CITY ISLAND CIVIC ASSOCIATION

Submitted by ub on

The June Meeting of the City Island Civic Association will take place on Tuesday, June 26th 2012 at 7:30pm at 190 Fordham Street. Your input and attendance are appreciated.

An update will be given about the status of FDNY Ladder 53 in this year’s City Fiscal Budget. This ladder is being threatened for nighttime closure.

According to Bronx Community Board #10 that Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s Office of Management and Budget has approved the expenditure of $149.5 million for the construction of a replacement bridge for City Island. There will be vote on a motion to send a letter to Commissioner Janet Sadik-Khan expressing our alarm that no public hearing has taken place to receive input from City Island residents on this very large project.

The Civic Association will continue to keep a watchful eye to ensure we are receiving an adequate traffic control by the New York City Police Department. In recent years, the 45thPrecinct has been extremely receptive to our concerns.

ATTENTION ALL “New York Salutes America” Fireworks Extravaganza will this upcoming Friday June 29th 2012 at Orchard Beach between 6 to 10pm. Fireworks Start at 9pm. This event is sponsored by Senator Jeff Klein and Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.

Representatives will be present from our elected officials, including Senator Klein and Councilman Jimmy Vacca to provide an update to residents on matters of interest to local residents.

“If you see something, say something” it is a responsibility of every citizen to be the eyes and ears of our community. If you see a crime in progress, call 911 immediately. If you see something that is a cause for concern please call 311 and get a reference number. You can send the request to the Civic atcity.island.civic@mac.com so we may follow-up on your behalf.

*******************************************

Minutes of the City Island Civic Association Meeting May 29, 2012

The meeting was called to order at 7:40 p.m. The treasurer’s report and the reading of the minutes were waived. Bill Scranton,president, introduced Captain Russell Green, commanding officer of the 45th Precinct for nearly two years. Captain Green reported that we had police coverage for Memorial Day, as well as Mother’s Day and Easter, and will have traffic agents as needed during the summer. He provided contact information for himself and other officers of the 45th Precinct. He reported that this past year has been a successful one for the precinct and that crime is down. In 2012 so far there have been only 11 crimes in our area, including break-ins,assault, grand larceny involving credit card theft, drug possession,illegal motorcycles, and noise complaints, etc. Officers gave out 60 summonses, including 15 for speeding, and 114 summonses weregiven out for other violations involving quality-of-life offenses. There have been 30 DWI arrests so far this year.

He also reported that both the precinct and Civic Association board members had received complaints from Island residents about some of these summonses, but he noted that In order for us to keep City Island safe, police cannot be selective. Islanders and off-Islanders who do not obey the law have to receive the same response. Living on City Island does not give anyone the right to drive in the fire lane!

He urged residents to make themselves aware of illegal activity and to report them (which can be done anonymously). Bullies do not have to be tolerated.

The traffic agents have been doing very well. When you have an opportunity, please thank them for doing their job, which is difficult with long shifts and low pay.

Captain Green then took questions from the floor, most of them relating to noise at the Sunoco station, Seafood City, and Tony’s Pier, where a great deal of noisy activity takes place late at night andwhere customers on motorcycles race off the island as the restaurants are closing. There have been multiple meetings with the owners to address these problems.

Together with Council Member Jimmy Vacca, the Civic is holding a rally on June 4 at St. Mary Star of the Sea gym to protest the budget cuts that will likely attempt to close Ladder 53 in the City Island firehouse.

Kelly Carmody, manager of the Club House, asked the Civic to support an event called “Love is the Movement” on June 23 to support a not-for-profit organization called TWLHA (To Write Love on Her Arms), which helps teens troubled by depression andsuicidal impulses. The Civic voted to give $250 to the cause.

Community Board 10 is circulating a petition asking for increased officers at the 45th Precinct and we are urged to sign it. Copies will be available at the next Civic meeting.

Senator Jeff Klein has sponsored legislation to increase the penalties for attacks on houses of worship and is addressing other issues, such as eviction proceedings and a round table discussion on how to help veterans.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:45 p.m.