On Thursday, June 9, Community Board 8, representing the northern section of Crown Heights, held its final meeting before the summer hiatus.
The meeting started with a moment of silence for the recently deceased chair of the Senior Committee, Kim Albert. Chairperson Nizjoni Granville recalled Albert as "good at getting things done" and "good at motivating people to get things done." She described Albert's death as "quite a loss" to the board.
The chairperson also announced that Community Board 8 has received 6 new members.
Updates from Elected Officials
A representative from the office of Council member Robert Cornegy announced that there will be a veteran's resource fair at Restoration Plaza on Monday, June 27. A representative of Assemblyman Walter Mosely shared the release of the office's monthly newsletter. Senator Jesse Hamilton will host a Health and Service Fair on Saturday, June 11, as well as a mental health townhall meeting next Wednesday June 15.
Presentations
- The Civilian Complaint Review Board gave an informational presentation explaining how they provide police-civilian mediation. If you are uncertain about an encounter you have had with a police office, the CCRB advises that you contact them.
- NYC Emergency Management spoke about the services they provide, including assisting the NYPD and FDNY at the site of an emergency and educating the public on emergency planning through Ready NYC and the Citizen Preparedness Corp. NYC Emergency Management also trains volunteers so they can help their neighbors if an emergency occurs in their neighborhood.
- The Social Science Resource Council wanted to unveil their website data2go.nyc; however, due to technical difficulties, they will return at a later time. In the meantime, they advocate checking out the website, which has complied all recent community data from the city, state and federal governments all in one place.
Action Items
- The board unanimously voted to accept the Parks Committee's recommendation to support the redesign of Lincoln Terrance Park.
- The board also voted to adopt the Housing Committee's stance against granting a certificate of appropriateness towards 615 Eastern Parkway's planned street front additions. Additionally, the board agreed with the committee's decision to support the front yard changes for 888 St. John's Place.
- The Housing Committee presented two amendments to a previous resolution asking the NYC Department of City Planning to "study the potential for rezoning the blocks bordered by Grand Avenue, Franklin Avenue, Bergen Street and Atlantic Avenue currently zoned M1-1 to a new type of mixed use zone intended to attract new jobs to the district, and to encourage the creation of affordable housing." The first amendment would incentivize property owners to use their property for commercial and manufacturing uses, while the second amendment would allow property owners to transfer their obligation to develop commercial and manufacturing spaces to another property owner in the area. The board voted to support the committee's recommendation.
- The board approved of the SLA and Sidewalk Cafe Review Committee decision to support two applications for alcohol licenses. It also backed the committee's decision to support the alteration application of 295 Flatbush Avenue.
Public Announcements
Staff Sergeant Terry from the Citizen Preparedness Corp invited the community to request his emergency planning presentations for any formal gathering.
A representative from the Green Arts Poets Cafe informed the community of its upcoming memorial for Council member James Davis on July 23.
