Civic Associations Seek Alliance
As GerritsenBeach.net noted earlier this week, several neighborhood civic associations in southern Brooklyn are planning to form an alliance. It is tentatively titled the South Brooklyn Civic Alliance, and is being established on the principle that “there’s strength in numbers.” Apparently, the alliance will help the groups coordinate their efforts and more effectively lobby members of the community boards and local politicians.
The whole plan is currently very… abstract. Ed Jaworski, the Vice President of the Madison-Marine-Homecrest Civic (one of the organizers of the alliance), notes, “The initial idea is for this to simply be an informal opportunity for a small number of civics to get together, get to know something about each other, and see if we share any common concerns.” There have been no discussions about governance or structure of the group, and, so far, there has been no explanation as to why the Manhattan Beach Neighborhood Association was not invited to be a member (Manhattan Beach Community Group has been).
At the most recent Sheepshead Bay/Plumb Beach civic meeting, leaders expressed their eagerness to adopt strategies from other groups, including the formation of a safety committee and an education committee, to more effectively convey residents’ concerns and needs to safety officials and school administrators.
