Park Slope Area Safety Update & Advice

As most people in the area have heard, there have been a string of sexual assaults and attempts in the South Slope area and surrounding neighborhoods and the police seem to be focused on a single suspect. Councilman Lander's website has some important and helpful information regarding the investigation and what we can do to protect ourselves and our neighbors from such attacks:  http://bradlander.com/blog/2011/09/10/safety-in-our-community

There are several upcoming meetings to discuss these incidents and a community response:

On September 13th, the 72nd Precinct is holding its monthly precinct community council meeting. This is your opportunity to speak directly to those responsible for keeping us safe. The meeting will be at 7:30 PM at Marien Heim Center at 4520 4th Avenue.
On September 14 at 8:00 PM, Safe Slope, a new organization of members of our community, has organized a Take Back the Night rally to show our collective resistance to sexual assault. I will be there and I hope you join me. The rally will be at Prospect Avenue and 4th Avenue, by the R train stop.

Safe Slope is also seeking volunteers to help ensure that women and LGBTQ people in our neighborhood have safe spaces to go to or people to walk with if they feel threatened. If you would like to help, contact safeslope@gmail.com.

  As much as we would like to rely on the police, they cannot be all places at all times and an attacker is unlikely to make an attempt with police in sight, so we need to do what we can to protect ourselves and neighbors.  Councilman Lander's website  has information on several upcoming self-defense seminars that will be held locally in the near future.

Reform of Animal Care & Control

It's been a while since my last post but this NY 1 article/video caught my eye.  http://manhattan.ny1.com/content/top_stories/145447/officials-call-for-animal-care-and-control-overhaul?r=1196400457

The City really needs to do some different and creative to get in front of this issue.  The status quo of a crowded shelters with long euthanasia lists for healthy and adoptable animals is just not acceptable.  In these times of budgetary constraints animals, not surpringly, lose out to other priorities, like not laying off teachers or police officers, or closing down more firehouses.  That being said, this doesn't mean that we, as a City of people (not just as a government) can't do more with less, and do more by doing what we do better.  Aside from establishing ACC as an independent or non-profit agency so it doesn't get marginalized within a large agency with other major priorities, the City can do more to involve people in helping the animals through better public education and providing incentives.

A strong early intervention program targetted into the city's schools, both public and private, could go a long way to preventing the proliferation of animal births due to uneducated or irresponsible pet owners, and to reduce the continued reliance by city residents on pet stores and puppy mills that mass produce pets while needy animals are euthanized. Every pet purchase is an opportunity lost to ease the dangerous overcrowding of our shelters and rescues.  The City should take at least a symbolic stand against puppy mills and the pets stores who support them.  One way that this could be done, and which would be similar to what the City has done to stores that sell tobacco, is to require stores that sell animals to prominently post a sign that advises customers to consider adopting a pet from ACC or other rescue groups, and to have brochures on hand for customers that give them contact information for such agencies.

The City should also incentivize a strong foster and adoption program by providing city income tax deductions, or even a standard credit, for foster and adoption expenses associated with shelter animals.  Such a law should make expenses of caring for a pet (food & medical care) tax deductible for several years for up to two pets.  This would encourage responsible adoption of pets and help ease crowding in our shelters.  It would also probably pay for itself, at least to some extent, through savings to ACC.

If we get more creative on this issue, and more active, we can do a lot more to help these animals by creating a more capable system that taps into the tremendous resources and compassion of the City's millions of residents.

Join a Community Board 6 Committee, Apps Due Soon

Here is a great opportunity if you are interested in working to improve the neighborhood, there several committees that deal with different subject matter that you may be interested in.

Here is the announcement from the CB6 website and a link to the application, which contains instructions on how to apply:

How do I join a CB6 Committee?
Although CB6 committee membership must be composed primarily of a majority of Board Members, membership is also open to Non-Board Members as well. This allows for broader, grassroots public representation on the Community Board’s standing committees, and encourages and facilitates citizen participation in local government within our communities. The Brooklyn CB6 district includes the neighborhoods of Carroll Gardens/South Brooklyn, Cobble Hill, Columbia Street District, Gowanus, Park Slope, and Red Hook.

Individuals who wish to serve on a committee can download the form by clicking below and returning it to the CB6 District Office at 250 Baltic Street (between Court/Clinton Streets), Monday through Friday between the hours of 10AM and 4PM, or fax it to (718) 624-8410. Appointments to committees for a one-year term are effective September 1. Non-Board Members who are appointed to a committee enjoy the same participatory rights and are expected to fulfill the same member-related responsibilities as Board Members serving on committees.

BROOKLYN CB6 COMMITTEES OPEN TO PUBLIC PARTICIPANTS:

• Economic/Waterfront/Community Development & Housing
• Landmarks/Land Use
• Parks/Recreation/Cultural Affairs
• Public Safety/Environmental Protection/Permits & Licenses
• Transportation
• Youth/Human Services/Education

Committee Membership Request forms must be received at the District Office by the end of June for consideration in initial annual reconstitution of committees. Additional requests for membership may be made at any other time throughout the year, but appointments will be made based on the availability of openings.

CB6 non-bd member committee application

What are the Rules for Local Bars and Restaurants?

The following blurb is an announcement from Community Board 6.  This is a good meeting to attend if you are interested in learning about the rules that local bars and restaurants must follow.  This will also be a great opportunity for community members to express concerns or questions to local and state officials.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
An Informational Meeting

In an effort to better understand the rules and regulations governing restaurants and bars in our district, representatives from State Liquor Authority, City agencies and local precincts will be on hand to answer any questions in respect to noise, smoking, backyard usage, garbage and other related issues.

Please join us on:

DATE: Tuesday, May 17, 2011

TIME: 6:00 pm

PLACE: 78th Police Precinct

65 6th Avenue, Auditorium

(between Bergen & Dean Streets)

Bring your neighbors! Bring your friends!

Find out what's going on.

Leroy P. Branch Jr.
Assistant District Manager
Brooklyn Community Board 6
250 Baltic Street
Brooklyn, New York 11201-6401

t. (718) 643-3027, ext. 204
f. (718) 624-8410
e. adm@BrooklynCB6.org
w. www.BrooklynCB6.org

Benefit concert to support Neonatal Intensive Care Unit @ Mt. Sinai Hospital

Music for Aardvarks Benefit Concert 6/4/2011http://spsounds.com/

A friend of mine is putting on a benefit concert to raise money for
the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Mt. Sinai hospital. Looks like it
will be a fun time for a great cause...check it out!

June 4th at Southpaw on 5th Avenue in Park Slope, featuring David
Weinstone and Music for Aardvarks!

Event info:http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=219142378112519&id=555024615&ref=notif¬if_t=share_reply#!/event.php?eid=198584936849792

Buy Tickets: http://www.ticketweb.com/t3/sale/SaleEventDetail?dispatch=loadSelectionData&eventId=3672675

Prospect Park West Bike Lanes, Community Input into the Design

Community Board 6 recently and unanimously approved certain design modifications to the controversial bike lane along PPW.  I have attached the letter from CB6 to the NYC DOT which responds to certain modifications that DOT was planning and includes other ideas that had community support.  The overall theme was to (1) make the lanes fit better with the historic nature of the area, (2) improve visibility of cyclists and pedestrian safety, (3) reduce impacts on traffic and parking.  It will be interesting to watch the lane develop over the coming months and years:

http://www.brooklyncb6.org/_attachments/2011-04-20%20CB6%20PPW%20Modifications.pdf

NYC Subway Etiquette, stuff you should know if you ride!

It's hard to believe that some people who ride the subway everyday don't know the basic etiquette of what is and isn't appropriate to do when you're on the subway.  Obviously, there are some tourists who may get a pass, but most of the craziness I see comes from people who seem to be regular riders. 

So, in the interest of clarifying "da rules", I have put this top ten list of stuff NOT to do while you're on the subway, and which might potentially get you into a down and dirty brawl!  I tried to include rules that I think most if not all of us would agree on, though obviously many of us have personal preferences that are hard to impose on everyone.  Here's a website where you can find, or send, pictures of some pretty extreme subway stupidity: http://www.subwaydouchery.com/

Now, DA RULES on what NOT to do:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=az4qASdPD4Y
1) Stand fully in the doorway when the train stops.  Yes, this pisses most of us off.  At the very least turn sideways to allow people to get in and out, or better yet, take a step into the train if there is room, or out of the train to open up the doorway. 

2) Have a three-course meal on the subway.  Did you see this video?  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=az4qASdPD4Y  This is what happens when a fine italian diner meets an annoyed commuter and go at it.  While certain MTA board members have recently supported a food ban, the MTA Chairman and most riders oppose it.  Eating on the subway is a matter of degree and common sense.  I think there are some basic guidelines that would go a long way to resolving the problem: (1) if it smells, don't eat it, (2) nothing that involves sauce, a plate, tupperware or utensils, (3) if it can fit in your pocket and not cause a mess, go for it. 

3) Play a radio, music on your smartphone, or play an I-pod at maximum decibal levels.  If I can tell you what song you are listening from five feet away your music is too loud.  Chances are, your music sucks and at least half the people hearing it don't want to, so turn it down!

4) Get expanding crotch disorder.  This is mostly, but not exclusively a male phenomenon.  Usually occurs when self-important and rude people put a large bag between their legs or just plain old decide that their crotch needs several feet of breathing room, thus expanding the person's legs into the seats on the left and right.  This says, screw you, I am worth three seats and you get to stand till I get where I'm going.  I saw a lady the other day who had this and she also added a foot of her trench coat into the next seat. When a passenger sat down and brushed her jacket aside, she gave her the look of death and a brawl almost broke out.

5) Be the oversized backpack guy.  This guy goes to the gym and is badass.  He wears a backpack that is overstuffed and slams it into everyone on the train, refusing to take it off and put it by his side or on the floor. Take off the bag and wake up!

6) Be the pole rider.  This means: I am too friggin lazy to hold the poll so I will just lean my whole body on it. This means nobody else gets to hold the poll, and if they do, they get ass or a dandruff covered head on their hand. 

7) Do nail clipping and misc personal hygiene chores.  No.

8) Shoving or running past people at the edge of the platform when the train is approaching.  Please, don't run behind me as the train is approaching because you want to get to the other end of the platform.  Every year or so people get intentionally shoved on the tracks by someone who isn't thinking right.  To me, you and those people look pretty much the same and it pisses me off.  Figure out where you need to be before the train comes. 

9) Slow or distracted on the stairway.  If you are on the stairs or escalator and are crawling, you should be on the right side.  The left side is for actual walking.  Under no circustances should you be in the middle of the stairs texting or talking on the phone as dozens of people get backed up behind you.   Wake up, besides, that is where people's phones very often get stolen.

10) Please comment, I'm sure I left something out!

New York to Convicts: Out of Jail, But Out of Work

Many people think of New York as a state of progressive politics and liberal ideals.  In some areas this is true, but in criminal justice policy, New York's laws do not convey a consistent policy that focuses on rehabilitation and reintegration of offenders into society. On one hand, we have substantially reformed the Rockefeller drug laws, created very effective specialized courts (though only in select areas of the state), and are beginning to adopt more comprehensive strategies to treat and rehabilitate offenders who are going back into society.  On the other hand, we have not addressed some of the most significant boundaries that offenders face in reintegration.  Our legislation has been piecemeal rather than comprehensive, and we have failed to address major barriers to reemployment for ex-offenders.

While there may be many factors that lead to unsuccessful reintegration, such as drug addiction, lack of social support, and lack of job skills, we clearly have done little to make it easy for ex-offenders to gain meaningful employment in the community.  As many of us know, even people with advanced degrees have difficulty finding jobs in the current economic climate, so imagine how difficult it is to find a job when you have to explain a criminal conviction. Short of a pardon by the Governor, New York has no mechanism for vacating a conviction based on the length of time passed since a conviction, the nature of a offense, or rehabilitation. In New York, a 60 year-old man with a larceny conviction from when he was 20 years-old will have to disclose such conviction upon request in every job application he files.  And while it is generally illegal not to hire someone simply for having a criminal record, most people who apply for a job have little ability to determine why they were not hired, nor do they have the resources to pursue their rights in the dark while fighting to find meaningful jobs and to support their families.

New York should join other states and pass legislation that allows convictions to be sealed or expunged after some period of time, perhaps a shorter period for misdemeanors and a longer period for non-violent felonies. Such legislation should allow ex-offenders to apply to an administrative agency, such as DCJS or a local probation department, that would review applications for evidence of rehabilitation and allow District Attorneys to object where appropriate. Such determinations could be appealed in court by either side. This would provide a process for ex-offenders to restore their rights, including the right to vote for some felons, and to be competitive in applying for jobs. The current policy, by placing barriers in front of ex-offenders, increases the chances that such individuals will reoffend (at a cost to all of us) and increases the likelihood that the cycle of poverty will continute in certain families and communities.

As of 2006, forty states allowed expungement or sealing of arrests not leading to conviction, and twenty-nine permitted an individual to deny the arrest. Sixteen states allowed expungement or sealing of convictions, and thirteen permitted an individual to deny the conviction. Ben Geiger, The Case for Treating Ex-Offenders as a Suspect Class, 94 Cal. L. Rev. 1191, 1200 (2006).  There have been proposals for such legislation in New York but none of have been passed.  All New York has is a Certificate of Relief from Disabilities process, which prevents certain automatic bars to some employment and licenses, but does nothing to prevent a potential employer from learning of a conviction in the first place.  It is time for New York to get in front of this issue and become a leader in fully integrating ex-offenders in our communities.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/New-York-State-conviction-relief-criminal-record-sealing-or-expungement/155682704460158

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110323/ts_yblog_thelookout/help-wanted-sixty-five-million-need-not-apply

Tearing the House Down in Prospect Park

The Brooklyn Eagle reported today that police raided and demolished a homeless man's "elaborate six-foot-tall house of twigs" which stood for months near the lake in Prospect Park. While the eviction is sad for this guy, who obviously put a lot of work into the house, it was inevitable that the law would step in.  After all, who wouldn't like to build a house on the lake in Prospect Park?  Ask your Realtor for a quote on that piece of land.....

http://brooklynpaper.com/stories/34/11/dtg_twighouse_2011_3_18_bk.html

Prescription Drug Disposal Day in Brooklyn!

Most people don't know that there are low levels of dozens of prescription and OTC drugs, as well as their chemical components, in our water supply and the health effects are largely unknown. This is partially a result of people flushing unused prescriptions.  For background, here is an article about this as a nationwide concern: http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-03-09-water_N.htm

Please consider bringing your unused drugs to the local collection sites listed in the US DEA announcement below: 
 ******************************************************************************
The U.S. Department of Justice's Drug Enforcement Administration is sponsoring a...
NATIONAL TAKE BACK INITIATIVE
APRIL 30, 2011, 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM

This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. More than seven million Americans currently abuse prescription drugs, according to the 2009 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration's National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Each day, approximately, 2,500 teens use prescription drugs to get high for the first time according to the Partnership for a Drug Free America. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including the home medicine cabinet.

In an effort to address this problem, DEA, in conjunction with state and local law enforcement agencies throughout the United States, conducted the first ever National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, September 25, 2010. The purpose of this National Take Back Day was to provide a venue for persons who wanted to dispose of unwanted and unused prescription drugs. This effort was a huge success in removing potentially dangerous prescription drugs, particularly controlled substances, from our nation's medicine cabinets. There were approximately 3,000 state and local law enforcement agencies throughout the nation that participated in the event. All told, the American Public turned in more than 121 tons of pills on this first National Take Back Day.

Due to the overwhelming success of the first event, DEA has scheduled the second National Prescription Drug Take Back Day which will take place on Saturday, April 30, 2011, from 10:00 am - 2:00 pm. This is a great opportunity for those who missed the first event or who have subsequently accumulated unwanted, unused prescription drugs, to safely dispose of them.

Two Take Back sites in the Brooklyn CB6 district include:

*NYPD 78th Police Precinct, 65 6th Avenue (between Dean & Bergen Streets)
*FDNY Engine 220/Ladder 122, 530 11th Street (between 7th & 8th Avenues)

New sites are being added to the list. Use link below to get most current listing, and to find a site near you!

http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drug_disposal/takeback/index.html

Reminder: Drugs that are flushed down the toilet may ultimately find their way into a nearby waterway, like the Gowanus Canal, particularly in the event of a Combined Sewer Overflow event. Help us keep our canal clean, sober and drug-free!