meeting with 10 participants

Peter Gomori, Treasurer
Jannette Katz Gomori, Secretary

1. New York State Assemblyman, Robert Carroll was introduced. Councilman Carroll is in Albany awaiting the state budget approval proceedings. It is hopeful that the budget will be passed by the beginning of April. Some sticking points are issues of affordable housing, bail reform, and casinos.

There has been additional funding given to SUNY and CUNY as well as to the public schools , MTA funding , and renewable energy projects. The Federal Stimulus package has added funding to the State budget. Robust tax receipts from state and city have added as well.

The uptick in crime was discussed . Councilman Carroll spoke about preserving the Presumption of Innocence structure. Also spoken about was that most crimes have nothing to do with bail reform.

Reasons for uptick in crime include the lockdown during the pandemic, folks staying at home, and unemployment. Bail is only used to compel people to return back to court.

Rollout in congestion pricing was discussed. The timetable would suggest March or April 2023 . Traffic is equal to or above pre pandemic levels. Limited exemptions might include individuals with disabilities or under medical treatment.

2. Pete Gomori spoke about the East 5 street block party scheduled for May 14 pending permit approval. The block would include the street between Albemarle and Caton Ave. A letter is being sent to everyone on the block to inform people of the event. Activities include tree management, street cleaning, petitioning to restart composting, and arts /crafts , music .

Bob Elstein , of the Beautify Brooklyn movement is invited to attend. The purpose of the block party is for neighbors to meet neighbors and to improve quality of life. A $1000 grant was awarded to sponsor a music event in Kensington that might be used for this event.

3. Church Avenue cleanliness was discussed. The issue of 419 Church Avenue being vacant as well as the deli next door contributing garbage on the streets adds to the unsightliness and uncleanliness of the area. People can call 311 to report this as each store is responsible for cleaning the front area of their store.

4. Foodtown was discussed regarding quality of freshness and accurate advertising of sales. Larry Jayson will speak to the manager regarding these issues.

Parkway Pharmacy has a torn awning outside the building. Larry Jayson will speak to the owners to see if the awning can be replaced.

Trash outside Dunkin Donuts is placed in black bags outside the store. Is it possible to have bins used instead of black garbage bags? Pete Gomori suggested having another volunteer clean up on Church Ave sometime this spring.

3. A gathering of Uber drivers on Albermarle Ave near Ocean Parkway has been observed daily around 4 PM. Larry Jayson will look into this to see if there is any questionable activity. Also mentioned was the concern regarding a menacing person standing on the middle of Ocean Parkway on an island leading to the Prospect Expressway . 311 should be called as well as the Neighborhood Coordination Officers:

Karol Smiarowsky 917 826 6569
Vivianne Perron 917 863 5169.

The 66th Precent can be called as well: 718 851 5611

Participatory Budget week is starting this week.

8. The next ANA meeting will take place on zoom in June. The date to be determined.

Respectfully submitted

Jannette Katz Gomori, Secretary

Larry Jayson, President presided over the zoom meeting with 13 participants
Peter Gomori, Treasurer
Jannette Katz Gomori, Secretary

Tom Bauer, Director of Operations at the Ocean Parkway Community Development Corporation began our meeting with a discussion of the various services his organization provides for our community. Formed as a neighborhood preservation entity, the organization assists in such activities as forming merchant associations, access programs for building and home repair and counseling people in obtaining mortgage and rent assistance. Tom alerted us to the upcoming end of eviction moratorium that could place many of our residents in jeopardy.

A question was asked about an abandoned building on Ocean Parkway and Ave. C. (335 Ocean Parkway). Tom looked into the ACRIS database and advised us that a mortgage was paid off and that the real estate tax payments were current. There is a disclosure of the current owner and we (ANA) will try to contact him and inquire as to efforts to repair the property.

(Community Officer Smiarowski, at the last minute was not able to attend and will attend the next meeting to be held in March).

The meeting was opened up to questions and comments about issues in the community.

Theft from mailboxes is still a problem. It is a citywide problem. A specific building was mentioned where a tenant was caught on camera and a police report was filed with the 66th precinct.

Concerns about the Self Help office at 419 Church Ave. were again raised. The grocery store next door continues to store boxes in front of the storefront. The owner was been approached by Larry and if the problem continues the Sanitation department will be notified and the grocery store owner could be issued a fine. We also will contact Self Help to ask if they will return to open their office and provide services. (Follow up – SelfHelp was contacted and they confirmed that they are not coming back. Their new location is 626 Sheepshead Bay Road (718 646 7500).)

A question on reviving the composting program was raised. It was mentioned that one problem is the attraction of rodents to the compost bins. It was mentioned that the East 4th Street Garden is currently closed for the winter and is not accepting compost donations. Another participant mentioned that there is a compost drop-off on Albemarle and McDonald that takes place on Saturday during the day. A suggestion was made that as the weather gets nicer, a petition campaign be started to request that the Sanitation department revive the compost program in the neighborhood.

The ongoing issue of graffiti was again discussed. Councilwoman Shahana Hanif was instrumental in arranging for ACE to paint over the graffiti on the Rite Aid building. Graffiti has become a city wide problem and we need a greater effort in catching the perpetrators to try to stop it.

The issue of the use of motor bikes on sidewalks and bike paths was again raised. We all agree that we need better enforcement to encourage motorbikes to use the streets and not the sidewalks.

The next ANA meeting will take place on Zoom in mid-March 2022. The date will be determined, and the Zoom link will be sent via email or placed on the Facebook ANA website: anabk.org/fb

Suggested speakers for the next meeting include Commanding Officer of Police Precinct 66.

Respectfully submitted

Jannette Katz Gomori