This the fledgling blog site for the Columbia Waterfront Neighborhood Association. Please check back for updates, new options and new ways to contact the CoWNA officers and committee chairpersons directly.
-Mike Webster,
President, CoWNA
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
2 Announcements
Greenway Cleanup- It's not officially open yet, but a half-mile off-street segment of the Greenway on Columbia Street, south of Atlantic Avenue was paved this week and is being actively used by bicyclists, walkers and runners! Brooklyn Greenway Initiative (BGI) in collaboration with Columbia Waterfront Neighborhood Association (CoWNA) will be holding a mini-clean up along the new route this Saturday, August 9th from 12 noon to 2 pm to get the Greenway in tip-top shape for the anticipated rush of new users. Meet at BGI's office- 145 Columbia Street and bring your gardens gloves and trowels are also welcome to pull up the most stubborn weeds.We supply tools, bags, and water. RSVP to Brian at bmccormick@brooklyngreenway.org.
The Future of New York City Schools- State Senator Martin Connor is hosting a community forum for parents and education professionals about the future of New York City's schools. In light of the expiration in 2009 of the legislation that gave the Mayor control of the school system, the Senator is looking for opinions and feedback regarding the current state of the City's schools. The forum is Tuesday, August 12 from 5:00-8:00 pm at Brooklyn Borough hall, 209 Joralemon St. For more information, visit: http://www.nyssenate25.com
-Lars
The Future of New York City Schools- State Senator Martin Connor is hosting a community forum for parents and education professionals about the future of New York City's schools. In light of the expiration in 2009 of the legislation that gave the Mayor control of the school system, the Senator is looking for opinions and feedback regarding the current state of the City's schools. The forum is Tuesday, August 12 from 5:00-8:00 pm at Brooklyn Borough hall, 209 Joralemon St. For more information, visit: http://www.nyssenate25.com
-Lars
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Pre-K Admissions
Dear All,
The pre-Kindergarten admission process in New York City for the 2008-2009 school year has been a source of great frustration for parents within the Columbia Street District and neighboring areas. Being well aware of the fact that there that there is no guarantee for a slot in a public pre-K program and that siblings are prioritized in the admission process, the pre-K programs of P.S. 29, 58 and 261 offer approximately 165 slots, which should cover the needs of the neighborhood. The admissions process has previously been an application followed by a lottery for those who do not have siblings in the school, but for the 2008-2009 school year, the Department of Education decided to centralize the admissions process and outsource the entire process to a private company in Pennsylvania together with the admissions for the Gifted and Talented Kindergarten programs.
Having applied to pre-K programs on behalf of my son, I found a remarkable lack of transparency in the application process, and a true dearth of useful information. I received a rejection letter from the NYC Board of Education Office of Student Enrollment claiming that there will be another opportunity for pre-Kindergarten placement starting June 23, although no further details were provided. Telephone conversations with the helpful staff of School District 15 and P.S. 29 revealed additional amounts of frustration and confusion due to the lack of information from the Board of Education, and they claimed that this would lead to planning difficulties for the coming school year.
According to the DoE, 20,000 pre-K applications submitted, and 17,000 children were offered seats, though not all to their first-choice schools. Three thousand families received no placement at all. In many cases, sibling preference was ignored. The DoE claimed that these issues were subsequently addressed after a reapplication process that ended on July 18, although there are apparently still 120 unresolved cases within New York City. As for P.S. 29, this particular school was not included on the list of schools that were applicable for pre-K reapplication, since P.S. 29 pre-K classes were supposedly already filled up. However, the P.S. 29 PTA and pre-K coordinator claim that eight to ten pre-K students register without enrolling every year, and since the DoE is not providing a wait list, P.S. 29 may very well have to provide their own local wait list, thus having to do the job that the centralization was supposed to eliminate. The cost of the centralization, the outsourcing and the subsequent extra resources that have been devoted to reapplications and extra planning are unknown, but it seems reasonable to assume a hefty price tag.
Although it seems to be too late to correct these issues for the 2008-2009 school year, the pre-K admissions process should be monitored and scrutinized for the 2009-2010 school year. With an increasing amount of young children in our neighbourhood, parents need to be informed in good time of these pitfalls and problems when applying to pre-K and other public education programs. Also, the effects of the centralization on the educational planning of the schools within School District 15 should be evaluated, since a potential lowering of public education standards may very well have an indirect effect on real estate prices within the Columbia Street District, not to mention our children.
Some links of interest:
http://www.brooklyneagle.com/categories/category.php?category_id=27&id=21721
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/29/nyregion/29schools.html?scp=1&sq=pre-k&st=cse
http://www.gopetition.com/online/20080.html
Sincerely,
Frederick Fooy
The pre-Kindergarten admission process in New York City for the 2008-2009 school year has been a source of great frustration for parents within the Columbia Street District and neighboring areas. Being well aware of the fact that there that there is no guarantee for a slot in a public pre-K program and that siblings are prioritized in the admission process, the pre-K programs of P.S. 29, 58 and 261 offer approximately 165 slots, which should cover the needs of the neighborhood. The admissions process has previously been an application followed by a lottery for those who do not have siblings in the school, but for the 2008-2009 school year, the Department of Education decided to centralize the admissions process and outsource the entire process to a private company in Pennsylvania together with the admissions for the Gifted and Talented Kindergarten programs.
Having applied to pre-K programs on behalf of my son, I found a remarkable lack of transparency in the application process, and a true dearth of useful information. I received a rejection letter from the NYC Board of Education Office of Student Enrollment claiming that there will be another opportunity for pre-Kindergarten placement starting June 23, although no further details were provided. Telephone conversations with the helpful staff of School District 15 and P.S. 29 revealed additional amounts of frustration and confusion due to the lack of information from the Board of Education, and they claimed that this would lead to planning difficulties for the coming school year.
According to the DoE, 20,000 pre-K applications submitted, and 17,000 children were offered seats, though not all to their first-choice schools. Three thousand families received no placement at all. In many cases, sibling preference was ignored. The DoE claimed that these issues were subsequently addressed after a reapplication process that ended on July 18, although there are apparently still 120 unresolved cases within New York City. As for P.S. 29, this particular school was not included on the list of schools that were applicable for pre-K reapplication, since P.S. 29 pre-K classes were supposedly already filled up. However, the P.S. 29 PTA and pre-K coordinator claim that eight to ten pre-K students register without enrolling every year, and since the DoE is not providing a wait list, P.S. 29 may very well have to provide their own local wait list, thus having to do the job that the centralization was supposed to eliminate. The cost of the centralization, the outsourcing and the subsequent extra resources that have been devoted to reapplications and extra planning are unknown, but it seems reasonable to assume a hefty price tag.
Although it seems to be too late to correct these issues for the 2008-2009 school year, the pre-K admissions process should be monitored and scrutinized for the 2009-2010 school year. With an increasing amount of young children in our neighbourhood, parents need to be informed in good time of these pitfalls and problems when applying to pre-K and other public education programs. Also, the effects of the centralization on the educational planning of the schools within School District 15 should be evaluated, since a potential lowering of public education standards may very well have an indirect effect on real estate prices within the Columbia Street District, not to mention our children.
Some links of interest:
http://www.brooklyneagle.com/categories/category.php?category_id=27&id=21721
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/29/nyregion/29schools.html?scp=1&sq=pre-k&st=cse
http://www.gopetition.com/online/20080.html
Sincerely,
Frederick Fooy
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
7/24/2008 General meeting agenda
Our next general meeting is scheduled for Thursday July 24th.
Agenda:
- updates from the committees - finalizing a statement of goals for rezoning our neighborhood
- traffic through the neighborhood (specifically the Ikea shuttle route).
We are also pleased to welcome:
- Craig Hammerman, District Manager CB6 and candidate for City Council's 39th district
- John Heyer, Brooklyn Borough President's representative to CB6 and candidate for City Council's 39th district
- Jo Anne Simon, candidate for City Council's 33rd district
FYI: The City Council has, among other things, the power to review land use issues and approve zoning changes, housing and urban renewal plans, community development plans and the disposition of city-owned property. This might be a great opportunity to voice our views and hear where these candidates stand.
Location: Jalopy Theater and School of Music, 315 Columbia Street between Woodhull and Rapelye.
Time: 6:30pm
We hope to see you there!
Lars Schlichting VP CoWNA
Agenda:
- updates from the committees - finalizing a statement of goals for rezoning our neighborhood
- traffic through the neighborhood (specifically the Ikea shuttle route).
We are also pleased to welcome:
- Craig Hammerman, District Manager CB6 and candidate for City Council's 39th district
- John Heyer, Brooklyn Borough President's representative to CB6 and candidate for City Council's 39th district
- Jo Anne Simon, candidate for City Council's 33rd district
FYI: The City Council has, among other things, the power to review land use issues and approve zoning changes, housing and urban renewal plans, community development plans and the disposition of city-owned property. This might be a great opportunity to voice our views and hear where these candidates stand.
Location: Jalopy Theater and School of Music, 315 Columbia Street between Woodhull and Rapelye.
Time: 6:30pm
We hope to see you there!
Lars Schlichting VP CoWNA
Monday, April 7, 2008
4/17/2008 General meeting agenda
Columbia Waterfront Neighborhood Association (CoWNA) has scheduled their next general meeting for Thursday, April 17th.
The meeting will start promptly at 7:00 pm at:
Jalopy, 315 Columbia St. (btwn. Woodhull & Rapeleye sts.)
The agenda will include:
Updates from the Land Use, Public Services and Parks/Greening committees.
Discussion of new issues relating to development and re-zoning efforts.
Update on the Columbia and VanBrunt St. reconstructions.
Norman Cox
The meeting will start promptly at 7:00 pm at:
Jalopy, 315 Columbia St. (btwn. Woodhull & Rapeleye sts.)
The agenda will include:
Updates from the Land Use, Public Services and Parks/Greening committees.
Discussion of new issues relating to development and re-zoning efforts.
Update on the Columbia and VanBrunt St. reconstructions.
Norman Cox
Sunday, November 4, 2007
11/8/2007 General meeting agenda
The Third open meeting of the year of the Columbia Waterfront Neighborhood Association will be Thursday, November 8 at 7:30 at Jalopy Theatre - 315 Columbia St. btwn. Woodhull & Rapelye Sts.
The agenda will include:
1. Election of officers for 2008.
2. Updates from each standing committee:
-Land Use
-Public Services
-Parks & Open Space
-Communications
3. Provide information concerning the 150+ unit residential development proposal for Congress/ Warren/ Baltic Sts. 4. Solicit feedback on the new Columbia St. traffic patterns.
Please attend and tell your neighbors. See you there!
Mike Webster
The agenda will include:
1. Election of officers for 2008.
2. Updates from each standing committee:
-Land Use
-Public Services
-Parks & Open Space
-Communications
3. Provide information concerning the 150+ unit residential development proposal for Congress/ Warren/ Baltic Sts. 4. Solicit feedback on the new Columbia St. traffic patterns.
Please attend and tell your neighbors. See you there!
Mike Webster
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Columbia Street traffic conditions - please respond
The Public Services Committee (PSC) of Columbia Waterfront Neighborhood Association is compiling information regarding unsafe and hazardous conditions that have surfaced in the neighborhood, particularly in light of Columbia Street reverting back to 2-way traffic south of Degraw Street.
If anyone has observed such conditions, please forward your comments and include photographs, if possible, so that the PSC can, as a first step, comprehensively identify the range of problems. PSC will then use this information to inform what remedial actions are available and which actions are pursued.
In the meantime, we strongly encourage you to call 311 and Community Board Six at 718.643.3027 to document your concerns. Please also consider joining the PSC so you can help us with our work of creating a safe and pleasant experience for all who live, work or visit the Columbia Waterfront District.
Thank you!
Meg Fellerath
If anyone has observed such conditions, please forward your comments and include photographs, if possible, so that the PSC can, as a first step, comprehensively identify the range of problems. PSC will then use this information to inform what remedial actions are available and which actions are pursued.
In the meantime, we strongly encourage you to call 311 and Community Board Six at 718.643.3027 to document your concerns. Please also consider joining the PSC so you can help us with our work of creating a safe and pleasant experience for all who live, work or visit the Columbia Waterfront District.
Thank you!
Meg Fellerath
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