Community Board 18 (CB18) held its first meeting of the season, virtually and in person at the Community Board office, 1097 Bergen Avenue, where CB18 Chairperson Michael Ien introduced two new board members: 1st Vice Chair Greg Borruso and 2nd Vice Chair Maria Garrett.
With the arrival of fall, residents may not know how to properly dispose of their leaves. Richard Day, Community Outreach Coordinator, Bureau of Recycling and Sustainability for the Department of Sanitation, said that the department will be collecting leaves on Sunday, November 20th and Sunday, December 4th and that a mailer will be sent out as a reminder. “Residents should set leaves out for collection on those days, so we can take them and turn them into compost,” Day said. Leaves should be placed in paper bags, unlined garbage pails or paper lawn leaf bags, which will be provided to the board office. For more information, visit nyc.gov/leafcollection.
After a brief presentation by Planning and Zoning Committee Chairperson Tom Hernandez regarding an application for an extension of term for a variance for an automotive repair facility located at 1710-1720 Flatbush Avenue, the board voted in favor of extending the term for another 10 years. Hernandez explained that the establishment, which is located between East 34th Street and Avenue J, has been in operation for 50 years. The committee met with the applicant’s attorney prior to last week’s board meeting and recommended the approval of the application. Hernandez said that nothing has changed at the location and that the auto repair will operate as the same business.
CB18 District Manager Sue Ann Partnow welcomed everyone back from the summer break and gave an update on the many accomplishments made during July and August. She represented the community board at various meetings, including the Canarsie Library renovation and cannabis retailing licensing. Partnow said that licensing applications will be distributed in 2023 and those applications will come before local community boards for review and approval.
District Leader Frank Seddio, Bergen Beach Civic Association President Sal Calise and Partnow met with the attorney and owner of the American Bus Company about being “good neighbors” while leasing a property on East 69th Street that will store 150 of their buses.
Partnow said she was honored to speak at the street co-naming of Mill Avenue and Avenue U, in memory of Frank Scollo, owner of Pizza D’Amore, and that she also met with the new commanding officer of the 63rd Precinct, Captain Rachael Kosak, who was introduced to residents at last week’s meeting.
In addition to assisting with many back-to-school giveaways, Family Fun Day, Senior Resource Day and health fairs, Partnow was happy to announce that the CB18 Health Resource and Back-to-School Fair was a huge success with over 36 vendors and hundreds of residents in attendance. “We made a positive impact on the community,” she said, stating that she had hoped to see more board members present. “There are so many different events going on that everyone should be participating in and taking advantage of. That’s what community is about.”
Looking to the future, Partnow said that she is working with the FDNY to host two pop-up events in October for Fire Safety Month. “There will be one in Canarsie and one in Marine Park. They will be giving out smoke alarms, carbon monoxide detectors and all kinds of info.”
She also announced that the Sanitation Department in the 63rd Precinct has scheduled tag and tow operations for September 28th and 29th. “Body shops removing tags will be targeted,” she said. Partnow also reminded everyone that Sanitation is starting to pick up garbage on holidays, as they did this past Labor Day.
The Holiday Inn Express, 5244 Kings Highway, will be used for sheltering and assisting asylum seekers. Partnow said that the community board was notified via email at 5:47 p.m. on Friday, September 2nd, with apologies for the short notice. “Basically, everyone had been moved in already, and then they notified us,” she said.
The next meeting of CB18 will take place on Wednesday, October 19th at 7 p.m., in person at 1097 Bergen Avenue, and virtually.
Photo by Loretta Chin