The tragic loss of two auxiliary police officers Nicholas Pekearo and Eugene Marshalik who were killed on March 14th paved the way for future auxiliaries to not have to work in fear. Police commissioner Ray Kelly announced that auxiliary officers will now be issued bullet proof vests as well as receiving better self defense training. After Pekearo and Marshalik were shot in Greenwich village, the city found out the hard way that the auxiliary force was very under equipped when it came to dealing with violent offenders. The mayor alloted $3.3 million in order to equip the approximately 4500 current officers with vests and offered $617,000 annually to continue to give new auxiliary officers as they join the force. Hopefully these new precautions will help prevent future volunteers from suffering the same unnecessary consequences as their fallen brethren.
Archive for March, 2007
“I’m scared to walk down Kingston Avenue, especially at nights,” said Kwame Johnson, a Crown Heights resident. “It’s eerie and dark, and so many things have happened here in the past.”
One unspeakable crime in June of 2006, where the body of a sixteen year old girl was found in a garbage bag on Kingston Avenue sent the community in an uproar. The murder of this child remains unsolved and the safety of the remaining residents hangs in the balance.
With the rapid gentrification of the neighborhood, occupants of this area wish to have the crime rates reduced. “It’s one thing to build these beautiful new buildings and houses here, but are the people in those buildings and houses going to be safe,” asked Anita Brouder, a homeowner in the neighborhood.
That wish may become a reality as there seems to be a slither of hope for safety with the presence of uniformed police officers patrolling the blocks on foot. They appear to be concentrated in problematic areas such as Albany Housing Projects, Kingston Avenue and Nostrand Avenue, with Nostrand Avenue having a command center.
The efforts of the two precincts in this neighborhood, the 71st precinct and 77th precinct, established programs in hopes of creating a secure environment for residents. Programs such as Security Surveys which allow a crime prevention officer to check and evaluate the sufficiency of your business or home are in effect. The problem is, residents are unaware of these services.
“We can’t know about these programs if they don’t make it known,” said Johnson. “Maybe they should consider informing us so we can help them help us.”
Each year, in the months following major snowstorms, drivers and pedestrians alike can place sure bets on one thing, there are going to be massive potholes on major and minor thoroughfares. For suburbanites, that means remembering the exact location of the craters, because both main and back roads resemble the cheek of an acne-afflicted teenager hell bent on picking at the scabs. The faces made in reaction to that last sentence mirror the faces of motorists in Ossining, NY. “They create a hazardous situation, not only for the driver,” said Andrea Carson, Ossining resident, “But also for others on or around the road.”
Not to mention damages to vehicles. If a 2005 Toyota Camry, the 3rd top selling vehicle in 2005, according to Automotive News, hit a pothole and popped the right side tires, it would cost over $160 to replace them at Mavis Discount Tire in Ossining, NY.
In 2004, however, New York State responded to complaints concerning the holes by setting up a hotline. So if you happen to be on a NYS thruway or highway and you spot what looks like a meteor impact site, be a good citizen and dial up the state at 1-800-POTHOLE.
| Just a few years ago Williamsburg, Greenpoint was considered to be one the hippest and coolest neighborhood in Brooklyn. However, last year when the city officials passed the plan to rezone the last industrial areas in Williamsburg, the neighborhood went from hip to extra expensive. When the rezoning plan was first proposed, it included the construction of new luxury condos and apartments. The residents of Williamsburg quickly opposed the idea and officials changed the plan. They agreed that 20% of the apartments should be affordable housing for the working class. However some of the working class can’t afford the affordable housing because the rent prices are very high. So as the rent prices go up and new luxury condos are being constructed, where should the middle working-class go? To read more about this issue visit: |
| http://www.statesman.com/business/content/business/stories/statesmanhomes/03/11/11gentrify.html |
After four months of renovation Queens Library in Rochdale Village reopened last Friday. The branch had a new installation of a self-checkout counter, new carpets and furnitures.The Library renovation cost an estimation of $300,00 which came from the  state funds and budget.The Residence was very happy to see such as improvement within their neighborhood.Councilman Thomas White, Vivian Cook and state Sen. Shirley Huntley, took part in a ribbon-cutting cermony. Rochdale Library is the 15th branch to be renovated in Queens. Remember, your Library could be next. For more information about Queens Library you can visit the following website.
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Imagine this, you finally board your bus, it’s going along on its route, you press the bell to signal your stop but the bus continues on. It makes a few turns causing you to wonder where you are and why the bus driver is being a pain today of all days. Frantic to get to your destination, as you hurriedly exit the bus to start your walk back to your intended stop, you notice the customary orange construction cones.
This was my fortunate discovery while riding the Jamaica bound Q4 down Linden Blvd a few weeks ago. I usually take another bus, but I do take the Q4 bus every now and then because of its frequency. From flyers posted in some Q4 buses, it is stated that from 6AM November 20, 2006 to November 2007, the bus route would be rerouted for a number of its stops to a wide residential street a few blocks away from Linden Blvd.
In Cambria Heights and nearby communities, orange cones dot many quiet, residential as well as busy, main service streets. Over the last few years, Cambria Heights’ residents have been seeing a lot of construction on their streets. Although this is good news to some neighbors, to others it’s a major annoyance and inconvenience.
“All the construction is a good thing for the neighborhood,” said Tiffany Bates, 21-year old resident, “we are getting our tax dollars put to good use in our own community.”
With construction, traffic interruptions are expected and even tolerated to a certain point. However, when open ditches with pipelines exposed are left for weeks at a time, newly paved streets are bumpier than before, and blocked off streets with no relief in sight, and construction vehicles and orange cones are left on residential streets with no construction workers seen for weeks, some residents are seeing red.
“They would not be able to get away with this in white neighborhoods,” said an outraged Angela Webb, a 20-year resident, “cars are being put through the ringer every time drivers are forced to drive down those streets.” Newly paved gravel streets ruin tires on cars, while deep ditches cause unsuspecting drivers to swing out into oncoming traffic. Complaints have been circulating among neighbors for years on the lack of respect and professionalism the construction people have shown.
“They have dug up all of Linden Blvd and will continue to do so in the surrounding areas,” proclaimed Tiffany Bates, “because there is no adequate sewage system in the area.” The accuracy of her statement is questionable, but apparently she and perhaps others feel that all this construction is just another showing of upheavals the neighborhood will continue to have to bear until the city feels that the neighborhood is up to city standards.
Some high school kids in the state of New Jersey are randomly being called out of class through an intercom  in order to be tested for drug use. They have to walk to the nurse’s office and urinate in a plastic cup. This has become source of a routine for a number of  schools in the state of New Jersey. The state was one of the fastest state to adopt and agree on such testings. Students feel that it “invades their privacy” because they never know when and who they will be calling out next. If a student happens to be tested positive, parent will be notified and the student will be banned from the school until they receive counseling. http://www.nytimes.com/intheregion.
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In honor of the fourth anniversary of the Iraq War and the 3,200 men and women in the arm forces who have died, 75 people stood outside of Borough Hall in Brooklyn last Monday. MoveOn.org, a political action group, sponsered the event. It was one of 1,000 vigils that was held all over the city. The group wanted to remember those who have died and protest the war in Iraq. Regardless of what our political views are, we should always keep in mind those who risk there life or have died for our freedom.
Click here for more information.
A debate erupted when Staten Island residents learned that another place they loved and appreciated is being distorted in order for the city to raise income. The City has approved the plan of The LaTourette Golf Course, Staten Island to build a catering hall on the property. While the plan sounds harmless and profitable to the city, the residents are upset about the fact that they are losing yet another property for which Staten Island is known. It seems that not only will this addition cause a disruption to the neighborhood, it will also take away another calm and serene area.
The natural and wooded areas of this borough are being rapidly urbanized throughout the last decade; and it is difficult for the residents to come to terms with this change. Aside from the traffic problems and evening commotion this project will present to the community, the residents see a larger issue at hand. This replacement is one of many–where land and environment is being replaced with buildings, business and disturbance; and the residents only see the problem increasing.
“This is a small thing,” said Julia Arshin, a near by resident, “but these small things start to add up.”
Recently, Coffee Shop, a trendy Union Square restaurant, was closed for a few days when the Department of Health slammed it with 102 health violation points, the blog Gothamist pointed out. It found issues with its inadequate hand-washing stations for food preparers, contaminated food, food utensils not properly used, ‘choking aid poster’ not displayed, plumbing problems, and other concerns.
The abrupt Coffee Shop closing has raised eyebrows. “Even if it’s done as a scare tactic for the other restaurants in the area, I agree that it’s a severe health violation. Since I live in the area, I feel personally affected by what’s been in the news lately,†said Baruch senior, Glenn Geis who lives in Alphabet City, a neighborhood that is near Union Square.
The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has been closing down restaurants ever since a video of rats invading a KFC/Taco Bell in Greenwich Village was released on February 26. City records show that at least 235 New York restaurants failed a health inspection in the nine days after the rats video, said the Associated Press.
With all these violations surrounding unsanitary restaurants, there is concern about whether the Health Department is trying fill overdue quotas or have began to crack down on restaurants?
The owner of Coffee Shop, Charles Milite told The New York Times that he felt the eatery was “caught in the cross hairs of this unfortunate Taco Bell Situation,” since Coffee Shop had operated for 17 years without incident.
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