The public meeting that I attended was for the neighborhood of East Harlem and for the Environment, Open Space and Parks Committee. This meeting took place on Thursday, February 12^th at 6:00 p.m. It was called to order by the chair of the committee, Frances Mastrota. One of the major topics that were discussed were the GreenThumb community gardens. Rasheed Hislop is the Deputy Director who made various announcements about these gardens. GreenThumb gives away different materials each year to help maintain the community gardens. Some of these materials include soil, compost, garbage bags, and a variety of gardening tools. Ways of preserving the gardens during the new gardening seasons was also mentioned. This includes creating fencing to protect the gardens from any outsiders.

The GreenThumb program is also trying to gather more assistance by creating partnerships with different greening groups. Some of the gardens that were mentioned during the presentation were the Harlem Rose Garden and El Catano. Another topic discussed about the GreenThumb program is the types of services that it provides for the people in East Harlem. Social events are hosted and fresh fruits and vegetables are grown. These gardens “beautify” the neighborhood and give it a source of positive energy. The community gardens also participate in rainwater harvesting, which I found to be very interesting. Near the end of the meeting, a man named Charlie Reynoso, who is the Regional Engagement Manager of the New York Restoration Project, mentioned that there would be a new community garden in the neighborhood. He also said that work would begin on this project in September 2015.

Another topic that was discussed during this public meeting was the James Weldon Johnson Playground. There are plans on improving the playground equipment and installing spraying showers for children to play in during the summer. Senior citizens will receive a seating area as well. There was a question asked about this during the meeting. Adults will also have the chance to exercise at this playground because workout equipment will be made available. I think this is a great addition because it will allow adults to be more active when they take their children to the playground. These playground improvements are for people of all ages, not just the children.

This public meeting was both fun and interesting to listen to. I enjoyed hearing about the community garden plans because this is a great way to get people in the community involved and to also improve the neighborhood of East Harlem. Gardens can provide beautification to the area and also enhance the moods of people who pass by them. I would love to have learned more about the current community gardens and how well people are responding to them. Making improvements on the playground is also important for both the children and adults who want to visit when the weather gets warmer. Maintaining green spaces and public areas in East Harlem is needed to allow the neighborhood to thrive.

I’m glad I had the opportunity to attend tonight’s meeting and get to know some pretty cool and caring individuals. Although there were only 6 other people in the room, I felt like it was a productive time.

Before the others arrived, I had the chance to talk for a while with Ms. Akosua Albritton, the chairperson of the Youth & Family Services Committee. She spoke to me about the general functions and ways in which most committees operate. Out of the 59 community boards in NYC, 18 of them originate from Brooklyn. She says that this particular committee has been around for years and that she has been a member since 1999. She says she has seen three other chairmen ever since she attends the meetings and that she has never heard the issue of gentrification being discussed by this particular committee—I did ask if she had heard anything about it, because it’s definitely a prevalent issue currently affecting many families in the area. So this response was somewhat unexpected.

The meeting got started around 6:45pm. She had prepared an agenda with four main ideas to discuss and Ms. Albritton made it very clear from the beginning that any opinion, suggestion, or comment was welcome even from non-members.

Synthetic Cannabinoids and Cathinones, also known as “K2” and “Bath salts”, was one of the main topics brought to the committee’s attention. I was mind-blown as I kept hearing more about this new product, which seems to be pretty common in the streets nowadays. One of the members, Mr. Lee, was distraught by the fact that if it wasn’t the high school teen buying such “spice(s)”, then it was the junior high school one buying them for the elementary kids, and if they still couldn’t have access to it, the older folks were now making a business out of it, to not only consume it themselves, but also purchasing the-now-illegal substance—according to Mr. Albritton, K2’s use only became prohibited as of December of 2014—to then resell it to the younger populations. This issue is of such concern, that she, with the help of another committee member, put together a pamphlet to inform the public about the facts of this commonly used drug. The chairperson asked us for suggestions as to where these pamphlets should be placed for an effective distribution to the community.

Another interesting topic that was discussed: the D.R.E.A.M.S. Youthbuild & Young Adult Training Program. Ms. Albritton shared with us that she had been asked to go to their facilities and educate that particular youth group about the different committees that exist within their neighborhoods and how they can get involved once they complete their trainings. She was also pretty excited because a few of them showed an incredible amount of interest in regards to creating/planning an event with her to educate parents and the youth about the dangers of K2 use. Because knowing about the effects of these things can’t hurt…

On February 19^th, 2015, I attended committee meetings for Community Board 9, which is a community board that covers Crown Heights. The committees that spoke and had issues discussed were the Environmental Committee and the Parks, Recreation, and Culture Committee. When the Environmental discussions arose, a representative from Citizen Climate Lobby was presented. This person, Ms. Gina Casati, was part of a group that wishes for companies to have their carbon taxes levied if they extract raw material for energy usage. So any company that isn’t “green” and uses material such as oil, wood, coal, and such would have to have a tax imposed on them. Furthermore, this tax would be used to redistribute wealth (on a very small scale) because it would be redistributed to the public. This is a very interesting and extremely environmentally friendly idea, because it would force companies to find more earth-friendly methods of producing energy. This concept is great is in theory, but I would really like to find out which companies would have this tax imposed upon them and also how would it be decided which type of materials would come under the guidelines. It would be very intriguing to follow up and see how Citizen Climate Lobby progresses in the near future. Ms. Casati did mention that she is working with Congress’ Yvette Clark and the office to gain attention for this matter.

The second committee was discussing various environmental neighborhood projects. One of the projects being discussed was the Herbman Garden that would be made on the grounds of the Kingsboro Psychiatric Center. This garden would be made for “medicinal” purposes, and that seeds for the garden have already been purchased thanks to the non-profit named ProBono. Though seeds may have been purchased, consent from the NYCD of Mental Health is still needed, as well as the necessary funding and enough volunteers for this project. The second project that was discussed was the Wingate Playground. While there was no representative present from the parks department, a community board 9 member recommended that a new track and field. Community gardens and playgrounds are always a good idea. Gardens provide for a peaceful environment for people to practice the healing hobby that is gardening. Moreover, in this technologically advanced age, any encouragement to go outside and enjoy nature is a good one. A new track and field could initiate new events that would bring the community closer together. Lastly, Ms. Hackett-Vieira, another community board 9 member, had another good idea to incorporate into the community. She suggested that a farmers market be put into place on the MTA employee parking lot at the corners of Empire Blvd and Flatbush Av, on Parkside and Ocean Av, and also near Utica Av and Empire Blvd. Farmers markets allow fresh and local fruits and vegetables to reach a community that may not have had it beforehand. These are all great ideas and it would be interesting to follow up and see how these projects are developing.

I attended a community board meeting wit Katie, Alec, and Nicole in Sunset Park on February 18th.There was a fairly small turnout at the meeting as a result of poor weather, meaning that quorum was not met and nothing could be considered official. In spite of this, the meeting was conducted in a serious and professional manner. Representatives for many significant community offices such as senator and assemblymen showed up and gave brief updates on tasks that were being worked on and accomplished in their respective offices. On top of this, the majority of the meeting was dedicated to discussing three primary issues – education, traffic, and housing.

Sunset Park is in desperate need of more schools for its children, and a portion of our meeting was spent discussing a current plan to build a new K-8 school, as well as some of the difficulties it may face. The two primary issues were the process of obtaining the land, and the presence of extremely dangerous traffic in the area around the proposed school site. If necessary, community leaders are confident that they could claim the land through eminent domain, but they’d like to explore other options first. There is less confidence regarding a solution to the traffic problem. People proposed the introduction of an overpass/underground tunnel, as well as more crossing guards, but there was no dominant opinion.

Traffic is a prevalent issue throughout all of Sunset Park, and there are a surprising amount of trucks running throughout the community. In addition to being a significant safety hazard, they also introduce a great deal of noise and environmental pollution. Many people voiced opinions against the high density of truck traffic in the community, but few people really proposed solutions. There was brief mention of planning to build parking complexes for the trucks to try keeping them in a more safe, centralized location, but very few concrete details were addressed.

Finally, there was a portion of the meeting dedicated to the discussion of housing. There is a fairly significant housing crisis in Sunset Park, which is the result of two smaller, albeit still significant, issues. There are a number of Sunset Park residents enrolled in community schools who have, as a result of some strange flaws in the housing system, have had to take residence in shelters in the Bronx. For people still residing in Sunset Park, overcrowding is a rampant issue affecting large portions of the population. Families are doubling up in apartments designed for single families. There were some rumblings of building a new homeless shelter in Sunset Park, but they seemed equally as unreliable as those brought up about truck traffic.

The discussion of housing was particularly interesting, as it lined up with what I saw during the community observation visit. There was a surprisingly small number of residential buildings, especially compared to the extremely large population of people roaming the streets. Seeing as many of the residential buildings seemed to have vacant, broken down rooms, it’s not hard to see that there are far more people in the community than there are places to store them. Lack of housing is a serious issue in this community, and I’m glad to have seen it discussed – however lightly.

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.

Red Hook is a fused neighborhood of mainly light density residential zones with heavy manufacturing zones. The Red Hook committee covers the on going daily struggles the community faces; from macro problems such as the unemployment rate, to micro problems like the relations between residents and business owners. The Red Hook committee tackles major issues of unemployment, educational achievement, and poverty levels. The community board also handles urban planning, urban design, and historic preservations. In 1994, the Community Board Six proposed a plan to regenerate the community after issues like unemployment and the low average level of academic achievements. The plan proposed was titled “Red Hook: A Plan for Community Regeneration,” it included the housing needs of the community along with a call for improvements in transportation, education, and employment.

During the community meetings, last February, the Red Hook Central School District part of the Board of Education held a regular meeting organized by President Mosher. The meetings main goal was to plan recreation and educational programming needs.

Some of the board members that attended were D. Morrison, R. McCann, J. Moore, along with K. Mosher. There was a sum of five visitors, including myself, who were allowed to question and make statements during the meeting. Some of their concerns addressed the school’s budget and where the school stands. President Mosher included a student member in the meeting who claimed the school raised over a thousand dollars, and that the student council would work towards bigger projects including a blood drive.

The meeting at Mill Road Elementary School, the school’s budget was mainly covered, together with the funds being spent on sport programs. For instance the pay roll of various coaches in the baseball, softball, track, lacrosse, and tennis team.

Also another community meeting occurred, this time at the Cobble Hill Community Meeting Room. The main topic of discussion covered the improvement at the industrial district and the housing issue. There were four people on the committee from the Red Hook district, however only Andrea Devening attended this meeting. Andrea Devening is part of the economic, waterfront, and housing sect. The discussion started with housing, what spaces and lots were available for housing. Then it shifted to “job creation at the Gowanus.”

John Douglas from Pratt Institute showed a presentation that explored the idea of an industrial bid. He went into details about the manufacturing policies around the Bid. The Bid would act like a bridge between the residential and manufacturing districts. The Bid would encourage the growth of the area, boosting the manufacturing causing an economic multiplier, more than retail and other economic engines. Ten percent of jobs come from manufacturing, this is important for job security.

However the push for the Bid is not so straightforward, as there is intense real estate pressure to change the area from manufacturing to residential and housing. Plus the district is a flood prone area; especially after Hurricane Sandy a lot of machinery and expensive equipment were damaged. Overall the meeting ended with a plan to survey if there was interest within the community to form a Bid.

On February 17^th, my group attended the Community Board 6 meeting of their committee for Economic/Waterfront/Community Development and Housing. The Community Board 6 represents Red Hook, Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Gowanus, and Park Slope. Although Red Hook represents ten percent of the population of the community, it has twenty percent of representation in the board meeting.   This meeting focused mainly on two different ways of using a lot of the empty or unused lots that are scattered throughout the community. There were two presentations within this meeting both done by two planning fellows: John Douglas and Josh Thompson.

John Douglas’s presentation focused mainly on how the community could expand its manufacturing industry. He began discussing the benefits of manufacturing: specifically how it holds ten percent of the employment in the area, how its wages are double than other industries such as retail and restaurants as well as a huge job source, and how it is a larger economic multiplier.   Douglas suggested the use of a BID as a way to allow this manufacturing industry to flourish within the community. A BID is essentially a committee that is led by business owners and funded by businesses to help promote commercial and industrial districts. Douglas suggested using this bid to “advocate for policies, build stronger social cohesion between manufacturers, improve right of way, public spaces and infrastructure, buy bulk orders, institute energy efficiency projects on the neighborhood scale, and facilitate real estate needs of local businesses.” He then went into the logistics of creating a BID and the processes that the community must go through in order to establish a BID and stressed that this presentation was to see if there was any interest in creating a BID in the first place.

After the presentation was over, the committee members had a many questions concerning the BID and if it was a valid approach to developing the manufacturing industry within the community. Some questioned how would the BID deal with the conflicting interests of business owners and properties owners who might want rezoning. Or even the internal conflicts of non-manufacturing businesses that have different agendas. There was also a problem in the lack of a democratic system, since the more land you had, the more influence you had within the community and how it was run. These are all valid questions in the actual creation of a BID and if the conflict that would arise in the community would outweigh the actual benefits of the committee.

Josh Thompson then presented different opportunities to create additional housing. His presentation really opened my eyes to how under-utilized the area was. Even though there were already tons of areas zoned for residential construction, including 86 percent of lots, 77 percent of these lots were not being used to their maximum floor area ratio. Also, 60 percent of all residential lots have the potential for adding more units. This research is still in its baby steps, however.   There are a lot of limitations to take into consideration like the presence of landmarks, community gardens and playgrounds and shifting through all the data to find the clusters with the highest potential for additional housing.

Ultimately, this community board meeting was very eye opening and shed light on the problems of the community as well as possible solutions.