A reminder that the regular monthly meeting of Community Board 14 is tonight at PS 249 on Caton Ave in Ditmas Park. There were several committee meeting in the past month, and each committee will present a report from that meeting–such as the Public Safety committee, which will go over the DOT’s plans for the Parkside/Ocean Ave intersection.
All meetings are open to the public, and neighbors are encouraged to attend. For more information, call 718-859-6357 or email info@cb14brooklyn.com.
Flatbush CommUNITY Garden, located at the end of Albemarle and E 16th St in Ditmas Park, is holding a Winterfest fundraiser at Sycamore on Sunday, February 19. Stop by to have a drink, enter a raffle full of local prizes, and to learn more about the garden:
Come for drinks specials, delicious baked goods, pick up some seed bombs or a coupon book to support our garden, and win a raffle prize! We can also tell you more about the garden, as we expect to have spaces for next spring.
Amazing prizes are donated by your favorite local businesses: Qathra, Pilates on Rugby, TB Ackerson, Purple Yam, Brooklyn Banya Russian Baths, Latin Fever Dance Studios, the Castello Plan and the Farm on Adderley.
The Flatbush YMCA has camps available during mid-winter (February 21-24) and spring (April 9-13) recess, so your kids can have a safe, fun, and stimulating place to be while school’s out. The programs welcome children ages 5 through 13, and runs from 8am to 6pm each day. It costs $180 per week, but financial assistance is available.
For more information contact Anthony Guildford at 718-469-8100 or aguildford@ymcanyc.org.
Coming up this month at the Flatbush YMCA (1410 Flatbush Ave): there’s a legal counseling event going on right now, a coat drive on Thursday, and a job fair toward the end of the month. For more information, call 718-469-8100 or email flatbush@ymcanyc.org.
Borough President Marty Markowitz is doing his State of the Borough address at Brooklyn College this evening, which means traffic around the area may be challenging. Community Board 14 has some details on what to expect–and where to avoid if you’re driving:
…at approximately 5:15pm, the East Entrance to the parking lot at Avenue H and Campus Rd./ Nostrand Avenue will be open for two way traffic. Officers will be present to assist and direct traffic.
Basically, there will be a lot of politicians and media clogging up the roads near the college, so if you can, avoid that area.
This weekend, see the play In the Voice of Our Mothers at the East Midwood Jewish Center:
Intimate, powerful, and personal narratives of our Biblical matriarchs, told vividly as imagined by renowned playwright and director Carol Fox Prescott. Although based on Sacred Texts, the play transcends its setting while its characters become Everywoman, talking with her neighbors, confiding in her friends about real life challenges and day to day living. Sarah may be sharing her shifting feelings for Abraham and Isaac, and yes, even God, but she could just as easily be a woman of today, talking about her beloved—because life as we know it, with all of its subtleties and complications, happens again and again and again.
In The Voice of Our Mothers
East Midwood Jewish Center, 1625 Ocean Ave (between Aves K&L)
Saturday, January 28, 7:30pm
$20 in advance, $25 at the door
Reservations: 718-338-3800 or by email info@emjc.org
New York City Transit has cancelled all weekend work (except for that on the 7 line) because of the coming snowstorm!
This means that unless the 1-3 inches of snow somehow cripples the Q line, you can use it to get to and from our neighborhood without having to transfer to a shuttle bus.
Of course, that also means the work, which is scheduled to continue nearly every weekend until March, will now run a little longer. We’ll keep you posted.
Maksim Gelman, the 23-year-old man who admitted to a killing spree that stretched from Sheepshead Bay to Manhattan, was sentenced in Brooklyn yesterday to 200 years in prison. The thirteen counts against him include four counts of murder in the second degree for killing his stepfather, Alexander Kuznetsov; acquaintance Yalena Bulchenko and her mother, Anna Bulchenko; and Steven Tannenbaum, a pedestrian crossing the street that Gelman hit with a stolen car.
While police hunted for him in Brooklyn, their search hit our area, near the LIRR tracks, after the stolen car was found on East 15th Street near Avenue H. Gelman was arrested later on February 12 in Manhattan, for attacking a man on the subway.
Yesterday’s sentencing was a madhouse, with Gelman shouting obscenities at the judge and victims’ friends, and claiming, “I’m not the bad guy here.” Though he pleaded guilty in November to all counts after a psychiatric exam said he couldn’t argue he was not guilty by reason of insanity, his lawyer insisted yesterday that the things Gelman was saying were not coming from a healthy mind.
This week, Gelman also pleaded guilty to the crime in Manhattan, and he is expected to receive an additional 25 years in prison to run consecutively with the Brooklyn sentence.
The City Council approved a parking legislation package yesterday that aims to make parking enforcement fairer and to eliminate excessive ticketing. The three parts are:
* Being able to cancel a ticket on the spot if you have a muni-meter receipt that’s time-stamped five minutes within the ticket’s time.
* Freezing late fees on tickets until 30 days after they’ve been issued, to give you a chance to contest them.
* Banning the city from placing parking stickers on cars that are said to be violating alternate side parking rules.
It’s those stickers that got under the nails of Councilman David G. Greenfield, who wrote that legislation. The Sanitation Department has used neon stickers in cases of alternate-side parking violations since 1988, issuing about 400 each day alternative-side parking rules are in effect for street cleaning. The City Council argues that the stickers are attached even before motorists are given the chance to prove their innocence.
“Punishing drivers with these impossible-to-remove stickers is unfair and unnecessary,” said Greenfield in a statement. “New York City doesn’t employ methods of public humiliation and shame for those who violate serious crimes, yet has no problem defacing private property with neon stickers because you forgot to move your car on an alternate-side parking day.”
The bill, which keeps in place existing $45 to $60 fines for alternate-side parking violations but ends the practice of placing these stickers on the car’s rear window, received support from Council members, drivers, and the Automobile Association of America when introduced earlier this year.
The Bloomberg administration has voiced its opposition to the entire legislation package, but because it received such overwhelming support in City Council, it seems unlikely the Mayor will be able to veto it if that’s his plan.
If you’ve ever dealt with one of these stickers, you know how hard they can be to remove. The Daily News experimented with various removal liquids recently, with Windex leading the pack. What have you found works best?
The East Midwood Jewish Center is hosting a special Shabbat in The Round event this Friday, January 20 at 6pm:
The service is very lively, interactive and musical, and will be led by our own local, Cantor Sam Levine and Rabbi Alvin Kass.
Services will be followed by a Kosher Indian smorgasbord prepared by amazing Southern Indian restaurant Tiffin Wallah with an exotic offering of foods.
All are welcome–families, singles, grandparents, etc.–and the cost is $20 per person, $10 for students, and kids 12 and under are free.
Shabbat in The Round
Friday, January 20, 6pm meet-up, 6:30pm service East Midwood Jewish Center
1625 Ocean Ave (between Aves K & L)
RSVP: 718-338-3800, info@emjc.org
The Preparatory Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College has been offering music, theater, and dance classes for children age 3 and up for over 30 years. Registration for the spring semester (which starts February 4) is now open, and they are hosting an open house next week:
New classes for spring include:
Theater for children, teens, and adults
Creative Movement and Ballet
Suzuki Cello Program for 3-6 year olds
Group Piano and Guitar classes
Beginner to advanced instrument lessons for children and adults
Registration for this year’s TD Five Boro Bike Tour, the 40-mile loop through the city, will be done through a lottery system for the first time. Race organizers hope this will make the ability to participate more fair for everyone who’s interested.
However, if you don’t want to leave it up to chance, you can register as a VIP for $300 (which gets you breakfast, lunch, a priority start time, and more), or sign up to ride for one of 40 charities (you have to raise at least $750).
You can enter the lottery at any point starting tomorrow, January 17 at 10am through and February 7 at 5pm, and you’ll have to pay a nonrefundable $6 lottery registration fee.
People from all over Brooklyn are encouraged to take advantage of a gun buyback program that’s coming up in Brooklyn North.
On Saturday, January 28, the 77th Precinct is hosting the program at the Bedford Central Presbyterian Church, located at 1200 Dean Street at Nostrand. The cash-for-guns program will exchange $200 bank card for operable handguns and $20 bank card for operable rifles and shotguns.
For more information, call the 77th Precinct Community Affairs Office at 718-735-0634.
Starting at 11:45pm each weeknight this week and continuing though 5am, Q trains will run every 30 minutes between Atlantic and Stillwell Avenues. Additionally, service operates in two sections, so you have to make the transfer between Atlantic/Pacific St and Atlantic Ave. This will repeat next week as well.
In other subway news:
* Tonight is the first night of “Fastrack” construction, which will shut down 15 stops on the 4/5/6 lines in Manhattan between 10pm and 5am for four consecutive weeknights.
* The MTA confirms that subway cars in the front are more crowded than those in the back, as the Daily News reports–though it varies from line to line, and station configurations also affect crowding.
Reminder: The big Q train weekend changes begin this Saturday, and continue every weekend except February 4-6 until March. Here’s how it will work. Or, “work.”
Shuttle buses replace Q trains between Pacific Street and Prospect Park: January 7-9, 14-16, 21-23, 28-30; February 11-13, 18-20, 25-27
Here’s where the buses will stop: Prospect Park: Lincoln Rd at station entrance 7th Ave: Flatbush Av at Park Pl Atlantic Ave-Pacific St: 4 Av at Pacific St
Shuttle bus service begins 30 minutes prior to service change, which is scheduled for 12:01am each Saturday. No Q trains will run in either direction between Prospect Park and 57th St/7th Avenue in Manhattan; take the N or the R and switch at Atlantic.
Other options: Service for the 2, 4, A, and C trains will still be available via the Franklin Avenue Shuttle at Prospect Park. You can also walk to the 2 or the F/G, but check the MTA site to be sure there are no changes to those lines that will affect your trip.
The Kings Bay Y is located just down Nostrand Avenue, and they host a variety of programs and events. One upcoming meeting is of the Caregiver’s Support Group, where people can receive support, knowledge, and insight from other caregivers in a supportive environment.
Caregiver’s Support Group
January 9th, 1-2:30pm
Kings Bay YM-YWHA, 3495 Nostrand Ave
718-648-7703, info@kingsbayy.org
Collection started yesterday and will continue through Saturday, January 14. Try to get your tree out as early as possible to ensure it is picked up. The tree should be completely cleaned of all ornaments, tinsel, etc., and left at the curb as-is, not in a plastic bag.
The winter 2012 semester of Music for Aardvarks from AudraRox at Midwood Martial Arts is now open for registration. Classes fill up quickly, so register early to guarantee your spot:
Come join in the fun at Music for Aardvarks classes–a musical experience for families with children ages birth to 5 years. We will explore music through song & gesture, dance & movement, rhythm training, and instrument play; using original music that celebrates the lives of children growing up in an urban environment. Written by David Weinstone, songs like Taxi, City Kid, and Subway provide children with a positive image of their world and help them relate to their surroundings.
Music for Aardvarks & Other Mammals
w/ AudraRox Inc.
$265 for 10 classes + a CD
($35 for siblings 6 months & older)
*financial aid available upon request
For those who only smoke “a little bit,” the New York City Health Department wants you to know it’s still deadly. And since the new year is a time for resolutions, they want to help you kick the habit.
The Health Department will offer nicotine gum to eligible smokers who smoke fewer than 10 cigarettes per day to help them quit through 311 and online (search nycquits on nyc.gov).
According to the city, light smokers make up 34% of all New York City’s daily smokers. Studies show that, like heavier smokers, light smokers are at an increased risk of smoking-related death and disease, such as heart attack, stroke, aneurysm, and some cancers. Adults who smoke even one to four cigarettes per day have nearly three times the risk for heart disease than that of a non-smoker.
Heavier smokers who are interested in nicotine replacement therapy can still call 311 or 1-866-NYQUITS year-round for help with quitting.
This morning, Notify NYC sent out a Silver Alert for 69-year-old Lloyd Hall:
Mr. Hall is described as a black male, 5’8″ tall, 160lbs, clean-shaven and was last seen wearing an orange sweater, gray pants and black loafers. Mr. Hall suffers from Alzheimer’s and was last seen 12/28 at his residence near King’s Highway and Flatbush Avenue, in the Flatlands section of Brooklyn. If you see this individual please call 9-1-1.
To receive future Notify NYC alerts, sign up here.
For those who only smoke “a little bit,” the New York City Health Department wants you to know it’s still deadly. And since the new year is a time for resolutions, they want to help you kick the habit.
