Local Politicians

Subject: Write to your council member or local precinct

Council Member Letitia James
67 Hanson Place,
Brooklyn, NY
11217

Dear Council Member James

I am writing to you in reference to serious concerns I have about the stretch of Lincoln Place on which I live. I am seeking your assistance to make this part of Prospect Heights a better environment for its residents.

Lincoln Place (between Washington and Underhill) is plagued by yelling, honking, car alarms, and loud music (from passing and stationary vehicles) at all hours of the day and night and is physically very dirty with rubbish blowing about everywhere. Traffic violations abound. Cars travel at excessive speeds and fail to give the right of way at busy intersections. Furthermore, it is common local knowledge that the corner of Washington and Lincoln is frequented by drug traffickers and users alike.

Residents of all ages and backgrounds are forced to content with this negative environment in their daily lives. In many cases they fear for their safety or simply can’t get a good night of sleep because of the incessant noise.

This is doubly disturbing because one needs not travel far to find residential blocks that are safe, serene and tidy. Prospect Heights, some boast, is one of the nicest neighborhoods in Brooklyn. Shouldn’t Lincoln Place share in this praise?

What sets Lincoln Place apart from other more desirable blocks? Though there is a police department within walking distance there seems to be a serious lack of policing on Lincoln Place. In the six months that I have lived on this street I have never once seen an officer on foot or a patrol car enforcing the obvious violations that take place on a daily basis. And though I have seen street sweepers on Washington, I have only once seen one cleaning Lincoln Place (hardly enough to combat the heaps of trash that some buildings accumulate without fear of penalty).

What message are we sending when the police fail to curb noise and stop drug trafficking? What is the result of ignoring obvious and recurrent infractions of the law? Can one have pride in a filthy street?

I believe that the problems of Lincoln Place grow worse because they are ignored by the authorities. I believe that this has produced a culture that does not care to follow the law, be respectful of neighbors, or keep litter at bay.

I am envious of neighboring streets no more than one or two city blocks away. Regular policing and street sweeping have led to a positive environment in which residents obviously take pride. Why can’t Lincoln Place benefit from the municipal services that other blocks enjoy?

Best,

Council Member Letitia James
250 Broadway
New York, NY
10007

Dear Council Member James

I am writing to you in reference to serious concerns I have about the stretch of Lincoln Place on which I live. I am seeking your assistance to make this part of Prospect Heights a better environment for its residents.

Lincoln Place (between Washington and Underhill) is plagued by yelling, honking, car alarms, and loud music (from passing and stationary vehicles) at all hours of the day and night and is physically very dirty with rubbish blowing about everywhere. Traffic violations abound. Cars travel at excessive speeds and fail to give the right of way at busy intersections. Furthermore, it is common local knowledge that the corner of Washington and Lincoln is frequented by drug traffickers and users alike.

Residents of all ages and backgrounds are forced to content with this negative environment in their daily lives. In many cases they fear for their safety or simply can’t get a good night of sleep because of the incessant noise.

This is doubly disturbing because one needs not travel far to find residential blocks that are safe, serene and tidy. Prospect Heights, some boast, is one of the nicest neighborhoods in Brooklyn. Shouldn’t Lincoln Place share in this praise?

What sets Lincoln Place apart from other more desirable blocks? Though there is a police department within walking distance there seems to be a serious lack of policing on Lincoln Place. In the six months that I have lived on this street I have never once seen an officer on foot or a patrol car enforcing the obvious violations that take place on a daily basis. And though I have seen street sweepers on Washington, I have only once seen one cleaning Lincoln Place (hardly enough to combat the heaps of trash that some buildings accumulate without fear of penalty).

What message are we sending when the police fail to curb noise and stop drug trafficking? What is the result of ignoring obvious and recurrent infractions of the law? Can one have pride in a filthy street?

I believe that the problems of Lincoln Place grow worse because they are ignored by the authorities. I believe that this has produced a culture that does not care to follow the law, be respectful of neighbors, or keep litter at bay.

I am envious of neighboring streets no more than one or two city blocks away. Regular policing and street sweeping have led to a positive environment in which residents obviously take pride. Why can’t Lincoln Place benefit from the municipal services that other blocks enjoy?

Best,

77th Precinct NYPD
127 Utica Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11213

Dear Inspector OConnell

I am writing to you in reference to serious concerns I have about the stretch of Lincoln Place on which I live. I am seeking your assistance to make this part of Prospect Heights a better environment for its residents.

Lincoln Place (between Washington and Underhill) is plagued by yelling, honking, car alarms, and loud music (from passing and stationary vehicles) at all hours of the day and night and is physically very dirty with rubbish blowing about everywhere. Traffic violations abound. Cars travel at excessive speeds and fail to give the right of way at busy intersections. Furthermore, it is common local knowledge that the corner of Washington and Lincoln is frequented by drug traffickers and users alike.

Residents of all ages and backgrounds are forced to content with this negative environment in their daily lives. In many cases they fear for their safety or simply can’t get a good night of sleep because of the incessant noise.

This is doubly disturbing because one needs not travel far to find residential blocks that are safe, serene and tidy. Prospect Heights, some boast, is one of the nicest neighborhoods in Brooklyn. Shouldn’t Lincoln Place share in this praise?

What sets Lincoln Place apart from other more desirable blocks? Though there is a police department within walking distance there seems to be a serious lack of policing on Lincoln Place. In the six months that I have lived on this street I have never once seen an officer on foot or a patrol car enforcing the obvious violations that take place on a daily basis. And though I have seen street sweepers on Washington, I have only once seen one cleaning Lincoln Place (hardly enough to combat the heaps of trash that some buildings accumulate without fear of penalty).

What message are we sending when the police fail to curb noise and stop drug trafficking? What is the result of ignoring obvious and recurrent infractions of the law? Can one have pride in a filthy street?

I believe that the problems of Lincoln Place grow worse because they are ignored by the authorities. I believe that this has produced a culture that does not care to follow the law, be respectful of neighbors, or keep litter at bay.

I am envious of neighboring streets no more than one or two city blocks away. Regular policing and street sweeping have led to a positive environment in which residents obviously take pride. Why can’t Lincoln Place benefit from the municipal services that other blocks enjoy?

Best,

raulism wrote: I think Bloomberg is lucky to be a billionaire and is a mediocre intellect....

Wow. I assume you're saying this purely out of spite and not out of any actual knowledge of his career that the rest of us are unaware of? Phi Kappa Psi from Johns Hopkins, MBA from Harvard, built Bloomberg LP into the most dynamic and widely used financial information service on the planet....

I hope I can be that lucky and mediocre someday....

qtrain wrote: [quote=raulism]I think Bloomberg is lucky to be a billionaire and is a mediocre intellect....

escap's right to call you on that -- questioning Bloomberg's business bona fides doesn't make a lot of sense.

Okay, it was a bit extreme. I should preface my posts with the caveat that I not everything that I type in a fit of passion is fair, probably including that statement.

While I am still strongly opposed to Bloomberg's strategy for economic development, my motivation for throwing in that comment was to balance my over-the-top praise of Tish and Velmanette.

But I have trouble completely retracting my statement since Bloomberg did spend most of his first term trying and failing to bring the 2012 Olympics here and throwing his support behind the West Side Stadium. To tell the truth, I'm not that impressed with an MBA from anywhere, though Bloomberg's dealings with Sheldon Silver show some stunningly flatfooted political thinking.

escap wrote: [quote=raulism]To tell the truth, I'm not that impressed with an MBA from anywhere.

Ouch, that hurts. :oops: :oops:

O! !! I didn't mean to insult people with MBAs. It's just that a degree is just a starting point. And my own personal philosophy is that being considerate in person is more important than degrees and such.

So Tish for me is impressive because she answers her own phone. How many elected officials do that?

Also, remember a few months back when there was a rat infestation on Prospect and Carlton? Somebody posted that they called up 311 and got an immediate response: he or she got fined for not disposing their trash or something like that. I called Tish, and she got the proper people to poison the varmints. And now the rat infestation is over.

Subject: Re: Local Politicians

lovemynabe wrote: Our local representatives – Congressman Major Owens, State Senator Carl Andrews, and City Council Member Letitia James have all come up short for Prospect Heights

Why omit our assemblyman, Roger Green?

I don't disagree with that. An MBA just gives you the initial technical skills to make it in your first few years, and the credentials to convince an employer to hire you in the first place. Similarly, I used to work in a law firm and all of the lawyers agreed that they didn't use anything they learned in law school, except for an underlying conceptual understanding and an ability to think critically. School is just a starting point.

Now I've got to stop blogging and get back to figuring out how to calculate bond price volatility....

Subject: Online Complaint forms T&LC

Fill out an online complaint form on the Taxi and Limousine Commission Website here:
http://www.nyc.gov/html/mail/html/mailtlc.html
and
here:

http://www.nyc.gov/html/tlc/html/passenger/file_complaint.shtml

Subject: Re: Local Politicians

lovemynabe wrote: The effectiveness of any policitician must be measured by the results of their achievements for the community they represent . Our local representatives – Congressman Major Owens, State Senator Carl Andrews, and City Council Member Letitia James have all come up short for Prospect Heights

Does anyone know of any tangible achievements made by these politicians for Prospect Heights?

If you search the past posts, I think you will find that many people think that Tish James has come to the call of Prospect Heights many times. There was a story on here about a rat problem and a garbage problem that she had cleared up after one phone call to her office.

As for the support of the Carl Andrews and Major Owens, I have heard mixed results.

What?! If an unemployed youth is looking for a future, I don't think that opportunity is lacking. Most youths that are unemployed are in that situation because motivation is lacking.

Never mind that GM is in deep crap and that assembly jobs are either being done overseas or by robotics...

Subject: Re: Local Politicians

"Why can’t they spend the same energy lobbying companies such as Microsoft, General Motors, Dell Computers, etc to setup plants to assembly or manufacture parts so that the unemployed youths in these area can have a future?" -lovemynabe

For one thing, in a few years, there will be no place in Crown Heights, Bed Sty, or Prospect Heights for manufacturing businesses. There is currently an M1 zone that runs through Prospect Heights and Crown Heights. Atlantic Yards will be built over part of it. How many years do you think it will be before the current manufacturing businesses next to the AY project find they can no longer operate because of construction, rising rents and pressure from the city?

The M1 zone will very likely be gone in a few years - to be rezoned to residential and commercial. And who will be able to afford to develop theses sites? My guess is only large scale developers like Ratner, Boymelgreen, Two Trees. These sites will be out of the range of local residents or community development groups that build affordable housing. Also factor in the primary and secondary displacement of low income residents who live in or near these sites.

So I would disagree about the Boro President and the Mayor's efforts to encourage manufacturing jobs in our community. I think they're actually doing the very opposite. I can imagine any other elected official who tried to bring in manufacturing to this area would be met with resistance from City Hall. And I understand that one of Tish James's concerns on Atlantic Yards is the secondary displacement of low-income residents, small businesses and manufacturers in the immediate area.

homeowner wrote: In addition, many of the youth in PH are not just unemployed, but unemployable as they are under-educated and lack basic life skills. I'd prefer that some of our local politicians spent some time trying to fix that, but lacking that getting rid of the rats is an okay thing as well.

Homeowner makes a good point here - one that I want to comment on. We are complaining about what these politicans can do for us for our youth - there are many here who want, want, want and are not willing to give an inch. Yes we pay taxes but its not an end all be all to paying for our problems. There are many children (in PS 9 alone) who are being raised by single person households. Some of these children have never even been outside of Brooklyn (except maybe on school trips). We need more people to be role models and volunteers. Right now I am trying to get people to help me with setting up a robotics program at PS 9 and am having such a hard time to find some adults who would give up 3-4 hours on a Saturday to help. Here is another example - the students at PS 9 wanted to have an after school or weekend soccer team - unfortunately there is no one with the experience and knowledge to coach/teach them. So who loses out? The children.

I am not saying that we have uncaring and selfish neighbors - in fact I think this community is great - but remember there are always people who have it worse than we do and a little goes a long way for them.

Subject: Council Woman Letita James

After sending the letter to Letitia James (see above) I have been asked to meet with her. I am pleased to learn that she is willing to speak to local residents about their concerns. I hope for progress!