The April Meeting of the City Island Civic Association will take place on April 24th2012, at 7:30 p.m. at 190 Fordham Street. They welcome your input and attendance.
As always, updates from our officers, committee reports on Crime, Development, Quality of Life and Traffic, and an open public forum for residents to air and address their grievances.
The guest speaker will be Mary Salig of the New York City Parks Department. She will be updating us on the revived Belden Point Project. Ground can be broken on this project before the end of the year. The civic, along with the City Island Chamber of Commerce, Community Board #10 and State Senator Jeff Klein were involved in restarting this project in 2010.
Thank you Ken Kearns, District Manager of Community Board #10 for being the guest speaker at our last meeting. Ken provided numerous updates and was well received by the membership.
The Civic is still closely watching New York City Budget negotiations regarding FDNY Ladder 53. There will be an update when one becomes available. Make no mistake if City Island is placed on the closure list again, Councilman Jimmy Vacca and the community is ready to fight!
An invitation to the 45thv Precinct for an update on the Traffic Enforcement Plans for City Island this summer. They have advised they will try to come to either May meeting. Paul Nani is the head of our efforts here, he’s worked closely with Captain Russell Green(Commanding Officer of the 45th Precinct) and last year there was a notable improvement.
On that note, Camera Installation has finally started on City Island Avenue. This has been an effort of several years by the City Island Chamber of Commerce lead by Skip Giacco and funded through a grant by Senator Klein. They have strongly supported the Chamber on this effort as the cameras may benefit everyone on City Island. As has been reported numerous times, these cameras are on a rolling record (no one is just watching them) during evening hours only to accessed in the event of a crime (most likely vandalism) by the 45th Precinct or the Chamber. Islanders joined Skip and the Senator on April 12th to celebrate the first installation by the City Island Bridge.
The City Island Theater Group is proud to present David Auburn’s acclaimed drama PROOF. PROOF premieres on April 27th and will run for 6 performances (4/27, 4/28, 5/3, 5/4, 5/5 @ 8:00 p.m. and 4/29 @ 3:00 p.m.) only! To reserve your seats for this thrilling production, send an e-mail to tickets@cityislandtheatergroup.com or call 718--885-3066.
On Sunday, May 20, Grace Church will hold its second concert in the 2012 series. All-Ireland fiddle champion and Smithsonian Folkways Recording artist Brian Conway and premier pianist Brendan Dolan will be performing along with a special appearance by dancers from the Deirdre O’ Mara School of Irish Dance. Concert begins at 4 PM. Tickets are $25 in advance and may be purchased from Grace Church in three ways: by using the PayPal link on the church’s website http://www.gracecityisland.org/, or mailing a check made out to Grace Church to GC 116 City Island Avenue, Bronx 10464.
Mark your Calendars! Memorial Day (and the American Legion Parade) will be May 28th. Let's look forward to a fun-filled day in remembrance of our veterans!
Thank you and please continue to take an interest in your community. Annual Civic dues are $20 per household, please stay up to date!
City Island Civic Association meeting, March 27, 2012:
The meeting was brought to order at 7:35 pmby Bill Stanton, president. The treasurer reported that the regular Civic account has $14,293.76 and the SONE account has $10,084.17. The reading of the minutes of the February meeting was waived and the minutes were accepted as distributed.
Crime Report: Bill Stanton told the group that it would be great to have more people attending these meetings and asked that everyone bring neighbors and friends. He noted that people were begging again the stoplight on Shore Road near the entrance to I-95; he urged people not to encourage them by giving them money. He acknowledged that we have a serious drug problem on City Island; it seems that the dealers move from block to block and people are reluctant to get involved or to report issues. He urged everyone to report anything suspicious that they observe by calling the police. It was noted that there was a recent break-in at a historic house on Schofield Street, although it was empty and little damage was reported. Someone reported that the traffic signal box at the post office is open with exposed wires; 311 was called numerous times and DOT was supposed to fix it but has not done so. When you call the police precinct, get the name of the person you spoke with; when you call 311, get the reference number and inform the Civic.
Ken Kearns, District Manager of Community Board 10, addressed the meeting by outlining the responsibilities of community boards (12 in Bronx and 59 in the city), which perform ombudsman activities and advocate for people in their areas. They research issues of concern and have advisory roles in many areas, including the city’s capital budget. He asked people to call Community Board 10 (718-892-1161 or bx10@cb.nyc.gov) with any questions or concerns. The board has a full staff and 50 volunteers who work with our elected officials and city agencies. For example, CB10 was able to help close down the Library Bar; they can help regulate the renewal or approval of liquor licenses by requiring owners to recognize certain stipulations governing the way they conduct their businesses. The board also helped to prevent T-Mobile from constructing a tall uni-pole, because of our special district zoning. There was some discussion of the widespread community dislike of the size and structure of the new bridge design; Barbara Dolensek will follow up by sending information to Ken and attending the municipal services committee meeting. It has taken so long for the Amtrak bridge near Bartow Pell circle to be completed and that is a tiny structure compared to the City Island bridge. The proposed nursing home was also an issue for the Community Board, which will support the City Island community on this issue if the issue reaches the Board of Standards and Appeals. Someone asked what is happening with the worm bar, which is in receivership and has not been sold. There have been many expressions of interest (Lenny’s Clam Bar, for one) and Susan Bellinson proposed an area with waterfront access and shops. The most recent proposal is rental of the property for a farmer’s market. The proprietor is cleaning up the lot at 650 City Island Avenue; he has experience with green markets. Ken advised Islanders to attend the 45th Precinct community meetings , which are held the first Thursday of each month and the Community Board meetings, which are the third Thursday of every month. Anyone with noise complaints should call 311, get the complaint number, and report it to CB10.
John Doyle, representing State Senator Jeff Klein, reported that there is a New York alert system that will send out alerts if a sexual offender should move into a particular area. He also reported that the security camera program has finally been completed and that installation will begin soon (update: Thursday, April 12, at 1 pm). The Belden Point design has finally been completed and will be presented at the April meeting; the ground-breaking will probably take place in the fall. John Doyle will be honored on May 9 at the 45th Precinct breakfast at Villa Barone, as will our Community Affairs officer Anne Marie Morrison.
Frank Fraioli, representing Council Member James Vacca, reported that Ladder 53 is likely to be on the mayor’s list for removal as part of the budget cutting and that we should be prepared to fight this again. The meeting was adjourned at 8:55 p.m