Crown Heights North Assn mtg: June 19, 2013

NewGuy, I feel you, but you are essentially complaining about a first world problem in a second world neighborhood. When you address the cops about moving resources to deal with bike lane violations and they are getting pressure from 1PP to decrease burglaries, robberies, felony assaults, rapes and shootings, you've got to expect that your concern is going to be pretty low on the totem pole.

You're living in the part of the precinct that is the safest and you're dealing with quality of life concerns, while the eastern part of the precinct is still trying to address regularly occurring violent crimes. I'm not saying that you shouldn't raise the issue, just that you should be realistic about the reception you'll receive from both the police and citizens from other parts of the precinct that are worried about other types of crime.

Homeowner, I must disagree with you. It's not just a quality of life issue! The cars blaring rap at all hours are a quality of life issue. The people smoking and yelling at all hours of the night are a quality of life issue. Getting run over by a speeding car blowing a red light while walking in a cross walk is a safety issue. Getting doored by an illegally parked truck is safety issue. It's not just Crown Heights look at the East Village. http://gothamist.com/2013/06/19/cop_hunting_cyclists_you_shouldnt_e.php

The police don't give a shit about cyclists expect to make easy money off of us.

Yes of course rapes, shootings, muggings, robberies and assaults should take priority. Who would argue otherwise? But honestly how much time a day does your average beat cop spend on such things? If we can't expect the men and women in blue to do the most basic and mundane police work how can we except them to tackle the larger issues?

I'd raise it but as you say the 77th is just marching in line with one Police Plaza.

I took a look at the TA CrashState data for 2009 (which is the most recent year) and it looks like there were four fatalities in the 77th (all pedestrians; 3 along EP and 1 on Atlantic). During the same period there were 16 murders in the precinct. So I'd say for people in the 77th, you have a much better chance of being killed as a result of a violent crime than as a result of vehicle violence especially if you take care crossing one major street in the neighborhood.

We are where we are today, because there has been, as Anthony Weiner described it, a governing ethos that hasn't looked at the issue of transportation holistically and has instead chosen to view various policy decisions individually. You could start with the decision to remove drivers education from schools as an elective class. Then move to the decision to push forward a bike agenda without requiring the basic safety equipment or any formal training for bikers about traffic laws. Add to that our decision to focus our policing on community police and to reduce things like the highway patrol. There is only one patrol unit for each borough except for Manhattan and the Bronx which share a unit. There is also only one collision investigation squad. It doesn't appear that it's broken down by borough. All of these things together have impacted the safety of our roads and the police department's ability to respond. Its not about caring or not caring, but more about this perfect storm of events that have created the situation we are in today.

I was at the meeting yesterday.

The annual house tour will be on Saturday, Oct. 5th. There are currently eight homes, two churches, the Bergen Street community garden, and one commercial space (Sue Rock Originals) on the tour. CHNA is still accepting homes and is also looking for volunteer house sitters, who will be provided with lunch and will get to take the tour for free. Those looking to support the tour can purchase ads for the journal, or you can buy advance tickets for the tour at Sue Rock, Barbara’s Flowers, and Yanatiba. http://crownheightsnorth.org/house-tour.html

CHNA is pursuing inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places for the already approved Phases 1 and 2 of the Crown Heights North Historic District. The nomination is expected to be submitted in December. There was a handout about this for homeowners who want more information, but the stated benefits were 1. eligibility for federal and state tax credits for substantial rehabilitations and 2. notification when a federal agency plans to site a project in the neighborhood.

There’s no word yet on when Phase 3 of the historic district will be voted on. Despite being on hiatus for the summer, CHNA promises to try to meet with the Landmarks Preservation Commission to push it along. Interested homeowners can help by contacting LPC themselves and also writing/calling local elected officials to ask them to pressure LPC. Someone in the audience suggested CHNA put together a form letter.

The guest speaker was the new commander of the 77th precinct, Captain Eddie Lott, who started May 1st. He noted that his emphasis going forward will be:

1. That we are one community -- despite being a very large and diverse precinct in which residents have very different concerns -- and that all parts of the community deserve to enjoy safety and a good quality of life

2. Crime prevention basics

3. Alternatives to jail for young people (toward which he has assigned a new youth officer).

Captain Lott spent most of his time on crime prevention, detailing how the precinct has recently experienced a rash of burglaries and brought in NYPD’s B.L.A.S.T. unit (https://www.leadsonline.com/main/news/2012-news-archive/staten-islands-top-cop-takes-aim-at-burglaries.php) which conducted rooftop surveillance and apprehended a group of teens committing fire escape burglaries on Park Place who are suspected of being responsible for at least seven burglaries in a two-block radius. He reminded residents to lock their doors and windows and to get their electronics registered with the precinct (http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/html/crime_prevention/operation_id.shtml). In response to a question, he also detailed his approach to patrolling the precinct: it is broken into sectors and patrolled mostly by car; the two Impact Zones have foot patrols with an emphasis on the 7pm to 4am time period; and this summer there will be bicycle patrols in Brower and Lincoln Terrace parks. Concerns from the audience included the theft of garbage cans and flower pots, street drug sales, and loud parties. Captain Lott encouraged residents to make 311 complaints for non-emergency issues and noted that Community Affairs Officer Sacha Pierre-Louis, who was also in attendance, has been tasked with following up on all 311 calls in the precinct.

Someone from CB8 also spoke, though I didn’t catch her name. She noted that the board would be on hiatus for the summer although the SLA committee would continue to meet to review liquor license requests. She asked residents to come out to the meetings once they start again in the fall and also requested that block/tenant associations register with the community board so it can keep residents informed of upcoming developments in their respective areas.