Notes From The Community Board 12 Meeting At PS 230
Community leaders, police and other residents attended the Community Board 12 meeting held at PS 230 Tuesday evening — the first time CB 12 has held a meeting in Kensington in two years — and discussed a wide range of issues impacting our neighborhood.
In his welcoming remarks, Councilman Brad Lander thanked CB 12 for holding the meeting in the neighborhood and then went on to promote the new NYC Department of Transportation proposed plaza, a triangle at Avenue C and McDonald, which must be approved by the CB 12 Transportation Committee and the full board before installation can begin. This vote is tentatively scheduled for the June 23 CB 12 meeting.
In other park news, he said he has arranged with the Parks Department to have a “Playground in a Box,” along with a Parks’ playground associate, to guide activities Sunday through Thursday afternoons at the basketball court at Dome Playground for children (and their parents) displaced because of the year-long renovation.
Participatory budgeting, which Lander started in the 39th District, has picked up speed citywide. In District 39 its proposals garnered 2,688 votes, while 51,362 New Yorkers cast their votes for projects in their council districts.
About 15 people from the neighborhood spoke at the board’s public comment period Tuesday evening. Among the issues mentioned were too much noise from motorcyclists zooming along Ocean Parkway; many traffic problems, including lack of a left turn stoplight on Ocean Parkway; through trucks using Route 27 as a shortcut to Queens on a road which is restricted to local trucks; and cops not monitoring this, or other traffic issues, thoroughly.
One board member introduced a resolution to lift the 25 mph speed limit, recently imposed on Ocean Parkway, and restore it to 30 mph. He claimed the slower speed was more dangerous.
Concerned about rumors they’d heard, several people wondered what was in the works for the new construction planned near Bergament and whether residents would be permitted to review the plans–and modify them if necessary,
In addition, a CB12 spokeswoman said another five-story Orthodox Jewish high school has been proposed for construction at 182 Minna Street, in the middle of a residential block. There will be a presentation and discussion of that variance at a June 15 public hearing to be held 7pm at the Amico Senior Center, 5901 13th Avenue, in Borough Park.
Captain Kenneth Quick, of the 66th Precinct, spoke after the public comment period, telling the audience he was taking “copious notes” on the parking and traffic violations. Still, he pointed out, the precinct had been busy: it issued over 1,100 summons in the past 28 days. He encouraged people to have faith in the 311 system. He said the precinct checks it regularly and makes sure all calls are answered. Moreover,in the past 28-day period precinct crime was down more than 9 percent, he said.
