Good Cheer
Our annual holiday party/trustees meeting was great fun, thanks to the many trustees, members, and other attendees who brought some terrific food, drink, and conversation. State Senator Velmanette Montgomery, Assemblymembers James Brennan and Joan Millman, and City Councilmembers Brad Lander and Stephen Levin all stopped by to bring news and holiday wishes. We’d also like to thank our host for the evening, Congregation Beth Elohim, for their generosity and help with the Dec. 1 event.
Fourth Avenue Retail Rezoning Approved
In late November, the City Council approved the Department of City Planning’s proposal for an enhanced commercial district on Fourth Avenue. The plan calls for a number of changes to zoning along the thoroughfare from Atlantic Avenue to 24th Street, including:
- A minimum amount of active retail on Fourth Avenue, which would enliven the pedestrian experience at street level.
- Significant limits on parking lots, garage doors, curb cuts, or otherwise inefficient use of valuable streetscape, so as promote “sidewalk continuity.”
- A requirement that building facades be largely windowed, to improve streetscape design and safety.
The Park Slope Civic Council and our FORTHonFourth group have been steadfast advocates for such modifications. Previous zoning requirements had allowed for oversized, poorly planned, and inappropriately designed residential developments. The changes will encourage more vital, community-enriching street-level development along Fourth Avenue, such as retail shops, restaurants, cafes, stores, or other needed services.
Station Development
New York City Transit is well on its way to completing renovations at the Fourth Avenue/Ninth Street F/G subway station, which will reopen the facility’s east side to the public for the first time in 25 years. Civic Council President Michael Cairl announced at the Dec. 1 trustees meeting that the restored entrance, as well as improvements to the west side of the station, should be ready by year’s end.
The project will also bring six new retail spaces to that eastern spot, once the agency finishes some infrastructure work in the new year.
“The new entrance and retail space at the Fourth Avenue station will bring some exciting new developments to the neighborhood,” Cairl said.
The Civic Council has been a longtime proponent of reopening the station’s east side (read our 2008 proposal here). The finished entrance will enhance the local streetscape and improve pedestrian safety — commuters from the east side of Fourth will no longer have to cross the busy avenue — in this rapidly growing part of our community.
Cameras for the Seventh Avenue Station
Also at the Dec. 1 Civic Council meeting, President Michael Cairl reported that $720,000 in funding for new security cameras for the Seventh Avenue F/G subway station has been secured by Assemblymember James Brennan. Efforts to get the cameras “started following the serial gropings in the neighborhood over last summer,” Brennan said at the event. “The station is gigantic, so it will take a lot of work to get all the cameras installed there.”
Installation should be finished by summer 2012.
Helping with Shoveling
Last winter’s snowstorm was difficult for seniors and citizens living with disabilities, who often struggled to clear their steps and sidewalk of snow and ice. This left a potentially dangerous situation for themselves and their neighbors. The Citizens Committee for New York City is partnering with NYC Service to help the elderly and disabled get ready for the winter ahead. If you would like to volunteer, e-mail Saleen Shah at sshah@citizensnyc.org.
from the December 2011 Civic News