CB 3 December Meeting: A Roundup

Last night, Community Board 3 held its monthly meeting at Restoration Plaza.

The monthly board meetings are open to all residents of Bed-Stuy. At the meetings, the board provides updates on committee activities in the past month, announces planned activities for the coming months, and also, directly addresses issues concerning the residents of Bed-Stuy.

Approximately 75 people were in attendance at the December meeting, including board members, heads of committees, local elected officials or their representatives and members of the community.

The meeting started with a prayer and invocation, followed by remarks from Henry Butler, the committee chair. The Parks, Arts & Culture Committee announced its plans to hold a public hearing to rename the Amphitheatre in Von King Park to commemorate Ms. Almira Kennedy Coursey.

William Smith of MetLife Bank gave a presentation on behalf of the Senior Services Committee, surrounding reverse mortgages as an option to relieve seniors of their financial burdens as they deal with a diminishing income stream. "Foreclosure is a huge issue in Brooklyn," said Smith. "It has been especially hard for seniors."

Other Meeting Highlights:

• Jackie Gilgrist from Councilmember Darlene Mealy's office discussed "The Living Wage Act." Mealy supports the Act, which will increase the minimum wage to $10, with benefits.

• Lee Church from Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries' office extended well wishes, on behalf of Jeffries for a happy and safe holiday.

• Al Vann reminded everyone about "Water Bill Night," this Wednesday at 6:00 pm, at Boys and Girls High School, where residents who are concerned about water bill lein sales will have an opportunity to ask questions and explore their options. The Department of Environmental Protection will be present to answer questions.

• Additionally, Vann opened the topic of Bloomberg's initiative P.E.G. (Programs to Eliminate the Gap). The mayor's office held a meeting recently with the Finance Committee, for which Vann is a member, to discuss provisions for dealing with the looming city budget deficit—a forecast of $3.3 billion by July 2011. The P.E.G. program proposes $1.6 billion in cuts to bring the budget deficit number down and help close the gap.

"We cannot argue with the fact there is a deficit, and we cannot argue that something needs to be done," said Vann. "My job is to find ways to make cuts that have a minimum impact on the well being of people.

"You have to view the reality of the economic environment that we're in and make the most prudent decisions as possible. We're looking at alternative cuts to meet the gap. All I can do is make the most sensitive recommendations that I can."

• Christine Fonseca of the Drug-Free Bed-Stuy Coalition spoke on Four Loko, a caffeinated alcoholic drink popular with Bed-Stuy teenagers. The drinks are packaged in large, brightly colored cans  and come in flavors such as watermelon, fruit punch and mango. New York State has mandated that after December 10th, none of the local stores can sell the product. Fonseca encourages residents to look out for the drink and if they see a store that is carrying the product, report it to their nearest police precinct.

Then, the community was invited to address everyone in an open forum, for two minutes each. There were announcements regarding new fines ($100) if you do not discard mattresses infested with bed bugs in a plastic bed bag; the owner of a new small business that offers bed bug extermination services introduced his business; another community member mentioned the importance of recycling used holiday trees at designated city parks; a representative from Churches United for Fair Housing announced a revival meeting coming soon for the Broadway Triangle; a representative from Bed-Stuy Patch (me) welcomed everyone to sign onto and spread the word about Bed-Stuy's first and only online, daily news organ at www.bed-stuy.patch.com.

Community Board 3 meetings are held the first Monday of every month, 7:00 pm, in the basement of Restoration Plaza, 1360 Fulton Street.