Monthly Minutes for the year 2008
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Archived Monthly Minutes

Minutes of Community Board 11’s General Meeting and Public Hearing
Held on January 10, 2008 at the
Holy Family Home, 1740 84th Street.

Table of Content
Public Portion
Minutes
Chairman's Report
Assemblyman Abbate
Assemblyman Colton
District Manager's Report
Attendance

The meeting was opened with Assemblyman Peter Abbate having the honor of leading the Pledge of Allegiance.

Public Portion

The Chairman inquired if anyone from the public sought recognition.  Hearing none, a motion was made by Bart Allegretti to close the public portion of the meeting.  Seconded by Tom Colasanto.  Unanimously adopted.

Minutes

A motion was made by Man Wai Lau to accept the minutes of November 8, 2007.  Seconded by Louis Crispiano.  Unanimously adopted.

Chairman’s Report

Mr. Guarinello wished everyone a belated Happy New Year.  He advised that the decision to cancel the December meeting was based on weather reports and warnings from the National Weather Service calling for dangerous icing conditions.

The Chairman advised that Carlo Scissura resigned from Community 11 in order to accept appointment as Chief Legal Counsel to Borough President Marty Markowitz. 

Mr. Guarinello announced with sadness that Milton Kramer, a long-time Board Member, who served the Bensonhurst community with commitment and dedication, is resigning from Community Board 11.  Mr. Kramer is re-locating to Lawrence, Long Island to be closer to his family.

Milton Kramer advised that he was born and raised in Bensonhurst, and was a community activist for many years.  He wished everyone the best of luck and success in making Bensonhurst the beautiful community that we live in.

Rabbi Gary Pollack advised that Milton Kramer also served on the Board of the Bensonhurst Council of Jewish Organizations, which is a benevolent association serving the entire community. 

Rabbi Pollack presented a Certificate of Affiliation to Milton Kramer on behalf of Bensonhurst COJO.

The Chairman advised that Victory Memorial Hospital is in its final stages of its future.  The legislators are working diligently to ensure that an emergency room remains open at the hospital. 

An Article 78 Hearing is scheduled for tomorrow, and It appears that favorable information has been received from the Department of Health that shows if Victory’s Emergency Room closes it would be a severe dislocation to the residents. 

The Chairman urged our residents to contact the State Department of Health and the Governor’s Office to let them know that we need our hospital.

Mr. Guarinello advised that the tollbooths on the Verrazano Bridge coming into Brooklyn from Staten Island are being removed in order to ameliorate traffic.  In addition, the bus lanes are being converted to a high occupancy vehicle lane. 

The Chairman discussed the crisis of illegal curb cuts.  He stated that many property owners throughout Bay Ridge and Bensonhurst are installing illegal curb cuts.  Although many of these property owners are receiving violations from the Department of Buildings, they are not restoring the curbs.

Marnee Elias-Pavia, Assistant District Manager, advised that a few years back the Board adopted a resolution regarding the proliferation of curb cuts.  The resolution called for the City to have the authority to restore illegal curb cuts and bill the property owner for the fees.

There was discussion regarding this issue and there was agreement that a letter be sent to our elected officials reiterating our position.

Mr. Guarinello advised that next month’s meeting would be held on Wednesday, February 13^th.

Assemblyman Abbate

Assemblyman Abbate wished everyone a happy New Year.

The Assemblyman advised that when Governor Pataki appointed the Berger Commission, the Assembly believed the intent was to formulate cost saving measures and not the drastic actions that were taken.  In addition, the Assembly voted to form a Commission to study on saving money on health care.  The Assembly never voted on the Berger Commission’s findings or recommendations. 

The Assemblyman discussed the need for affordable health care.  More funds are  needed on preventative health care. 

He also advised that more money was allocated for education.  In our district there are new schools being built at PS 229 and PS 163.

Assemblyman Colton

The Assemblyman wished everyone a happy and healthy new year.  He stated that the New Year promises many exciting matters for our  community.

The Assemblyman advised that the Department of Environmental Conservation will be holding a hearing on the Southwest Brooklyn Marine Transfer Station.  The hearing will be held on January 15, 2008, in the auditorium of the Shore Parkway Jewish Center located at 8885 26^th Avenue, from 4PM-6:30 PM and from 7 PM to 10 PM. 

He further stated that the community worked very hard to get DEC to hold this hearing.  The Department of Environmental Conservation appointed an Administrative Law Judge who will be presiding over the hearing.

Assemblyman Colton stated that this marine transfer station is not appropriate for our community.  Joel Kupperman, a renowned environmental attorney, has been retained to work on this matter.  He and the Assemblyman are working on a toxic targeting report, and that report shows that in the immediate area of Gravesend Bay, there are over 84 serious oil, petroleum and fuel spills that exist and many of them are leaching into the ground water.  He further stated that the area is contaminated and once the dredging begins these contaminates will be spread throughout the community.

Assemblyman Colton reported that he recently learned that the ash, produced from the incinerator operated by the Sanitation Department, was placed on an outside conveyor belt, which was not covered or sealed and then placed on an open barge. This ash was blown throughout our neighborhood, as well as falling into the water.

Monsignor Cassato inquired if there are any actions being considered by the Assembly to alleviate the financial burden on families who enroll their children in parochial schools.  He stated that families need some tax relief or vouchers to help them pay the tuitions. 

Assemblyman Colton stated that all children, whether they attend Yeshiva or parochial school, should receive support for their education.  This issue needs to be further researched based upon constitutional issues on funding private education.

Assemblyman Abbate stated that 2 years ago the Assembly approved a tax credit of $330 per child, which should be increased to defray tuition costs.

There was further discussion regarding this issue.

District Manager’s Report

Marnee Elias-Pavia, Assistant District Manager, discussed the illegal posting of flyers throughout our community.  She advised that she contacted and met with one of the moving companies who agreed to remove all of their signs. 

In addition, the Department of Sanitation Enforcement Division were notified of the illegal flyers, and on December 18^th through the 28^th, they sighted and removed 498 “moving” handbills from various fixtures on our streets.  They are currently investigating the responsible parties and Notices of Violation will be issued.

On December 14^th, a meeting was held with the Department of Transportation, local merchants, and the Police Department regarding the reconstruction of the 20^th Avenue Bridge.  At that meeting, we were advised that there would be a 10-month project delay due to fabrication issues, which include the Department of Transportation rejecting the steel beams due to non-conformance with contract specifications.  In addition, KeySpan had issues with the clearance of the gas mains and they are in the process of corrective work and will be completed by January 12^th and the actual bridge reconstruction will resume on Monday. 

The completion of the entire project is now scheduled for September 2008.

The Junior Golf Center at Dyker Beach Park is scheduled to open on June 1, 2008.  The Parks Department is installing the Greenstreet on Poly Place, which the Board previously requested for safety concerns.

The 62^nd Precinct Community Council will hold their regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, January 15^th at 7:30 PM at the 62^nd Precinct.

A motion was made by Bart Allegretti to adjourn.  Seconded by Eileen LaRuffa.  Unanimously adopted.