On Wednesday, February 18, I attended a meeting for Community Board 7 in Sunset Park. Unfortunately, the meeting did not meet quorum so technically it never happened. However it was still a very productive “fake” meeting. Much of the conversation was centered on the problem of overcrowding, homelessness, and education. One of the first main speakers was from a non-profit housing organization who spoke about rent regulation/stabilization and the homeless population of Sunset Park. The organization is fighting to keep rent stabilization, which is the biggest contributor to affordable housing in the area and is up for a vote in a few months. For those who are homeless, however, the organization wants to establish a shelter in Sunset Park so that families could be close to their jobs and their children’s schools. According to the speaker, forty-seven families from Sunset Park went to the Bronx intake center last year. Some of the people present, however, voiced their concerns about where they would find space for this new shelter. Other possibilities would be to have an intake center in Brooklyn or to convert hotels into temporary shelters.
One of the biggest problems in the neighborhood, however, is overcrowding. Thirty-five percent of people live in a doubled apartment, or with roommates. Those who are living in overcrowded apartments are considered to be on the brink of homelessness. The community board seeks to define having to double up in an apartment as homeless.
The next major topic discussed was education. The plans for a new school on 3rd avenue and 59th street were approved and will be finished, hopefully, by 2019. The school will seat 676 students and will be built on a vacant lot. However, the location of the school is a bit of a problem. Third avenue is a very dangerous street and a few people were concerned about kids having to cross that street. Others were worried about air pollution, as a lot of trucks and buses travel down 3rd avenue. Unfortunately there are not a lot of ideal locations in Sunset Park for a school, forcing the community to use areas such as this. In conjunction with this problem, many of Sunset Park’s children do not have a school to go to, so any location will have to do.
In addition to these major topics, a few updates and reports were given. The district report included a lot of good news. A ferry service is said to return to Brooklyn and Queens in 2017, and there are a lot of safety improvements trying to be implemented on 3rd avenue. Also, all community boards in Brooklyn will receive a 10% budget increase, a cause for great celebration at the meeting. I was quite pleased when a report from the DA’s office was also given. The representative from the DA’s office gave information on arrests and court cases concerning Sunset Park community members. It is good to know that community members are aware of what is going on concerning a possible criminal or a possible innocent in their neighborhood.
