Crime Drops, Kings Theatre's Debut, Trash Pickup & More Notes From Monday's Community Board 14 Meeting

Community Board 14 held its February meeting Monday night at PS 249 (18 Marlborough Road, by Caton Avenue). Here’s what happened this month:

A number of community leaders, including CB 14 District Manager Shawn Campbell and Deputy Inspector Richard DiBlasio, commanding officer of the 70th Precinct, stressed how well the opening of the Kings Theatre (1027 Flatbush Avenue) went. “It was a great start to what promises to be a great future for that venue,” Campbell said. Noting that the theatre is the fourth largest in New York City, DiBlasio said, “no incidents happened – the theatre was very happy; we were happy; the community was happy.”

After trash pickup was disrupted because of a series of bad weather (we’re looking at you, Juno and Linus), Campbell said, “collection will catch up hopefully this week.” The district manager asked residents to call the community board with complaints about trash, saying it’s more efficient than solely going through 311. CB 14 can be reached by calling 718-859-6357.

The district manager also announced that the 70th Precinct station house relocation is included in Mayor Bill de Blasio’s preliminary budget – something which community and police leaders cheered and noted has been needed for years. “It’s been a long time coming, and hopefully this time it’ll come to fruition,” Campbell said. Deputy Inspector DiBlasio also praised the news, saying, “that’s a huge step that the mayor acknowledged we need it – it’s old, and every time we get heavy rains, the basement floods. And we have officers down in the basement.” It is not yet known to where the station house would be relocated.

After CB 14’s merchants roundtable was canceled because of snow, the event that aims to connect business owners with helpful programs and resources has been rescheduled for March 4 at 11am at the district office (810 E. 16th Street, by Avenue H). Those who plan on attending should RSVP by calling 718-859-6357.

The 70th Precinct has seen a large drop in crime, with the number of incidents falling 24 percent over the same time last year, Deputy Inspector DiBlasio reported. The 70th Precinct’s commander also noted that they’re down 15 percent in pedestrian collisions, compared to this time last year.

From the NYPD’s most recent graduating class, the 70th Precinct received six officers. “Six is good, but I could always use a couple of zeros after that,” DiBlasio laughed.

The deputy inspector also noted that, after snow forced the precinct’s community council to cancel their last meeting, the next meeting is scheduled for February 25 at 7:30pm at 175 Lawrence Avenue.

CB 14 will hold a meeting on the Cross Harbor Freight Program on Monday, March 2 at 7pm, following a 6pm public hearing on a zoning variance regarding a property at 119 Webster Avenue, between Seton Place and Ocean Parkway (see more info about the hearing here). Both the public hearing and the meeting are expected to be held at CB 14’s office at 810 E. 16th Street.

On Tuesday, March 3 at 6:30pm, CB 14’s transportation committee will hold a joint meeting with CB 7 on truck routes coming through the area. The meeting will be held at the Windsor Terrace Public Library (160 E. 5th Street). More information about this meeting will be posted on CB 14’s website.

Board members and Youth Services Committee leaders Neil Brier and Jonathan Judge said the board’s eighth annual youth conference will be held Wednesday, April 29 from 4-7pm. There will be more information about the conference, which connects hundreds of high school students with career and college opportunities, on the conference’s website.

Shaun Abreu, from the city Department of Consumer Affairs, announced the DCA has a couple free tax preparation centers in our area, including at the Flatbush Reformed Dutch Church at 890 Flatbush Avenue (call 646-200-5080 to reach them) and at CAMBA’s office at 885 Flatbush Avenue (call 718-287-0010).

Harry Schiffman, from Assemblyman Jim Brennan’s office, said there will be a March 4 town hall on the state budget at PS 139 (330 Rugby Road). We are confirming the time and will let you know when it begins.

Eileen Newman, from Borough President Eric Adams’ office, said there will be free dental health screenings for children ages 3 to 12 at Borough Hall (209 Joralemon Street) on Thursday, February 19. The screenings will be held from 10am-2pm.

Newman also announced that Borough President Eric Adams is holding his annual Valentine’s party for Brooklyn couples who have been together for 50 years or more this coming Friday, February 13 from 11am-2pm. It’s open to any couple together for 50 years or more – the individuals do not have to be married to attend. If you know of a couple who’d like to attend the fete, call the borough president’s office at 718-802-3700.

Neighbor Taylor Kuhn invited residents to participate in Commune, a new platform that aims to operate a crowd-run civic directory, including information about meetings on everything from housing to food and education. The group is now in the process of developing the digital director of public meetings, and they’re running a pilot program for the next month or so to get a good grasp on how people look for meetings. They’re looking for pilot testers to give feedback, so if you have an iPhone and are interested, you can sign up here and learn more about the program in general here.

The next meeting of CB 14 is scheduled for Monday, March 9 at 7:30pm at Edward R. Murrow High School.