What's the Future of Our Neighborhood? Pratt Students Have Answers

As you may know, urban planning and historic preservation students from the Pratt Institute have been studying the Columbia Waterfront District under the direction of Pratt profs and Carroll Gardeners Vicki Weiner and John Shapiro. They researched local history, interviewed residents and businessowners and examined things from this angle and that. The goal? A comprehensive plan for our neighborhood's future.

Now the school year over and work is done. Come see the students present their plan! Everyone is welcome. Here's the info:

When: Thursday, May 6, 6:30 p.m.

Where: Long Island College Hospital, Conference Room A

Your Weekly Public Services News Roundup

EDUCATION

Times Union: New York education interest groups sue over delay in state aid

NY Times: State Teachers’ Union Urges More Oversight of Charters

NY Post: School tests to bring the flunk

NY Times: Last Teacher in, First Out? City Has Another Idea

Gotham Gazette: A Harlem School Bets on Technology

NY Times: For School Company, Issues of Money and Control

NY Post: Teachers’ lobby has its $way

NY Post: Charter ultimatum: Pol seeks quota on special-needs kids

NY Post: Outrage as school bigs boo$t bosses

NY Times: In Shake Up, Principals May Get More Say Over What Is Taught

Wall Street Journal: Teacher Absences Plague Schools

NY Daily News: Even After Education Department revamps ratings, only four city principals net failing grades

NY Times: City Pushes Shift for Special Education

NY Post: Tisch charter power play

Wall Street Journal: Schools Stockpile Taxpayers’ Cash

PUBLIC SAFETY

Brooklyn Eagle: Man Pleads Guilty in Plot to Bomb Subway

NY Daily News: Pols, NYPD clash over airing real-time info smashups

TRANSPORTATION

NY Times: More than 200,000 a Day Are Now Cycling

NY Times: Study Questions Number of Cyclists in New York

NY Post: New $hortfall fear for MTA

Brooklyn Eagle: Brooklyn Growth Shows in Subway Ridership Figures

NY1: MTA Board Approved Capital Construction Plan

City Limits: White House: Congrestion Pricing On The Table

NY Times: M.T.A. Plans More Rounds off Layoffs by July 4

NY Times: Train Stopped Safely by ‘Dead-Man Features’

NY Post: MTA approves $1B deal to develop Hudson Yards

Jane's Walk Comes to Columbia Waterfront

On 5/1/10, there will be a walking tour of the Columbia St. Waterfront as part of the nationwide Jane's Walk series in honor of Jane Jacobs. The walk will discuss neighborhood history as well as current issues being faced. Participation is free of charge.

Date: May 1, 2010
Time: 4-5:30 p.m.
Who: Wylie Goodman
Where: Meet at the corner of Columbia and Summit Street in front of the Summit Street Garden
What: How Our Neighborhood Has Changed: An Eclectic History of the Columbia Waterfront with Stories from Its Past and Present

Info: Jane's Walk

Your Thursday Public Services News Roundup

EDUCATION

NY Times: Teachers Set Deal With City on Discipline Process

NY Times: Small Vendors Left Out of Schools’ Book Purchasing

NY Post: Harlem showdown: Parents fume as pol takes on charters

NY Times: School Districts Warn of Deeper Teacher Cuts

NY Times: Regents Plan New Route to Master’s in Teaching

NY Daily News: Nepotism, conflict of interest find a home at charter schools

NY Post: Academies’ troubling ‘wait’ gain

Brooklyn Eagle: Parents, Workers Protest Day Care Center Closings

PUBLIC SAFETY

NY Daily News: Bloomberg’s gun control group airs ad with Columbine footage urging background checks for gun sales

NY Times: Leading Poisoning Proves a Stubborn Nemesis

Brooklyn Eagle: Report from 76^th Precinct

Brooklyn Paper: Area Kids is robbed

TRANSPORTATION

Gotham Gazette: Spending Freeze Deals Another Blow to Ailing Roads and Bridges

NY Post: Rail chief quits over gov’s "lies"

Tribeca Trib: Brooklyn Bridge Rehab Will Soon Begin

Fox 5 News: NYC Prepares to Cope with Bus Service Changes

Gotham Gazette: How ‘Transit-Oriented Development’ Will Put More New Yorkers in Cars

NY Post: Feds probe rail-project $$ bungle

Brooklyn Eagle: Goodbye B75, B77; Hello Longer B57, B61

UTILITIES

NY 1: State Lawmakers Slam Proposed Water Rate Hike

BQE Enhancement Project Workshop Scheduled

The long awaited workshop has been scheduled for Tuesday, May 4. This will be the first of three workshops for the project. We encourage everyone to attend and meet the designers and tell them your observations, concerns and ideas for the BQE trench.


6:30 - 8:30pm at Long Island College Hospital 339 Hicks Street, Brooklyn, NY in the Avram Conference room.

Please RSVP to bqe@nycedc.com Hope to see you there!

Free Sail on the Clipper City

Columbia Waterfront Neighborhood Association has five tickets for a free sail on the Clipper City tall ship. They are available to community residents on a first-come first-served basis. The tickets were made available by PortSide NewYork, New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), and Manhattan By Sail Inc.

Please come to 78 Union Street tomorrow, 4/21, after 1:00pm to pick them up. There is a limit of two per person.

Speak Out About Water Rate Hikes

The New York State Department of Environmental Protection is holding public forums next month on a proposed 12.9 percent water rate hike. According to New York 1, the proposal would increase the average water bill by $8 a month. If you want to speak out about the proposal, here's info about the Brooklyn forum:

Thursday, May 13

Doors open at 6 p.m., public hearing at 7 p.m.

Public School 105

211 72nd St., Brooklyn

Tree Giveaway

Free trees made available to individuals, families and community groups. Sponsored by Green Fort Greene and Clinton Hill and the FAB Alliance Tree Giveaway in partnership with Million Trees NYC and New York Restoration Project and through the support of Bloomberg Philanthropies and David Rockefeller.

More information: Tree Giveaway Info
and: Tree Giveaway Poster

Saturday April 17 and Sunday April 18 10:00a - 3:00p
Putnam Triangle (Putnam Ave and Fulton Street) Brooklyn, NY

Public Services News Roundup

Today starts a little experiment.

Every Thursday from now on, I'll post a week's worth of links to public services-related articles from local media. And I'll ask all you neighbors and readers to chip in. What'd I miss? What'd the papers miss? What's your opinion?

CoWNA's Public Services Committee is concerned with education, public safety, sanitation, transportation and utilities -- that's what these articles are concerned with, too.

Here's this week's news:

EDUCATION

NY Times: Bill Would Allow Layoffs of Teachers With Seniority

Brooklyn Daily Eagle: New Schools, Changes Planned in Brooklyn for This September

PUBLIC SAFETY

NY Post: 911 upgrade off hook

NY Post: City’s crime spike worse

Brooklyn Daily Eagle: Subterranean Police Presence Protects Subways from Terror

Brooklyn Paper: More burglary at Trader Joe’s

City Limits: Where the Murders Are

SANITATION

NY Times: New Laws Would Expand City’s Recycling Program

TRANSPORTATION

NY Daily News: Marty Markowitz lays into DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan for being bicycling 'zealot'

am New York: G train taking a hit before service cuts roll out

NY Times: To Save Millions, M.T.A. Simply Asked Vendors for a Break

NY Daily News: Port Authority payroll jumps $15,000,000 in a year, says Empire Center for New York State Policy

WPIX: Cash Strapped MTA Spending $30,000 on Newspapers

Brooklyn Paper: Cops to bikers: Don’t make us clean up after you

Brooklyn Daily Eagle: Brooklyn Welcomes Bike-Friendly Policy

CoWNA Public Services Committee Meeting 4/13

CoWNA's Public Services Committee is meeting again. On the agenda:

• Reviewing progress on fixing local traffic problems
• Brainstorming next steps for saving public transportation
• Whatever else you want to tackle

Want to join us?

When: Tuesday, April 13, 7:00-8:00 p.m.

Where: Postgraduate Center for Mental Health, 177 Columbia St. (just north of Degraw)

Sunday: 25th Senate District Community Convention

State Senator Daniel Squadron is hosting his district's second annual community convention this weekend.

What is it? An opportunity for Columbia Street Waterfront folks and other residents of the 25th State Senate District to get together and hash out an agenda for our community and our representatives in Albany. From health care to housing, I'm sure folks will be talking about it all.

When: Sunday, April 11, 2:00-5:00 p.m.

Where: Borough of Manhattan Community College, 199 Chambers Street (at Greenwhich)

Info: Rosemarie Diaz, 212-298-5565 or rdiaz@senate.state.ny.us

Saturday: Columbia Street Tree Brigade Kickoff

CoWNA and the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative are launching the Columbia Street Tree Brigade this weekend -- and we want you to join us. Expect a whole lot of aerating, mulching and watering up and down Columbia St. this Saturday. Questions? Email cbarker1{a}gmail.com

Better Biking in Brooklyn

The Transportation Committee of Community Board 6 has set up a short online survey to help committeemembers advocate for safer, better bicycling in the CB6 district -- which, of course, include the Columbia Waterfront District. Take a minute to fill it out!

Have You Filled Out Your Census Form Yet?

I bet not. How do I know? Because of this handy 2010 Census National Participation Rate Map:

http://2010.census.gov/2010census/take10map/

Fewer than 43 percent of Columbia Waterfront residents have sent in their forms, and in one part of our neighborhood, the number is a pathetic 21 percent!

It's just 10 simple questions, and will only take 10 minutes, so don't wait. The deadline is April 15.

The census helps determine how $400 billion in federal funds are distributed. By filling out your census form, you're helping to ensure that our neighborhood gets its fair share for infrastructure and services.

Not sure how to fill out your form? Head to the Community Board 6 District Office. Census workers are there to help you.

When: Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 11:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.

Where: 250 Baltic St., between Clinton and Court