click here for more info on changes to the G Line
Click here for more info on that building being built on Bedford and Monroe
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
November 3 Minutes
The November 3rd meeting started out with Maliza reading the minutes from the October meeting.
There was an update from the Garden Commitee. We'd like to have a meeting with the Brooklyn Botanical Garden, with a composting workshop. The Haloween candy giveaway went very well. A lot of kids showed up and enjoyed it, and the whole holiday went off pretty well on the block. The Garden recieved a $500 grant and will need to start a bank account. Gardeners will need to stop by and cut down their annual plants to make room for next year's crop. There was also thoughts about a community compost pile in the garden, or some sort of compost drop-off, along with concerns that such a drop-off might get unwanted regular trash.
As far as our finances, we still have about $1000 in the bank. There will be an audit of out finances by two block residents who are not elected members, which will take place in December. This is according to our regular bylaws and not the result of any weird circumstances.
For old business, we started out thanking Mr. Russell for all his help with Halloween in the garden. He did a great job. We had budgeted $50 for decorations but only spent $25 total. For next year, maybe we could do an easter egg hunt. Gardenning space is a bit limited, and Andrew wants to re-arrange some of the planting boxes to make more room.
Mike is the editor of the newsletter and is looking for submissions. His email is mbroder@mbroder.com .
We are trying to get a count of all the abandoned buildings on the block to see what is the current state of each building. The list so far is 186, 175 and 148 (the vacant lot next to the green house.) We'd like to get the owner of 148 to fix the sidewalk in front of their house, it's a mess especially in the winter. There was also talk about hiring the Project Regeneration people to clean the vacant buildings, but there's question of liabilty and issues with getting the kids to go onto the vacant properties. There was also a thought that once a week might not be enough at certian times when there's a lot of garbage blowing around.
Toya thought that we should contact the owners of the vacant buildings and reccomend they hire Project Regeneration, but also establish a committee of people who can look after the fronts of the vacant buildings - to give those people recognition for all the work they do.
We also haven't seen the police patrol around 186 in a while. We're going to contact Officer Lyons and ask him to re-establish the patrol. Someone reported seeing a bed in 186.
We established a condolence policy, where we would have a certian ammount ($10 for now) automatically budgeted for buying funeral flowers for members of the block who pass away. The measure was passed with a unanimous vote.
There was thought about purchasing a garbage can for outside the garden, as the city garbage can on the corner has vanished. Gil volunteered to look into the missing can. Thanks, Gil!
New Business
There will be some changes in the G train service as the 4th avenue station has a huge rennovation. The G will start running to Church street instead of Smith-9th, but this won't happen for a while.
We'd also like to look into resident parking permits on the block to control parking.
Our next meeting will be December first at 6:30.
There was an update from the Garden Commitee. We'd like to have a meeting with the Brooklyn Botanical Garden, with a composting workshop. The Haloween candy giveaway went very well. A lot of kids showed up and enjoyed it, and the whole holiday went off pretty well on the block. The Garden recieved a $500 grant and will need to start a bank account. Gardeners will need to stop by and cut down their annual plants to make room for next year's crop. There was also thoughts about a community compost pile in the garden, or some sort of compost drop-off, along with concerns that such a drop-off might get unwanted regular trash.
As far as our finances, we still have about $1000 in the bank. There will be an audit of out finances by two block residents who are not elected members, which will take place in December. This is according to our regular bylaws and not the result of any weird circumstances.
For old business, we started out thanking Mr. Russell for all his help with Halloween in the garden. He did a great job. We had budgeted $50 for decorations but only spent $25 total. For next year, maybe we could do an easter egg hunt. Gardenning space is a bit limited, and Andrew wants to re-arrange some of the planting boxes to make more room.
Mike is the editor of the newsletter and is looking for submissions. His email is mbroder@mbroder.com .
We are trying to get a count of all the abandoned buildings on the block to see what is the current state of each building. The list so far is 186, 175 and 148 (the vacant lot next to the green house.) We'd like to get the owner of 148 to fix the sidewalk in front of their house, it's a mess especially in the winter. There was also talk about hiring the Project Regeneration people to clean the vacant buildings, but there's question of liabilty and issues with getting the kids to go onto the vacant properties. There was also a thought that once a week might not be enough at certian times when there's a lot of garbage blowing around.
Toya thought that we should contact the owners of the vacant buildings and reccomend they hire Project Regeneration, but also establish a committee of people who can look after the fronts of the vacant buildings - to give those people recognition for all the work they do.
We also haven't seen the police patrol around 186 in a while. We're going to contact Officer Lyons and ask him to re-establish the patrol. Someone reported seeing a bed in 186.
We established a condolence policy, where we would have a certian ammount ($10 for now) automatically budgeted for buying funeral flowers for members of the block who pass away. The measure was passed with a unanimous vote.
There was thought about purchasing a garbage can for outside the garden, as the city garbage can on the corner has vanished. Gil volunteered to look into the missing can. Thanks, Gil!
New Business
There will be some changes in the G train service as the 4th avenue station has a huge rennovation. The G will start running to Church street instead of Smith-9th, but this won't happen for a while.
We'd also like to look into resident parking permits on the block to control parking.
Our next meeting will be December first at 6:30.
Friday, November 16, 2007
Check your credit regularly to avoid identity theft!
At the Block Association Meeting on Sat. Nov 3, someone mentioned how
to get the Free Credit Reports in order to check your credit report and avoid identity theft. That will help to make sure nobody's signed up for a credit card in your name.
According to Suze Orman you can a free credit report annually and
should never have to give credit card info.
www.annualcreditreport.com
The 3 main credit bureaus are:
Equifax www.equifax.com (800) 685-1111
Experian www.experian.com (888) 397-3742
TransUnion www.transunion.com (800) 888-4213
to get the Free Credit Reports in order to check your credit report and avoid identity theft. That will help to make sure nobody's signed up for a credit card in your name.
According to Suze Orman you can a free credit report annually and
should never have to give credit card info.
www.annualcreditreport.com
The 3 main credit bureaus are:
Equifax www.equifax.com (800) 685-1111
Experian www.experian.com (888) 397-3742
TransUnion www.transunion.com (800) 888-4213
Friday, October 26, 2007
Sunday, October 21, 2007
October 6, 2007 Minutes
The October 6, 2007 meeting started off with a welcome from Vice President Kisha Sigler and an introduction of the block association officers and attendees.
Committee updates:
On behalf of the Garden Committee, Toya reported that it continues to be open for use by the residents of the block. Anyone interested in obtaining a key to the garden should contact Michael at 209 Madison. Members have already planted many vegetables and flowers and will commence work on preparing the garden for the winter. One attendee suggested that we obtain red mulch to cover the garden for the winter. An attendee asked if money will be received for the required winter maintenance work. Please note that the garden has received a $500 grant for general use. Toya will reapply for the Citizens for NYC grant for 2008, an amount which ranges from $500-1500 per year.
The Public Safety Committee reported that crime is up overall due mainly to a rise in car theft. Shootings are down. Officer Lyons has offered to attend a future block association meeting to address any issues and to answer any questions. The Committee also requests that one additional person attend the Precinct Council monthly meetings. You would attend three meetings a year (the last Wednesday of the month from 7-8:30pm), alternating with Kisha and Maliza. Dinner is served at the end of the meeting. Please let Kisha or Maliza know if you are interested.
The Finance Committee presented a spreadsheet with our current financial status. After the expenditures from the meet and greet, the block party, office and garden supplies we still have $999.39 in the bank. This surplus is due to the block's fundraising efforts and members' contributions. Yeah!! There was a vote allowing the block association to send a card and token of condolences to Ms. Ward's family. There will be a vote at a future meeting for automating the process of getting funds in the event of a passing. The amount proposed was $25 per passing.
The Youth Committee will continue its efforts to engage our youth to create a youth newsletter. An attendee suggested that these contributions be in the form of a youth page within the block association's current newsletter instead of a separate newsletter. This concluded the committee updates.
At the prior meeting, Bed Stuy's Project Re-Generation provided a 30 day trial at no cost to the Madison Street 3 block association. This free trial has now expired and attendees expressed interest in continuing the service. Toya mentioned that further discussions are needed regarding continuing the service for the 4-5 unoccupied homes on the block. We will vote on this at a future meeting. The monthly fee for this service starts at $85 for trash removal, front yard, sidewalk and gutter cleaning 3 days a week, and increases if you require snow removal, recycling, backyard or basement services. Project Regeneration is an organization teaching financial literacy to area kids. The kids make some money cleaning up in front of area homes, and then Project Regeneration helps them organize and learn how to manage the money they make. More information can be found at www.pr-g.org.
In old business: (1) mailboxes in front of 180 madison. Rachel will repaint them herself since no one from the city has responded to her inquiries. (2) Toya has requested that you contact her if you have any information on the owners of the unoccupied houses. The Block Association is working with the city to make sure that these spaces do not get out of hand (e.g. young people in and out, illegal activity...). You can reach Toya at madisonstreet3@gmail.com. (3) The trees in front of 186-188 Madison create a haven for illegal adn boisterous activity. One attendee said that he will look into getting the trees trimmed. (4) In order to get the attention of the owners of vacant premises, an attendee suggested that we call 311 to have the city issue summons' for the litter in front of vacant premises. (5) Finally, if you have any entries for the newsletter, please contact Michael (209 Madison) or Maliza (184 Madison).
In new business: (1) The block association will look into obtaining a garbage can outside of the community garden. We will need a volunteer to empty it on garbage days. (2) The association will work with community Board 3 to get a sanitation representative out to meet with us to discuss our sanitation concerns. This meeting will be during the week at the YMCA. Please note that an attendee has noticed sanitation inspections as late as 7:30 pm the day before garbage pickup. (3) Sanitation will give out compost on October 26th in Staten Island. Each borough has a different date, so consult their website www.nyccompost.org for more composting dates. (4) On Monday, October 22, at 7pm the Brooklyn Botanic Garden will provide general information at the YMCA regarding gardening and composting. (5) Attendees would like to put together a Halloween party for the kids on October 31, 2007 from 6:30-8:00pm in the community garden. Attendees volunteered to provide candy and decorations to Maliza at 184 Madison after 6:30 pm, October 27th. A vote was taken and the block association will donate $50 for this event. (6) An attendee has noticed things disappearing out of his backyard. Please do not "borrow" items without first requesting permission of the owner. (7) A 10-week course in home maintenance at 1012 Gates Avenue Thursdays 6-9pm has proven to be invaluable to some attendees. It costs $150. Call 718 732-8026 or consult www.nhsnyc.org for course schedule and availability.
Meeting was adjourned at 7:50pm.
Committee updates:
On behalf of the Garden Committee, Toya reported that it continues to be open for use by the residents of the block. Anyone interested in obtaining a key to the garden should contact Michael at 209 Madison. Members have already planted many vegetables and flowers and will commence work on preparing the garden for the winter. One attendee suggested that we obtain red mulch to cover the garden for the winter. An attendee asked if money will be received for the required winter maintenance work. Please note that the garden has received a $500 grant for general use. Toya will reapply for the Citizens for NYC grant for 2008, an amount which ranges from $500-1500 per year.
The Public Safety Committee reported that crime is up overall due mainly to a rise in car theft. Shootings are down. Officer Lyons has offered to attend a future block association meeting to address any issues and to answer any questions. The Committee also requests that one additional person attend the Precinct Council monthly meetings. You would attend three meetings a year (the last Wednesday of the month from 7-8:30pm), alternating with Kisha and Maliza. Dinner is served at the end of the meeting. Please let Kisha or Maliza know if you are interested.
The Finance Committee presented a spreadsheet with our current financial status. After the expenditures from the meet and greet, the block party, office and garden supplies we still have $999.39 in the bank. This surplus is due to the block's fundraising efforts and members' contributions. Yeah!! There was a vote allowing the block association to send a card and token of condolences to Ms. Ward's family. There will be a vote at a future meeting for automating the process of getting funds in the event of a passing. The amount proposed was $25 per passing.
The Youth Committee will continue its efforts to engage our youth to create a youth newsletter. An attendee suggested that these contributions be in the form of a youth page within the block association's current newsletter instead of a separate newsletter. This concluded the committee updates.
At the prior meeting, Bed Stuy's Project Re-Generation provided a 30 day trial at no cost to the Madison Street 3 block association. This free trial has now expired and attendees expressed interest in continuing the service. Toya mentioned that further discussions are needed regarding continuing the service for the 4-5 unoccupied homes on the block. We will vote on this at a future meeting. The monthly fee for this service starts at $85 for trash removal, front yard, sidewalk and gutter cleaning 3 days a week, and increases if you require snow removal, recycling, backyard or basement services. Project Regeneration is an organization teaching financial literacy to area kids. The kids make some money cleaning up in front of area homes, and then Project Regeneration helps them organize and learn how to manage the money they make. More information can be found at www.pr-g.org.
In old business: (1) mailboxes in front of 180 madison. Rachel will repaint them herself since no one from the city has responded to her inquiries. (2) Toya has requested that you contact her if you have any information on the owners of the unoccupied houses. The Block Association is working with the city to make sure that these spaces do not get out of hand (e.g. young people in and out, illegal activity...). You can reach Toya at madisonstreet3@gmail.com. (3) The trees in front of 186-188 Madison create a haven for illegal adn boisterous activity. One attendee said that he will look into getting the trees trimmed. (4) In order to get the attention of the owners of vacant premises, an attendee suggested that we call 311 to have the city issue summons' for the litter in front of vacant premises. (5) Finally, if you have any entries for the newsletter, please contact Michael (209 Madison) or Maliza (184 Madison).
In new business: (1) The block association will look into obtaining a garbage can outside of the community garden. We will need a volunteer to empty it on garbage days. (2) The association will work with community Board 3 to get a sanitation representative out to meet with us to discuss our sanitation concerns. This meeting will be during the week at the YMCA. Please note that an attendee has noticed sanitation inspections as late as 7:30 pm the day before garbage pickup. (3) Sanitation will give out compost on October 26th in Staten Island. Each borough has a different date, so consult their website www.nyccompost.org for more composting dates. (4) On Monday, October 22, at 7pm the Brooklyn Botanic Garden will provide general information at the YMCA regarding gardening and composting. (5) Attendees would like to put together a Halloween party for the kids on October 31, 2007 from 6:30-8:00pm in the community garden. Attendees volunteered to provide candy and decorations to Maliza at 184 Madison after 6:30 pm, October 27th. A vote was taken and the block association will donate $50 for this event. (6) An attendee has noticed things disappearing out of his backyard. Please do not "borrow" items without first requesting permission of the owner. (7) A 10-week course in home maintenance at 1012 Gates Avenue Thursdays 6-9pm has proven to be invaluable to some attendees. It costs $150. Call 718 732-8026 or consult www.nhsnyc.org for course schedule and availability.
Meeting was adjourned at 7:50pm.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Brooklyn Botanic Garden Presentation!
PLEASE JOIN THE MEMBERS OF MADISON STREET 3 BLOCK ASSOCIATION FOR AN INFORMATIONAL MEETING WITH REPRESENTATIVES FROM THE BROOKLYN BOTANIC GARDEN
WHEN: MONDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2007, 7 – 8 PM
WHERE: BEDFORD STUYVESANT YMCA, 1121 BEDFORD AVENUE
WHY: TO LEARN ABOUT COMMUNITY GARDENING AND COMPOSTING
Upcoming Events
Wednesday October 31, 2007 Halloween Party and Candy Give
6:30 – 8:00 PM Away at Stars of Hope Community Garden @ 213 Madison Street
Saturday November 3, 2007 Monthly Block Association Meeting
6:30 – 8:00 PM Meeting at the Bedford Stuyvesant YMCA @ 1121 Bedford Avenue
WHEN: MONDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2007, 7 – 8 PM
WHERE: BEDFORD STUYVESANT YMCA, 1121 BEDFORD AVENUE
WHY: TO LEARN ABOUT COMMUNITY GARDENING AND COMPOSTING
Upcoming Events
Wednesday October 31, 2007 Halloween Party and Candy Give
6:30 – 8:00 PM Away at Stars of Hope Community Garden @ 213 Madison Street
Saturday November 3, 2007 Monthly Block Association Meeting
6:30 – 8:00 PM Meeting at the Bedford Stuyvesant YMCA @ 1121 Bedford Avenue
Saturday, September 29, 2007
September 1st Minutes
The September 1st, 2007 meeting started off with an update from the commitees.
The Garden Committee is thinking about setting up a picnic area. Portia from Block #2 gave a nice plaque for the garden. Thanks, Portia!
The Public Safety Committee didn't have a precinct council meeting to attend, the precinct council is on a summer recess.
The Finance Committee presented a spreadsheet with out current financial status. After the expenditures from the block party, we still have cash in the bank. This is thanks to grant money, member contributions, and our plant salr, raffles and donations.
barnabus Shakur then gave a presentation from Project Regeneration. Project Regeneration is an organization teaching financial literacy to area kids. The kids make some money cleaning up in front of area homes, and then Project Regeneration helps them organize and learn how to manage the money they make. Several homes on our block are already signed up for their cleaning services. More information can be found at www.pr-g.org
In old business, Toya is still searching for the owner of the vacant lot next to 150 Madison.
In new business, Toya suggests we contract Project Regeneration to take care of the areas in front of the vacant buildings on the block. We'll have to look in to the legality of this, as we're not sure if there would be a problem of liability.
Announcements: Mike Broder told us about a way to get fresh produce in the area called the Kalabash Food Buying Club. The following flier was passed out:
Also, in the coming weeks Mike and Maliza plan to start a newsletter we can pass out on the block to detail what the block association is up to.
The Garden Committee is thinking about setting up a picnic area. Portia from Block #2 gave a nice plaque for the garden. Thanks, Portia!
The Public Safety Committee didn't have a precinct council meeting to attend, the precinct council is on a summer recess.
The Finance Committee presented a spreadsheet with out current financial status. After the expenditures from the block party, we still have cash in the bank. This is thanks to grant money, member contributions, and our plant salr, raffles and donations.
barnabus Shakur then gave a presentation from Project Regeneration. Project Regeneration is an organization teaching financial literacy to area kids. The kids make some money cleaning up in front of area homes, and then Project Regeneration helps them organize and learn how to manage the money they make. Several homes on our block are already signed up for their cleaning services. More information can be found at www.pr-g.org
In old business, Toya is still searching for the owner of the vacant lot next to 150 Madison.
In new business, Toya suggests we contract Project Regeneration to take care of the areas in front of the vacant buildings on the block. We'll have to look in to the legality of this, as we're not sure if there would be a problem of liability.
Announcements: Mike Broder told us about a way to get fresh produce in the area called the Kalabash Food Buying Club. The following flier was passed out:
Also, in the coming weeks Mike and Maliza plan to start a newsletter we can pass out on the block to detail what the block association is up to.
Saturday, September 01, 2007
August 4th Minutes
The August 4th 2007 meeting started off with a report from our committees.
Kisha, from the Block Party Committee, reported that $207 of the $300 requested last meeting was used for the Block Party. Leftovers will be used for the Community Garden Party scheduled for August 5th. Kisha said that keeping track of volunteers will be important next year, as it was hard to make sure everyone followed through on what they were supposed to be doing, but Gloria was a huge help and the block party was a success.
Gil brought a huge bundle of herbs he'd grown in his backyard!
Next was an update from the Garden Committee. Green Guerrillas donated a bunch of new flowers. We're on the "Emergency" fence list with Green Guerrillas to have a fence installed for the garden. For the August 5th Garden Party, we'll have the neighborhood man who plays saxophone stop by with some music. June's done a lot of planting and Andrew's built a lot of planting beds, so we're looking forward to showing off the garden at the party.
The Public Safety Committee reported that there's no precinct council meetings in the summer. Meetings are usually the last wednesday of ever month, at Nostrand Ave and Dekalb. August 7th at 3-8pm will be the National Night Out Against Crime.
Andrew could not report on his finances, as he was off at the hospital with his wife - they're having a baby!
The Youth Committee reported on some after school and summer programs, including the Beacon Program.
For New Business, there's a new family on the block in the newly-built house next to Gil's. Please be careful parking, as they have an active legal driveway.
We'd also like to do some cleaning in the vacant lots near the green house to the left of the apartment building.
There was a murder at Franklin & Fulton last week, so please be careful.
There's a sprinkler head on the fire hydrant across from Maliza's house, and it's being controlled by the fire department on hot days. It may seem like it's running too much and wasting water, but it saves water by keeping people from opening a whole hydrant to cool off.
In New Business, there was a brief unanimous vote which made Maliza Joseph-Gabriel was elected as our Assistant Secretary. The current officers will be in office until December when a new vote is held.
There's a new Dunkin Donuts on Lafayette and Nostrand, and a little cafe called "Tiny Cup" on Clifton and Nostrand. I've been to Tiny Cup a few times since our meeting, and it's reasonably priced and tasty.
We'd also like to start a newsletter.
Madison Street Block #2, the next block over to the west, made it into the next round in the Greenest Block in Brooklyn Competition! We'd really like to get in on that next year. Let's start thinking about planters and trees!
Kisha, from the Block Party Committee, reported that $207 of the $300 requested last meeting was used for the Block Party. Leftovers will be used for the Community Garden Party scheduled for August 5th. Kisha said that keeping track of volunteers will be important next year, as it was hard to make sure everyone followed through on what they were supposed to be doing, but Gloria was a huge help and the block party was a success.
Gil brought a huge bundle of herbs he'd grown in his backyard!
Next was an update from the Garden Committee. Green Guerrillas donated a bunch of new flowers. We're on the "Emergency" fence list with Green Guerrillas to have a fence installed for the garden. For the August 5th Garden Party, we'll have the neighborhood man who plays saxophone stop by with some music. June's done a lot of planting and Andrew's built a lot of planting beds, so we're looking forward to showing off the garden at the party.
The Public Safety Committee reported that there's no precinct council meetings in the summer. Meetings are usually the last wednesday of ever month, at Nostrand Ave and Dekalb. August 7th at 3-8pm will be the National Night Out Against Crime.
Andrew could not report on his finances, as he was off at the hospital with his wife - they're having a baby!
The Youth Committee reported on some after school and summer programs, including the Beacon Program.
For New Business, there's a new family on the block in the newly-built house next to Gil's. Please be careful parking, as they have an active legal driveway.
We'd also like to do some cleaning in the vacant lots near the green house to the left of the apartment building.
There was a murder at Franklin & Fulton last week, so please be careful.
There's a sprinkler head on the fire hydrant across from Maliza's house, and it's being controlled by the fire department on hot days. It may seem like it's running too much and wasting water, but it saves water by keeping people from opening a whole hydrant to cool off.
In New Business, there was a brief unanimous vote which made Maliza Joseph-Gabriel was elected as our Assistant Secretary. The current officers will be in office until December when a new vote is held.
There's a new Dunkin Donuts on Lafayette and Nostrand, and a little cafe called "Tiny Cup" on Clifton and Nostrand. I've been to Tiny Cup a few times since our meeting, and it's reasonably priced and tasty.
We'd also like to start a newsletter.
Madison Street Block #2, the next block over to the west, made it into the next round in the Greenest Block in Brooklyn Competition! We'd really like to get in on that next year. Let's start thinking about planters and trees!
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Mrs. Desirita McReynolds
We regret the passing of Mrs. Desirita McReynolds of 150 Madison St. The viewing will be held on Thursday, August 16th at the Calvary and St Cyprian Episcopal Church at 966 Bushwick Ave. between Gates and Greene. Viewing is from 5 - 7pm and the funeral is from 7 -8pm.
Thursday, August 02, 2007
Community Garden Party!
Sunday August 5th, 2-6pm
Stars of Hope Community Garden
213 Madison
Come have some fun and enjoy our beautiful garden!
Eat some BBQ!
Listen to some music!
Bring the kids and neighbors! All are invited!
For more information, contact Adam of Green Guerillas at 718 906 1000
Stars of Hope Community Garden
213 Madison
Come have some fun and enjoy our beautiful garden!
Eat some BBQ!
Listen to some music!
Bring the kids and neighbors! All are invited!
For more information, contact Adam of Green Guerillas at 718 906 1000
Thursday, July 26, 2007
June 30th Minutes and Election Results
President - Toya Williford
Vice President - Kisha Sigler
Treasurer - Andrew Robinson
Secretary - Fran Krause
The meeting started off with 15 neighbors in attendance. Welcome packets were handed out to new members and the minutes from last month's meeting were read.
The Community Garden Committee reports that the garden has been getting very green! The problems involving the fence on the West side of the garden seem resolved, though a more permanent fence will be needed eventually. Green Thumb might be of help with the fence. We also have a tool that can be used to open the fire hydrant next to the garden, so that the plants can be watered.
The Block Party Committee says things are looking good for the upcoming block party. Detais with the cotton candy machine still need to be ironed out. The Key Food on Nostrand, the corner store on Bedford and Madison and several neighbors have donated food for the party. We'll be getting "No Parking" signs in advance in order to avoid problems with towing. The American Legion on Nostrand donated $125 for the party, and there was a suggestion to ask the beverage distrubutor on Nostrand and Wonder Bread bakery for donations as well.
The Public Safety Committee then gave a report on the latest precinct meeting. Officer Lyons, head of the 79th Precinct, says that crime has been up recently. There was a shooting at 99 Madison, and several robberies on the subway. A mugshot was passed around of the subway robbery suspect.
Andrew gave a report on the financial situation of the block. Eighty dollars were collected at the last meeting in dues. $214 remain from the flower sale to be used for the block party. $1298.88 is the current ballence in our bank account.
Kisha reported from the Youth Committee. She had a meeting on her stoop with 18 kids from the block, who enjoyed ice cream and conversation. We hope to see the same kids at the block party!
There was then a unanimous vote to use $300 towards food for the block party.
There followed elections for the officers. The current officers had reached the end of their six-month terms. Toya Williford was re-elected as president. Andrew Robinson was re-elected as Treasurer. Kisha Sigler is our new Vice President, and Fran Krause is the new Secretary. The position of Assistant Secretary is currently vacant.
The floor was then opened up to new business. Toya said that she has some small trees and rose bushes to distribute and use in the garden. Andrew said he would like to get an artist to draft a layout for paths in the garden. He also said he's like to have an area in the garden with a picnic table to be used by block residents, as it would be very useful for renters who might not have access to a backyard space.
The meeting was then adjourned.
Vice President - Kisha Sigler
Treasurer - Andrew Robinson
Secretary - Fran Krause
The meeting started off with 15 neighbors in attendance. Welcome packets were handed out to new members and the minutes from last month's meeting were read.
The Community Garden Committee reports that the garden has been getting very green! The problems involving the fence on the West side of the garden seem resolved, though a more permanent fence will be needed eventually. Green Thumb might be of help with the fence. We also have a tool that can be used to open the fire hydrant next to the garden, so that the plants can be watered.
The Block Party Committee says things are looking good for the upcoming block party. Detais with the cotton candy machine still need to be ironed out. The Key Food on Nostrand, the corner store on Bedford and Madison and several neighbors have donated food for the party. We'll be getting "No Parking" signs in advance in order to avoid problems with towing. The American Legion on Nostrand donated $125 for the party, and there was a suggestion to ask the beverage distrubutor on Nostrand and Wonder Bread bakery for donations as well.
The Public Safety Committee then gave a report on the latest precinct meeting. Officer Lyons, head of the 79th Precinct, says that crime has been up recently. There was a shooting at 99 Madison, and several robberies on the subway. A mugshot was passed around of the subway robbery suspect.
Andrew gave a report on the financial situation of the block. Eighty dollars were collected at the last meeting in dues. $214 remain from the flower sale to be used for the block party. $1298.88 is the current ballence in our bank account.
Kisha reported from the Youth Committee. She had a meeting on her stoop with 18 kids from the block, who enjoyed ice cream and conversation. We hope to see the same kids at the block party!
There was then a unanimous vote to use $300 towards food for the block party.
There followed elections for the officers. The current officers had reached the end of their six-month terms. Toya Williford was re-elected as president. Andrew Robinson was re-elected as Treasurer. Kisha Sigler is our new Vice President, and Fran Krause is the new Secretary. The position of Assistant Secretary is currently vacant.
The floor was then opened up to new business. Toya said that she has some small trees and rose bushes to distribute and use in the garden. Andrew said he would like to get an artist to draft a layout for paths in the garden. He also said he's like to have an area in the garden with a picnic table to be used by block residents, as it would be very useful for renters who might not have access to a backyard space.
The meeting was then adjourned.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
BLOCK PARTY UPDATE
General Info
• The block party is scheduled for this Saturday, July 14, 2007. Madison Street between Bedford and Nostrand will be closed from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm. NYPD will reopen the block at 8:00 pm. NYPD is enforcing the time limits for the permit.
• Please DO NOT SELL ANYTHING AT THE BLOCK PARTY as the block association did not apply for a vendor permit.
• Don’t forget to wear sun block during the day and insect repellent at night.
• Thank you all for volunteering your time and energy to make this party a huge success.
• If you would like to become a member of the Block Association or make a donation please see Ms. Toya at 182A Madison.
Music
• There is ONE sound permit for the block party. The sound system for the block party will be located at 151 Madison. Ms. Kisha is in charge of the music for the day.
• The music will start at 10:00 am and end at 7:30 pm. The permit to close the block expires at 8:00 pm sharp. Any music played after 8:00 pm will result in a fine or ticket. The police have said that if the music persists after one verbal warning they will confiscate any and all equipment.
Cars and Street Cleaning
• PLEASE REMOVE ALL PARKED CARS NO LATER THAN 8:00AM on Saturday, July 14, 2007. The street sweeper will clean the block between 8:00 and 10:00AM.
• The block will reopen to traffic promptly at 8:00PM. Please be advised that NYPD will patrol the block after 8:00PM to ensure that the street is open and safe.
Food
• The food table will be located in the center of the block (in front of mechanic’s garage). Please look for the balloons. Mr. Darryl will be in charge of the grill. He will start cooking around 10:00 am and we plan to close the grill around 7:00 pm.
• The Block Party planning committee and the Block Association have generously agreed to provide a financial contribution to help the planning committee purchase food for the block party.
• Residents are encouraged to grill in front of their house and share family favorites. Please be safe and courteous of your neighbors.
Clean up
• The Block Party planning committee will provide garbage bags all along the block – PLEASE DO NOT THROW ANY GARBAGE ON THE STREET. There will be a block clean up at 7:30 pm. We need to have everything cleaned up and out of the street by 8:00 pm sharp.
• The block party is scheduled for this Saturday, July 14, 2007. Madison Street between Bedford and Nostrand will be closed from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm. NYPD will reopen the block at 8:00 pm. NYPD is enforcing the time limits for the permit.
• Please DO NOT SELL ANYTHING AT THE BLOCK PARTY as the block association did not apply for a vendor permit.
• Don’t forget to wear sun block during the day and insect repellent at night.
• Thank you all for volunteering your time and energy to make this party a huge success.
• If you would like to become a member of the Block Association or make a donation please see Ms. Toya at 182A Madison.
Music
• There is ONE sound permit for the block party. The sound system for the block party will be located at 151 Madison. Ms. Kisha is in charge of the music for the day.
• The music will start at 10:00 am and end at 7:30 pm. The permit to close the block expires at 8:00 pm sharp. Any music played after 8:00 pm will result in a fine or ticket. The police have said that if the music persists after one verbal warning they will confiscate any and all equipment.
Cars and Street Cleaning
• PLEASE REMOVE ALL PARKED CARS NO LATER THAN 8:00AM on Saturday, July 14, 2007. The street sweeper will clean the block between 8:00 and 10:00AM.
• The block will reopen to traffic promptly at 8:00PM. Please be advised that NYPD will patrol the block after 8:00PM to ensure that the street is open and safe.
Food
• The food table will be located in the center of the block (in front of mechanic’s garage). Please look for the balloons. Mr. Darryl will be in charge of the grill. He will start cooking around 10:00 am and we plan to close the grill around 7:00 pm.
• The Block Party planning committee and the Block Association have generously agreed to provide a financial contribution to help the planning committee purchase food for the block party.
• Residents are encouraged to grill in front of their house and share family favorites. Please be safe and courteous of your neighbors.
Clean up
• The Block Party planning committee will provide garbage bags all along the block – PLEASE DO NOT THROW ANY GARBAGE ON THE STREET. There will be a block clean up at 7:30 pm. We need to have everything cleaned up and out of the street by 8:00 pm sharp.
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Free Concerts in Von King Park this Summer!
I found this list on another BedStuy blog, I thought you all might be interested...
Here is a list of free concerts and events in Bed-Stuy’s Von King Park and other parks near Bedford-Stuyvesant.
BEDFORD-STUYVESANT - HERBERT VON KING PARK
Located at Greene, Marcy, Lafayette and Tompkins Avenues
To get there: IND G train to Bedford-Nostrand; exit at Nostrand and walk one block east to Marcy
The Delfonics Thursday, July 05, 2007
From 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM
Herbert Von King Park (Music)
Junior Reid Thursday, July 12, 2007
From 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM
Herbert Von King Park (Music)
Evidence, A Dance Company
Nadia Dieudonne & Feet of Rhythm Saturday, July 14, 2007
From 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Herbert Von King Park (Dance)
Arrested Development Thursday, July 19, 2007
From 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM
Herbert Von King Park (Music)
Camille A. Brown, Washington Reflections Saturday, July 21, 2007
From 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Herbert Von King Park (Dance)
Absolute Theatre : Lenox Avenue / Central Avenue Tuesday, July 24, 2007
From 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM
Herbert Von King Park (Theatre)
Black Spectrum Theatre : Kingfish, Amos and Andy Wednesday, July 25, 2007
From 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM
Herbert Von King Park (Theatre)
J. Kyle Korner Entertainment & Hip-Hop Theatre Festival : The Actor’s Rap Thursday, July 26, 2007
From 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM
Herbert Von King Park (Theatre)
Classical Theatre of Harlem : Romeo & Juliet From Friday, July 27, 2007 to Saturday, July 28, 2007
From 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM
Herbert Von King Park (Theatre)
J. Kyle Korner Entertainment & Hip-Hop Theatre Festival : The Actor’s Rap Sunday, July 29, 2007
From 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM
Herbert Von King Park (Theatre)
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
New Noise Code for NYC
There's a new noise code for NYC, you can read it here.
On page 10, it says that noise is illegal when it's ten decibels above the ambient level from 7am-10pm, or seven decibels above the ambient level from 10pm-7am. Fines of $50 are issued for general noise, and the fines for "unreasonable noise get really high. First ticket for "unreasonable noise gets a minimum fine $350, maximum fine $1000. Fines go up to $700 minimum and $2000 maximum on the second offense and $1050 minimum $3000 maximum for a third offense. Sound is measured from the street or inside a neighboring house.
On page 19, it says that any animal heard barking for five minutes straight from 10pm-7am or ten minutes straight from 7am-10pm will be subject to a minimum fine of $50 and a maximum fine of $175. Second offense gets a minimum fine of $100 and a maximum fine of $350. Third offense gets a minimum fine of $150 and a maximum fine of $525.
There's also a lot of new rules about construction noise. Check it out!
Monday, July 02, 2007
Another Blog to Read
I found a blog www.bedstuyblog.com I think you might like to check out. I'm not in charge of the content in any way, just found it and thought it had some interesting photos.
Monday, June 18, 2007
I found this information on www.brownstoner.com about the construction going on at the corner of Bedford and Monroe.
"...this new project at 1142 Bedford Avenue at Monroe is directly across the avenue from the new YMCA. The development, which just got sign-off from DOB, will be 29 condo units plus commercial space on the ground floor."
June 3rd Minutes
The Block Association meeting on June 3rd was preceded by a "meet and greet" for the residents of the block. Refreshments were served, and there were activities that let us meet each other and break the ice.
We started off with minutes from the last meeting.
Heather Anison from the American Cancer Society talked about her organization and told us all about a run scheduled for June 23rd to benefit cancer research. The run will be held from 3-10 pm, with entertainment and food. There will also be a reception for survivors of cancer.
Committee Updates:
The Garden Committee needs some trees for the garden. Andrew mentioned that we might try to get someone to donate trees in memoriam. We could also use a box to surround the base of the tree that's been planted in front of the garden.
The Youth Committee plans on a meeting June 10th or 11th. Kisha plans on hosting a meeting on her stoop, possibly with ice cream afterwards. She also plans on getting a pamphlet of activities out by December for next summer, as some deadlines start in February for summer programs!
The Block Party Committee plans on the party being held on July 14th with a rain date of July 24th. Signs for "No Parking" are going up the Wednesday before the party to avoid confusion. We'd also like to check with the church to see if we could use their parking lot for cars the day of the party.
The Public Safety Committee spoke about their visit to the Precinct meeting. Officer Lyons repeated many of the points he made when he visited us recently, such as watching out for identity theft, and theft from commercial vehicles. There was also a call to check in on the elderly and disabled. They might need our help as the weather gets hot. The police are also starting up a little league. Also, someone asked about how to find information about sex offenders in our neighborhood. You can find a brochure with information from the New York Department of Justice HERE.
The Finance and Fundraising report was given. We're doing pretty well, with 21 paid members, 7 households paid in full.
Old Business -
One vacant house was closed off in the past month. The city put a rolling steel door over the front door and stucco over the windows.
New Business -
The next meeting will be June 30th from 6:30 - 8pm - NOT July 7th!
Interim Elections will be held, so come prepared to vote! Remember, only one vote per household! Kisha plans to run for Vice President.
Someone mentioned that it would be very helpful to have the Department of Buildings send a representative to one of our meetings, as the new construction going on in our block raises a lot of questions.
A few people had a misunderstanding about some towing the police have been doing on our block. Apparently the police said that our Block Association voted to have commercial vehicles towed from the block. It seemed to be a misunderstanding due to our discussions about commercial traffic on Block #2 (Between Franklin and Bedford) and our discussion about legal & illegal driveways (we talk about that at every meeting it seems!)
We started off with minutes from the last meeting.
Heather Anison from the American Cancer Society talked about her organization and told us all about a run scheduled for June 23rd to benefit cancer research. The run will be held from 3-10 pm, with entertainment and food. There will also be a reception for survivors of cancer.
Committee Updates:
The Garden Committee needs some trees for the garden. Andrew mentioned that we might try to get someone to donate trees in memoriam. We could also use a box to surround the base of the tree that's been planted in front of the garden.
The Youth Committee plans on a meeting June 10th or 11th. Kisha plans on hosting a meeting on her stoop, possibly with ice cream afterwards. She also plans on getting a pamphlet of activities out by December for next summer, as some deadlines start in February for summer programs!
The Block Party Committee plans on the party being held on July 14th with a rain date of July 24th. Signs for "No Parking" are going up the Wednesday before the party to avoid confusion. We'd also like to check with the church to see if we could use their parking lot for cars the day of the party.
The Public Safety Committee spoke about their visit to the Precinct meeting. Officer Lyons repeated many of the points he made when he visited us recently, such as watching out for identity theft, and theft from commercial vehicles. There was also a call to check in on the elderly and disabled. They might need our help as the weather gets hot. The police are also starting up a little league. Also, someone asked about how to find information about sex offenders in our neighborhood. You can find a brochure with information from the New York Department of Justice HERE.
The Finance and Fundraising report was given. We're doing pretty well, with 21 paid members, 7 households paid in full.
Old Business -
One vacant house was closed off in the past month. The city put a rolling steel door over the front door and stucco over the windows.
New Business -
The next meeting will be June 30th from 6:30 - 8pm - NOT July 7th!
Interim Elections will be held, so come prepared to vote! Remember, only one vote per household! Kisha plans to run for Vice President.
Someone mentioned that it would be very helpful to have the Department of Buildings send a representative to one of our meetings, as the new construction going on in our block raises a lot of questions.
A few people had a misunderstanding about some towing the police have been doing on our block. Apparently the police said that our Block Association voted to have commercial vehicles towed from the block. It seemed to be a misunderstanding due to our discussions about commercial traffic on Block #2 (Between Franklin and Bedford) and our discussion about legal & illegal driveways (we talk about that at every meeting it seems!)
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
May 5th Minutes
MINUTES
May 5, 2007
6:30 – 8:00 pm
Bedford Stuyvesant YMCA
1121 Bedford Avenue and Monroe Street
Welcome and Introduction
Kisha welcomed everyone to the meeting and asked people to introduce themselves and state their address. After the initial introductions, Kisha read the minutes from the April 7 meeting.
Toya reminded everyone to sign the attendance sheet and take a welcome packet. The welcome packet contains a lot of important information about the block association such as our by laws, a calendar of our monthly meetings, a community resource list, and upcoming informational meetings around the neighborhood. The association has a new email address for the block association in addition to our blog page. Please send all comments and questions to Madisonstreet3@gmail.com.
Committee Updates
Michael reported about the community garden. The fence has been repaired thanks to help from Green Thumb. Andrew and a team of dedicated volunteers have been out in the garden almost every week end getting things together. The garden has received several in kind donations such as wood and plants from Green Guerrillas. GG will deliver top soil in the next 7-10 days. According to the contract with the Department of Parks the community garden is required to be open at least 10 hours a week. We are in the process of creating a sign which will list the hours for the garden. If you would like to volunteer at the garden please contact Michael – all are welcome. Michael can be reached via email at Mbroder@mbroder.com.
Kisha is working with a small committee to organize the block party. The date has been set – July 14 with a rain date of July 21. Kisha provided a draft budget for the block party – see attached budget. In order to pay for the block party, Kisha has organized a few fundraisers including the plant sale. To date, she has raised about $500. Kisha estimates that the total cost of the block party will be about $900. Kisha is working with Christian and a few of the DJ’s on the block on the music for the party. Please contact Kisha if you are interested in helping to plan the block party. We need everyone’s participation in order for this event to be a success. Kisha can be reached at kishaonmadison@yahoo.com.
Toya asked Kisha to read the notes from the meeting with Police Captain Donald Lyons. The purpose of the public safety committee is to promote safety on the block and maintain positive communication with the local police precinct. The association needs volunteers to attend the monthly precinct community council meetings which are held on the fourth Wednesday of every month. The next meeting is May 23 at 7 pm. The meetings are held at the Job Corps building which is located at 585 DeKalb Avenue. Dennis, Kisha and Maliza offered to attend the meetings on a rotating basis. If anyone else is interested in volunteering on the public safety committee please contact Toya via email at madisonstreet3@gmail.com.
Toya gave a brief review of the past fundraising efforts. The block association received a $600 grant from Citizens for NYC to support activities and outreach to encourage all residents to participate in the block association. The grant will be used to purchase food for the Meet and Greet Mixer in June, to purchase supplies for window boxes which will be raffled at the Meet and Greet in June, to purchase light refreshments for the monthly meetings, and to create a welcome kit for the association members. This grant, in combination with the member contributions, will support the activities of the block association during the 2007 calendar year. The association can apply for another grant in December pending successful completion of the work plan.
Andrew gave a brief overview of the budget. He passed out a financial report which details income and expenses to date. So far the association has collected contributions from 17 members totaling $520. Member contributions are $5/month or $60/year. Kisha raised $1,049 through her plant sale. Total incoming funds - $2,169. To date, the association has made two outgoing payments: 1) $535 payment for the plant sale and 2) $132.38 for supplies and flyers. Balance - $1,501.62.
Discuss Work Plan
Toya reminded everyone about the work plan that the association submitted to Citizens for NYC as part of our grant. According to the work plan, the block association agreed to host a Meet and Greet Mixer to encourage more participation in the block association. The association will host the party at the YMCA from 6 to 7 pm on June 2, 2007. The purpose of the party is to build membership and to promote positive and respective lines of communication among the residents of the block so we can create a place where everyone feels welcome and safe. We will have our monthly meeting after the party at 7pm.
A second item detailed in the work plan is the Greenest Block in Brooklyn Contest. This is an opportunity for the residents to beautify the block with window boxes, street planters, small potted plants, and other times that will add greenery to the block. The contest begins in June and culminates in August when the winners of the contest are announced. First place winners receive a cash prize for their association. All finalist blocks receive small prizes such as gift certificates or plants. We will raffle off window boxes at the upcoming party in June to jump start the process. Please be on the look out for additional information about the contest and join the block to support this greening effort.
A third item listed on the work plan included hosting informational meetings. The first meeting was on April 19, 2007 with the 79th Police Precinct. Upcoming meetings will include representatives from Just Food, Green Guerillas, Dept. of Sanitation, NY Fire Department, Brooklyn Green Bridge/BBG, and the American Cancer Society. These meetings may be part of the monthly meetings or they may be scheduled on a week day evening depending on the availability of the organization. Please let Toya know if you have a personal contact with a particular group or if there is a specific issue you would like to address during the informational meeting.
At the last meeting, several residents mentioned the need to provide positive activities for the youth on the block. In response to those requests, Kisha and a group of concerned residents collected information about local programs serving youth. If anyone needs a copy please contact Kisha.
Kisha also has plans to work with the parents on the block to address some of the issues that have been raised at past meetings: noise, youth hanging out and littering, vandalism, etc. She is trying to organize a pizza party on Brooklyn Queens Day which is June 7. If anyone is interested in learning more about this project or has ideas about working with the youth on the block please contact Kisha. The association needs everyone to support this effort if we are going to address the youth on the block and begin a positive and respective dialogue with them and their friends.
Another way to learn more about what can be done to promote positive dialogues with the youth on the block is to attend a training session organized by Citizens for NYC. The session will talk about positive ways to engage youth in community organizing. The session will be held on May 31, 2007 at 7pm at Magnolia Tree Earth Center which is located at 677 Lafayette Avenue and Marcy. There is more information about this session and other workshops in the welcome folder.
New Business
Reschedule July 7 meeting – The meeting scheduled for July 7 will be held on June 30.
Community Liaison - Toya asked for volunteers to attend the monthly Community Board and Precinct Council meetings. Ajamu Brown volunteered to attend the Community Board meetings which are held on the first Monday of the month at Restoration Plaza. Kisha, Dennis and Maliza volunteered to attend the Precinct Council meetings which are held on the fourth Wednesday of the month at the Job Corps building.
Interim Elections - Toya announced that we would have interim elections for officers in two months. When the block association was restarted, the current officers agreed to serve six month terms. Those terms end in July which means the members of the association need to vote again. Toya, Andrew and Fran have agreed to remain in their positions. Kisha and Christian have decided to step down which means there are two open officer positions – Vice President and Secretary. If anyone is interested in running for either of these offices please review the job descriptions as outlined in the by-laws and come prepared to make your case at the June 30 meeting. We will vote at the June 30 meeting and the new officers will serve an interim term of 6 months until the annual election in December 07. Please read the by-laws if you have any questions about the duties of each officer position.
General Announcements
Ajamu Brown asked everyone to save the date for a health fair on Saturday, June 16 at St. John Recreational Park. He is working with several organizations to host the 2007 Healthy Village and Safe Street Festival. Please see the attached flyer for details of contact Ajamu Brown at (212) 244-4664 x279 or Dawn Cook at (718) 771-2787. You can also get information at www.myspace.com/175142631.
Lauren Melodia gave a presentation on the Bedford Stuyvesant Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). A CSA is a mutually beneficial partnership between a local farm and a neighborhood. The farm brings fresh, affordable produce to the neighborhood, and the residents provide a stable financial base for the farm. CSA members join by buying a “share” in the farm in early spring and then receive a weekly shipment of fresh, organic produce from June to October. Members pick up their shares at Magnolia Tree Earth Center at 677 Lafayette Avenue on Saturday from 10 am to 2 pm. If you have additional questions about how to join the CSA please call (347) 403-4050 or email at bedstuycsa@gmail.com. This is a great program for people looking to support a farmer of color in our region and purchase fresh produce at an affordable price.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:50 pm.
Twenty-two people in attendance.
Minutes submitted by Toya Williford.
May 5, 2007
6:30 – 8:00 pm
Bedford Stuyvesant YMCA
1121 Bedford Avenue and Monroe Street
Welcome and Introduction
Kisha welcomed everyone to the meeting and asked people to introduce themselves and state their address. After the initial introductions, Kisha read the minutes from the April 7 meeting.
Toya reminded everyone to sign the attendance sheet and take a welcome packet. The welcome packet contains a lot of important information about the block association such as our by laws, a calendar of our monthly meetings, a community resource list, and upcoming informational meetings around the neighborhood. The association has a new email address for the block association in addition to our blog page. Please send all comments and questions to Madisonstreet3@gmail.com.
Committee Updates
Michael reported about the community garden. The fence has been repaired thanks to help from Green Thumb. Andrew and a team of dedicated volunteers have been out in the garden almost every week end getting things together. The garden has received several in kind donations such as wood and plants from Green Guerrillas. GG will deliver top soil in the next 7-10 days. According to the contract with the Department of Parks the community garden is required to be open at least 10 hours a week. We are in the process of creating a sign which will list the hours for the garden. If you would like to volunteer at the garden please contact Michael – all are welcome. Michael can be reached via email at Mbroder@mbroder.com.
Kisha is working with a small committee to organize the block party. The date has been set – July 14 with a rain date of July 21. Kisha provided a draft budget for the block party – see attached budget. In order to pay for the block party, Kisha has organized a few fundraisers including the plant sale. To date, she has raised about $500. Kisha estimates that the total cost of the block party will be about $900. Kisha is working with Christian and a few of the DJ’s on the block on the music for the party. Please contact Kisha if you are interested in helping to plan the block party. We need everyone’s participation in order for this event to be a success. Kisha can be reached at kishaonmadison@yahoo.com.
Toya asked Kisha to read the notes from the meeting with Police Captain Donald Lyons. The purpose of the public safety committee is to promote safety on the block and maintain positive communication with the local police precinct. The association needs volunteers to attend the monthly precinct community council meetings which are held on the fourth Wednesday of every month. The next meeting is May 23 at 7 pm. The meetings are held at the Job Corps building which is located at 585 DeKalb Avenue. Dennis, Kisha and Maliza offered to attend the meetings on a rotating basis. If anyone else is interested in volunteering on the public safety committee please contact Toya via email at madisonstreet3@gmail.com.
Toya gave a brief review of the past fundraising efforts. The block association received a $600 grant from Citizens for NYC to support activities and outreach to encourage all residents to participate in the block association. The grant will be used to purchase food for the Meet and Greet Mixer in June, to purchase supplies for window boxes which will be raffled at the Meet and Greet in June, to purchase light refreshments for the monthly meetings, and to create a welcome kit for the association members. This grant, in combination with the member contributions, will support the activities of the block association during the 2007 calendar year. The association can apply for another grant in December pending successful completion of the work plan.
Andrew gave a brief overview of the budget. He passed out a financial report which details income and expenses to date. So far the association has collected contributions from 17 members totaling $520. Member contributions are $5/month or $60/year. Kisha raised $1,049 through her plant sale. Total incoming funds - $2,169. To date, the association has made two outgoing payments: 1) $535 payment for the plant sale and 2) $132.38 for supplies and flyers. Balance - $1,501.62.
Discuss Work Plan
Toya reminded everyone about the work plan that the association submitted to Citizens for NYC as part of our grant. According to the work plan, the block association agreed to host a Meet and Greet Mixer to encourage more participation in the block association. The association will host the party at the YMCA from 6 to 7 pm on June 2, 2007. The purpose of the party is to build membership and to promote positive and respective lines of communication among the residents of the block so we can create a place where everyone feels welcome and safe. We will have our monthly meeting after the party at 7pm.
A second item detailed in the work plan is the Greenest Block in Brooklyn Contest. This is an opportunity for the residents to beautify the block with window boxes, street planters, small potted plants, and other times that will add greenery to the block. The contest begins in June and culminates in August when the winners of the contest are announced. First place winners receive a cash prize for their association. All finalist blocks receive small prizes such as gift certificates or plants. We will raffle off window boxes at the upcoming party in June to jump start the process. Please be on the look out for additional information about the contest and join the block to support this greening effort.
A third item listed on the work plan included hosting informational meetings. The first meeting was on April 19, 2007 with the 79th Police Precinct. Upcoming meetings will include representatives from Just Food, Green Guerillas, Dept. of Sanitation, NY Fire Department, Brooklyn Green Bridge/BBG, and the American Cancer Society. These meetings may be part of the monthly meetings or they may be scheduled on a week day evening depending on the availability of the organization. Please let Toya know if you have a personal contact with a particular group or if there is a specific issue you would like to address during the informational meeting.
At the last meeting, several residents mentioned the need to provide positive activities for the youth on the block. In response to those requests, Kisha and a group of concerned residents collected information about local programs serving youth. If anyone needs a copy please contact Kisha.
Kisha also has plans to work with the parents on the block to address some of the issues that have been raised at past meetings: noise, youth hanging out and littering, vandalism, etc. She is trying to organize a pizza party on Brooklyn Queens Day which is June 7. If anyone is interested in learning more about this project or has ideas about working with the youth on the block please contact Kisha. The association needs everyone to support this effort if we are going to address the youth on the block and begin a positive and respective dialogue with them and their friends.
Another way to learn more about what can be done to promote positive dialogues with the youth on the block is to attend a training session organized by Citizens for NYC. The session will talk about positive ways to engage youth in community organizing. The session will be held on May 31, 2007 at 7pm at Magnolia Tree Earth Center which is located at 677 Lafayette Avenue and Marcy. There is more information about this session and other workshops in the welcome folder.
New Business
Reschedule July 7 meeting – The meeting scheduled for July 7 will be held on June 30.
Community Liaison - Toya asked for volunteers to attend the monthly Community Board and Precinct Council meetings. Ajamu Brown volunteered to attend the Community Board meetings which are held on the first Monday of the month at Restoration Plaza. Kisha, Dennis and Maliza volunteered to attend the Precinct Council meetings which are held on the fourth Wednesday of the month at the Job Corps building.
Interim Elections - Toya announced that we would have interim elections for officers in two months. When the block association was restarted, the current officers agreed to serve six month terms. Those terms end in July which means the members of the association need to vote again. Toya, Andrew and Fran have agreed to remain in their positions. Kisha and Christian have decided to step down which means there are two open officer positions – Vice President and Secretary. If anyone is interested in running for either of these offices please review the job descriptions as outlined in the by-laws and come prepared to make your case at the June 30 meeting. We will vote at the June 30 meeting and the new officers will serve an interim term of 6 months until the annual election in December 07. Please read the by-laws if you have any questions about the duties of each officer position.
General Announcements
Ajamu Brown asked everyone to save the date for a health fair on Saturday, June 16 at St. John Recreational Park. He is working with several organizations to host the 2007 Healthy Village and Safe Street Festival. Please see the attached flyer for details of contact Ajamu Brown at (212) 244-4664 x279 or Dawn Cook at (718) 771-2787. You can also get information at www.myspace.com/175142631.
Lauren Melodia gave a presentation on the Bedford Stuyvesant Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). A CSA is a mutually beneficial partnership between a local farm and a neighborhood. The farm brings fresh, affordable produce to the neighborhood, and the residents provide a stable financial base for the farm. CSA members join by buying a “share” in the farm in early spring and then receive a weekly shipment of fresh, organic produce from June to October. Members pick up their shares at Magnolia Tree Earth Center at 677 Lafayette Avenue on Saturday from 10 am to 2 pm. If you have additional questions about how to join the CSA please call (347) 403-4050 or email at bedstuycsa@gmail.com. This is a great program for people looking to support a farmer of color in our region and purchase fresh produce at an affordable price.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:50 pm.
Twenty-two people in attendance.
Minutes submitted by Toya Williford.
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
April 7th Meeting Minutes
The April 7th meeting started out with minutes from the March 3rd meeting.
We then had updates from our committees. The garden committee is coming along well. Keys have been distributed to members who want to help out. There's been cleaning and planting going on lately. The fence between the garden and 211 Madison was taken down during construction but not replaced, so something needs to be done about that. The bulb-selling fundraiser went great! The garden needs to be secure, accessible and debris-free to stay a garden. It needs to be open to the public at least 10 hours a week between April 1st and October 31st. We'll need a sign that lists the open hours. That's required by the city.
The Block Party Committee went next. Keisha sent out letters to the American Legion, McDonalds, and other businesses looking for sponsors. We asked to use the church parking lot, but there are too many insurance issues. We're thinking of a car wash or a fish fry to raise funds. The date of the block party will be July 14th, with a rain date of July 21st.
Next was the Public Safety Committee. We thought about using the place between Gil's house and the apartment building as a playground, but there's probably too many insurance issues there. Keisha did a great job putting together a list of summer activities for kids in the neighborhood, and distributed them around the block. There's several Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops in the neighborhood as well. Someone brought up the idea of a track club for the neighborhood kids.
We talked briefly about the upcoming visit of the head of the 79th precinct. We're also looking to have a meet & greet for the block residents in May and a youth event in May as well.
There was a lot of discussion about the youth event. There was some confusion about it being a one-time summit or an after-school event. The general feeling was that we need both. The summit would be a good opportunity to open up communication, and the after-school activities would be a chance to help the kids in general. Christian talked about setting a time where some of the men on the block could get together and talk to the neighborhood kids as a group. Tamilla suggested that we could invite the kids to the garden. Gil suggested reaching the kids through their parents. Mike suggested a talent show, and Kisha suggested a dance contest, but Christian said that those sorts of competitions could cause a lot of trouble among the kids. Someone said that the American Legion once held races and competitions and gave out medals. Another suggestion was a pizza party, with a raffle for a video game or a bike. There was also discussion on if we should just combine the youth event with the block party, with the problem being we'd have to wait two and a half months.
Andrew then gave us an update on the finances. We've been collecting member contributions. We've also raised quite a bit with our flower sale.
We then talked about what kinds of workshops we could have. We'd like to get involved in the "Greenest Block in Brooklyn" competition. We'd like to have a block cleanup sometime soon. We'd like to have the Red Cross give a disaster preparedness workshop. Andrew talked about making flowerboxes and selling them to the block members.
We also talked about setting up a Block Committee to deal with youth issues.
We then had updates from our committees. The garden committee is coming along well. Keys have been distributed to members who want to help out. There's been cleaning and planting going on lately. The fence between the garden and 211 Madison was taken down during construction but not replaced, so something needs to be done about that. The bulb-selling fundraiser went great! The garden needs to be secure, accessible and debris-free to stay a garden. It needs to be open to the public at least 10 hours a week between April 1st and October 31st. We'll need a sign that lists the open hours. That's required by the city.
The Block Party Committee went next. Keisha sent out letters to the American Legion, McDonalds, and other businesses looking for sponsors. We asked to use the church parking lot, but there are too many insurance issues. We're thinking of a car wash or a fish fry to raise funds. The date of the block party will be July 14th, with a rain date of July 21st.
Next was the Public Safety Committee. We thought about using the place between Gil's house and the apartment building as a playground, but there's probably too many insurance issues there. Keisha did a great job putting together a list of summer activities for kids in the neighborhood, and distributed them around the block. There's several Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops in the neighborhood as well. Someone brought up the idea of a track club for the neighborhood kids.
We talked briefly about the upcoming visit of the head of the 79th precinct. We're also looking to have a meet & greet for the block residents in May and a youth event in May as well.
There was a lot of discussion about the youth event. There was some confusion about it being a one-time summit or an after-school event. The general feeling was that we need both. The summit would be a good opportunity to open up communication, and the after-school activities would be a chance to help the kids in general. Christian talked about setting a time where some of the men on the block could get together and talk to the neighborhood kids as a group. Tamilla suggested that we could invite the kids to the garden. Gil suggested reaching the kids through their parents. Mike suggested a talent show, and Kisha suggested a dance contest, but Christian said that those sorts of competitions could cause a lot of trouble among the kids. Someone said that the American Legion once held races and competitions and gave out medals. Another suggestion was a pizza party, with a raffle for a video game or a bike. There was also discussion on if we should just combine the youth event with the block party, with the problem being we'd have to wait two and a half months.
Andrew then gave us an update on the finances. We've been collecting member contributions. We've also raised quite a bit with our flower sale.
We then talked about what kinds of workshops we could have. We'd like to get involved in the "Greenest Block in Brooklyn" competition. We'd like to have a block cleanup sometime soon. We'd like to have the Red Cross give a disaster preparedness workshop. Andrew talked about making flowerboxes and selling them to the block members.
We also talked about setting up a Block Committee to deal with youth issues.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
March 3rd Meeting - By-Laws approved unanimously!
Here's the minutes from our meeting on March 3rd;
We started off by going over the minutes from the previous meeting, and then on to committee updates.
Mike Broder is going to be heading up the committee on the public garden. They met on February 12th with the Green Guerillas, and there was a good turnout. Eleven members were there! They put a new chain & lock on the gate to the garden. There will be a meeting at June's House, 196 Madison Street on March 16th, 6:30pm. Mike has spoken with Green Thumb about getting the developer who is currently encroaching on the garden to get off the garden and fix the fence. My law, the garden will have to be open at least ten hours a week to the public. A grant for the garden was declined for now, but we've already applied for a second grant.
The public safety committee attended the 79th precinct meeting. Police Commissioner Kelly was in attendance. Some things that were talked about were the gun buy-back program. Also there's been some problem with the stop&frisk policy of the city. The police are supposed to tell people who are stopped that they have the right to make a complaint, but they haven't been doing that enough. We could use some more people to attend the precinct meeting, they meetings happen the fourth Wednesday of every month.
I don't have notes on the block part committee, so I'm guessing their presentation didn't have any new information.
The block association has won a grant for $600 from "Citizens for NYC" We'll be using the grant for permits, welcome kits, and that sort of thing. The grant comes with a series of benchmarks we hope to meet, including outreach, community beautification, and informational workshops. We will be able to apply for a second grant in the fall.
There was also talk about competing in the "Greenest Block in Brooklyn" competition. Andrew talked about the flower-boxes he had made for his house.
The By-Laws for our Block Association were presented and then approved by unanimous vote. Now that the bylaws are approved, we will be collecting dues at the rate of five dollars per household per month.
We're looking into meetings with various city agencies, but these meeting probably will be happening on weekday nights rather than at our monthly Saturday meeting. The 79th Precinct will be meeting with out block association and Madison Block #2. We couldn't schedule a meeting with Sanitation but we did receive a lot of information on recycling, pick-up times and that sort of thing. We'd like to have a meeting with the Brooklyn Botanical Garden sometime in May. We'll try to have these meetings in the community room of the YMCA at 7pm on weekdays.
There was some talk about legal driveways. Apparently there's only four or five legal driveways on the whole block. We talked about a collective agreement between neighbors concerning etiquette on parking in non-legal spots.
There was discussion on the problems with kids playing football in the street and there were a few different ideas on how to deal with it. Some people thought we should call 311 about the problem, but others thought we should deal with the problem as a block. Perhaps we could aapproach parents as a block. Dennis suggested a meeting with the kids of the block. Biz, Dennis, Tamilla and Daryl showed special interest in dealing with the kids. They'd like to convince the church to let us use their parking lot as a basketball court so that the kids would have a better place to play.
We will now start notifying people about the meetings via email and phone, rather than just phone. There was some confusion about the meeting time, as some people still thought it was a 7pm meeting. The meetings are 6:30pm now, as we have so much to discuss!
We started off by going over the minutes from the previous meeting, and then on to committee updates.
Mike Broder is going to be heading up the committee on the public garden. They met on February 12th with the Green Guerillas, and there was a good turnout. Eleven members were there! They put a new chain & lock on the gate to the garden. There will be a meeting at June's House, 196 Madison Street on March 16th, 6:30pm. Mike has spoken with Green Thumb about getting the developer who is currently encroaching on the garden to get off the garden and fix the fence. My law, the garden will have to be open at least ten hours a week to the public. A grant for the garden was declined for now, but we've already applied for a second grant.
The public safety committee attended the 79th precinct meeting. Police Commissioner Kelly was in attendance. Some things that were talked about were the gun buy-back program. Also there's been some problem with the stop&frisk policy of the city. The police are supposed to tell people who are stopped that they have the right to make a complaint, but they haven't been doing that enough. We could use some more people to attend the precinct meeting, they meetings happen the fourth Wednesday of every month.
I don't have notes on the block part committee, so I'm guessing their presentation didn't have any new information.
The block association has won a grant for $600 from "Citizens for NYC" We'll be using the grant for permits, welcome kits, and that sort of thing. The grant comes with a series of benchmarks we hope to meet, including outreach, community beautification, and informational workshops. We will be able to apply for a second grant in the fall.
There was also talk about competing in the "Greenest Block in Brooklyn" competition. Andrew talked about the flower-boxes he had made for his house.
The By-Laws for our Block Association were presented and then approved by unanimous vote. Now that the bylaws are approved, we will be collecting dues at the rate of five dollars per household per month.
We're looking into meetings with various city agencies, but these meeting probably will be happening on weekday nights rather than at our monthly Saturday meeting. The 79th Precinct will be meeting with out block association and Madison Block #2. We couldn't schedule a meeting with Sanitation but we did receive a lot of information on recycling, pick-up times and that sort of thing. We'd like to have a meeting with the Brooklyn Botanical Garden sometime in May. We'll try to have these meetings in the community room of the YMCA at 7pm on weekdays.
There was some talk about legal driveways. Apparently there's only four or five legal driveways on the whole block. We talked about a collective agreement between neighbors concerning etiquette on parking in non-legal spots.
There was discussion on the problems with kids playing football in the street and there were a few different ideas on how to deal with it. Some people thought we should call 311 about the problem, but others thought we should deal with the problem as a block. Perhaps we could aapproach parents as a block. Dennis suggested a meeting with the kids of the block. Biz, Dennis, Tamilla and Daryl showed special interest in dealing with the kids. They'd like to convince the church to let us use their parking lot as a basketball court so that the kids would have a better place to play.
We will now start notifying people about the meetings via email and phone, rather than just phone. There was some confusion about the meeting time, as some people still thought it was a 7pm meeting. The meetings are 6:30pm now, as we have so much to discuss!
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
ByLaws: Please comment by March 1st
Here's the latest revision of our bylaws. Please email toya at crisstoya@gmail.com with any suggestions. We want to have all suggestions in by March 1st so we can put them all together by the meeting this Saturday.
Madison Street #3 Block Association By Laws
January 2007
Article I Terms and Definitions
The name of this association shall be Madison Street #3 Block Association, hereafter referred to as Madison #3 or the Association. [NEW]
Madison #3 is located on Madison Street in Bedford Stuyvesant, County of Kings, Borough of Brooklyn, State of New York, and is bounded by Bedford Avenue on the west and Nostrand Avenue on the east (hereinafter the “Block”).
Article II Mission and Purpose
The mission of the Association is to enhance and promote the overall quality of life and public safety of both renters and property owners.
The purpose of Madison #3 shall be:
To provide a venue for community collaboration to enhance the overall quality of life for all residents
To encourage collective learning to ensure that all residents are empowered to act as positive agents of social change and community development
To recruit volunteers and sponsors to support the endeavors of the Association and to aid in the overall beautification of the block
To promote neighborhood beautification and environmental sustainability through the maintenance of a community garden, the promotion of proper waste disposal and recycling, and the maintenance of clean sidewalks
To establish and maintain open lines of communication between the association members and relevant city agencies, elected officials and community leaders as it pertains to the mission of the association
To promote public safety through an active and engaged membership that is empowered and educated about city ordinances pertaining to illegal drug activity, noise pollution, abandoned cars and vacant properties that pose a direct threat to families and businesses on the block.
Article III Membership and Member Contributions
The membership of the Association shall be all Residents of the Block.
The Association defines Residents as all renters, property owners, business owners, religious institutions and community organizations who own or occupy a housing unit within the boundaries of the Block of Madison Street between Bedford Avenue and Nostrand Avenue in the borough of Brooklyn, in the County of Kings, in the State of New York.
All members of the Association have the right to actively participate in all Association meetings. The Association strongly encourages the active participation of all Residents. Members of the Association shall not be denied participation in the Association on the basis of personal views or opinions, even if such views or opinions are contrary to the goals and purposes of the Association.
A voting member shall be a Resident of Madison Street who has contributed to the support and activities of the Association, financially and otherwise. Each family or housing unit (hereinafter “Household”) is entitled to one vote. Any adult member of a Household may attend Association meetings and vote the Household’s vote. No Household may vote by proxy. Only members who are in attendance at the time that the vote is taken may vote. From time to time, other community residents may be invited to attend a meeting by the Association president, but they are not entitled to vote on any issues.
Member contributions shall be determined by vote of the members who contribute financially to the association and may be increased or decreased from time to time as the members see fit. Initially, Member contributions shall be $15 a quarter or $60 a year per family or housing unit. The association strongly encourages the financial participation of all members, however no member will be denied participation if he/she is unable to pay due to financial hardships.
Only those members who make financial contributions can vote on financial matters. [NEW]
The treasurer will collect member contributions once a quarter - March, June, September and December.
Article IV Nomination, Election and Installation of Officers
The officers of Madison #3 shall be President, Vice President, Secretary, Assistant Secretary, and Treasurer. The officers will comprise the leadership and governing body of the Association.
The voting members of the Association shall nominate and elect officers during the annual meeting, which is held in December. Elections shall be held on the same day as the nominations.
During the annual meeting all members seeking to run for an office shall make a two minute speech stating why they want to serve as an officer of the Association.
The officers of Madison #3 shall hold office for a one year term or until a successor is elected by members of the Association. The term of office shall begin at the close of the annual meeting.
Upon installation of the officers, whose terms begin at the close of the annual meeting, all documents, records, and pertinent materials pertaining to the duties of the office as designated in the bylaws which are in the possession of the outgoing officers shall be submitted to the newly elected counterpart within 15 days of the installation.
Any vacancies occurring during the year of any office shall be filled by appointment by the president in the interim until a special election can be held to appoint a permanent officer to serve out the remaining time.
Any officer can be removed from office for cause by a 2/3 vote of the Association members after a special meeting has been requested at least ten working days in advance of the proposed meeting.
All members are eligible to run for office, however no two members of the same household can hold office at the same time. [NEW]
In order to run for an office, the person in question must have attended at least three-fourths (nine of twelve) of the association meetings during the calendar year. [NEW]
The President shall call and preside at all meetings, shall act for and on behalf of the membership of the Association, shall appoint any special committees necessary for the operation of Association business with input from the membership, shall act as the official spokesperson for the Association, and shall have the power to do or take any reasonable action necessary to promote the purpose of the Association.
The Vice President shall, in the absence of the President, assume all of the duties of the President. The Vice President shall support the President in executing all duties of the office.
The Secretary shall keep a permanent record of all formal meetings, all legal documents, and all legal transactions of the Association. The Secretary shall take the minutes of each Association meeting and officers meeting. The Secretary shall maintain a file copy of the minutes. The Secretary will post and announce all meeting dates and locations at least three days prior to the scheduled meeting.
The Assistant Secretary shall support the Secretary in executing all duties of the office. The Assistant Secretary will serve as a liaison to all committees and will maintain a written record of all committee meetings.
The Treasurer shall keep all financial receipts and a permanent record of all financial business of the Association. The Treasurer, in coordination with the Vice President, shall be responsible for collecting and tracking all receipts of member contributions and financial donations. The Treasurer shall provide monthly, up-to-date financial reports for review by the association membership. The reports shall be reviewed by the President prior to dissemination to the membership.
Article V Committees
The President shall have the power to appoint committees as necessary, with input from Association members, to implement the purpose and mission of the association.
The President shall be an ex-officio member of all committees.
Al committee chairs shall maintain a written record of all committee meetings and follow up actions. This list will be submitted to the Assistant Secretary as part of the permanent association record.
Article VI Association Meetings
Monthly meetings shall be held on the 1st Saturday of each month. All meetings shall be public and open to any interested persons.
Meetings are open to all residents of Madison Street between Bedford Avenue and Nostrand Avenue and invited members of the community.
All persons attending the Association meetings are required to sign in with the Assistant Secretary so as to maintain an accurate attendance list.
The Secretary will distribute and briefly summarize the minutes from the prior meeting at the beginning of each monthly meeting. The Assistant Secretary shall record all corrections to the minutes as needed.
Special meetings shall be held if extreme circumstances require immediate action before the next scheduled monthly meeting. Special meetings can be called by any officer with written notice sent to the President and other officers of the Association. A member may call a special meeting with the written approval of the President.
An annual meeting shall be held during the last month of the calendar year at which elections will be held and a final review of the association's activities shall be delivered to the membership.
The members present at each meeting shall constitute a quorum.
All Association meetings shall be announced at least five days prior to the scheduled meeting. Every effort will be made to notify all interested parties of upcoming meetings either by flyer, email, phone call, newsletter, or announcements at regularly scheduled meetings.
Article VII Fiscal Responsibility
Expenditure of funds of the Association may not be made without the signatures of at least two officers (the president and the treasurer). At least three officers shall have their signatures on file with any financial institutions with which the Association establishes an account.
Financial records and funds of the Association shall be audited at least once a year by a committee of at least two members of the association appointed by the President.
The financial audit shall be presented to the membership during the November meeting, one month prior to the annual meeting in December.
Article VIII Amendment of the By Laws
These bylaws may be amended by a majority vote.
Proposed amendments shall be sent in writing to all members at least ten working days in advance of the meeting where action is to be taken or shall be read at the presiding meeting.
Article IX General
The rules in the current edition of Robert's Rules Of Order shall govern the Association, the officers, and all subcommittees in all cases to which they apply and do not conflict with the specific provisions of the bylaws or any special rules that the association may adopt.
If any part of the bylaws or the application thereof is hereafter held invalid or unenforceable, the remainder shall not be affected thereby, and only the affected portions are declared eliminated.
No officer, representative, spokesperson or member shall have any financial liability of the Association.
Last Updated February 26, 2007
Madison Street #3 Block Association By Laws
January 2007
Article I Terms and Definitions
The name of this association shall be Madison Street #3 Block Association, hereafter referred to as Madison #3 or the Association. [NEW]
Madison #3 is located on Madison Street in Bedford Stuyvesant, County of Kings, Borough of Brooklyn, State of New York, and is bounded by Bedford Avenue on the west and Nostrand Avenue on the east (hereinafter the “Block”).
Article II Mission and Purpose
The mission of the Association is to enhance and promote the overall quality of life and public safety of both renters and property owners.
The purpose of Madison #3 shall be:
To provide a venue for community collaboration to enhance the overall quality of life for all residents
To encourage collective learning to ensure that all residents are empowered to act as positive agents of social change and community development
To recruit volunteers and sponsors to support the endeavors of the Association and to aid in the overall beautification of the block
To promote neighborhood beautification and environmental sustainability through the maintenance of a community garden, the promotion of proper waste disposal and recycling, and the maintenance of clean sidewalks
To establish and maintain open lines of communication between the association members and relevant city agencies, elected officials and community leaders as it pertains to the mission of the association
To promote public safety through an active and engaged membership that is empowered and educated about city ordinances pertaining to illegal drug activity, noise pollution, abandoned cars and vacant properties that pose a direct threat to families and businesses on the block.
Article III Membership and Member Contributions
The membership of the Association shall be all Residents of the Block.
The Association defines Residents as all renters, property owners, business owners, religious institutions and community organizations who own or occupy a housing unit within the boundaries of the Block of Madison Street between Bedford Avenue and Nostrand Avenue in the borough of Brooklyn, in the County of Kings, in the State of New York.
All members of the Association have the right to actively participate in all Association meetings. The Association strongly encourages the active participation of all Residents. Members of the Association shall not be denied participation in the Association on the basis of personal views or opinions, even if such views or opinions are contrary to the goals and purposes of the Association.
A voting member shall be a Resident of Madison Street who has contributed to the support and activities of the Association, financially and otherwise. Each family or housing unit (hereinafter “Household”) is entitled to one vote. Any adult member of a Household may attend Association meetings and vote the Household’s vote. No Household may vote by proxy. Only members who are in attendance at the time that the vote is taken may vote. From time to time, other community residents may be invited to attend a meeting by the Association president, but they are not entitled to vote on any issues.
Member contributions shall be determined by vote of the members who contribute financially to the association and may be increased or decreased from time to time as the members see fit. Initially, Member contributions shall be $15 a quarter or $60 a year per family or housing unit. The association strongly encourages the financial participation of all members, however no member will be denied participation if he/she is unable to pay due to financial hardships.
Only those members who make financial contributions can vote on financial matters. [NEW]
The treasurer will collect member contributions once a quarter - March, June, September and December.
Article IV Nomination, Election and Installation of Officers
The officers of Madison #3 shall be President, Vice President, Secretary, Assistant Secretary, and Treasurer. The officers will comprise the leadership and governing body of the Association.
The voting members of the Association shall nominate and elect officers during the annual meeting, which is held in December. Elections shall be held on the same day as the nominations.
During the annual meeting all members seeking to run for an office shall make a two minute speech stating why they want to serve as an officer of the Association.
The officers of Madison #3 shall hold office for a one year term or until a successor is elected by members of the Association. The term of office shall begin at the close of the annual meeting.
Upon installation of the officers, whose terms begin at the close of the annual meeting, all documents, records, and pertinent materials pertaining to the duties of the office as designated in the bylaws which are in the possession of the outgoing officers shall be submitted to the newly elected counterpart within 15 days of the installation.
Any vacancies occurring during the year of any office shall be filled by appointment by the president in the interim until a special election can be held to appoint a permanent officer to serve out the remaining time.
Any officer can be removed from office for cause by a 2/3 vote of the Association members after a special meeting has been requested at least ten working days in advance of the proposed meeting.
All members are eligible to run for office, however no two members of the same household can hold office at the same time. [NEW]
In order to run for an office, the person in question must have attended at least three-fourths (nine of twelve) of the association meetings during the calendar year. [NEW]
The President shall call and preside at all meetings, shall act for and on behalf of the membership of the Association, shall appoint any special committees necessary for the operation of Association business with input from the membership, shall act as the official spokesperson for the Association, and shall have the power to do or take any reasonable action necessary to promote the purpose of the Association.
The Vice President shall, in the absence of the President, assume all of the duties of the President. The Vice President shall support the President in executing all duties of the office.
The Secretary shall keep a permanent record of all formal meetings, all legal documents, and all legal transactions of the Association. The Secretary shall take the minutes of each Association meeting and officers meeting. The Secretary shall maintain a file copy of the minutes. The Secretary will post and announce all meeting dates and locations at least three days prior to the scheduled meeting.
The Assistant Secretary shall support the Secretary in executing all duties of the office. The Assistant Secretary will serve as a liaison to all committees and will maintain a written record of all committee meetings.
The Treasurer shall keep all financial receipts and a permanent record of all financial business of the Association. The Treasurer, in coordination with the Vice President, shall be responsible for collecting and tracking all receipts of member contributions and financial donations. The Treasurer shall provide monthly, up-to-date financial reports for review by the association membership. The reports shall be reviewed by the President prior to dissemination to the membership.
Article V Committees
The President shall have the power to appoint committees as necessary, with input from Association members, to implement the purpose and mission of the association.
The President shall be an ex-officio member of all committees.
Al committee chairs shall maintain a written record of all committee meetings and follow up actions. This list will be submitted to the Assistant Secretary as part of the permanent association record.
Article VI Association Meetings
Monthly meetings shall be held on the 1st Saturday of each month. All meetings shall be public and open to any interested persons.
Meetings are open to all residents of Madison Street between Bedford Avenue and Nostrand Avenue and invited members of the community.
All persons attending the Association meetings are required to sign in with the Assistant Secretary so as to maintain an accurate attendance list.
The Secretary will distribute and briefly summarize the minutes from the prior meeting at the beginning of each monthly meeting. The Assistant Secretary shall record all corrections to the minutes as needed.
Special meetings shall be held if extreme circumstances require immediate action before the next scheduled monthly meeting. Special meetings can be called by any officer with written notice sent to the President and other officers of the Association. A member may call a special meeting with the written approval of the President.
An annual meeting shall be held during the last month of the calendar year at which elections will be held and a final review of the association's activities shall be delivered to the membership.
The members present at each meeting shall constitute a quorum.
All Association meetings shall be announced at least five days prior to the scheduled meeting. Every effort will be made to notify all interested parties of upcoming meetings either by flyer, email, phone call, newsletter, or announcements at regularly scheduled meetings.
Article VII Fiscal Responsibility
Expenditure of funds of the Association may not be made without the signatures of at least two officers (the president and the treasurer). At least three officers shall have their signatures on file with any financial institutions with which the Association establishes an account.
Financial records and funds of the Association shall be audited at least once a year by a committee of at least two members of the association appointed by the President.
The financial audit shall be presented to the membership during the November meeting, one month prior to the annual meeting in December.
Article VIII Amendment of the By Laws
These bylaws may be amended by a majority vote.
Proposed amendments shall be sent in writing to all members at least ten working days in advance of the meeting where action is to be taken or shall be read at the presiding meeting.
Article IX General
The rules in the current edition of Robert's Rules Of Order shall govern the Association, the officers, and all subcommittees in all cases to which they apply and do not conflict with the specific provisions of the bylaws or any special rules that the association may adopt.
If any part of the bylaws or the application thereof is hereafter held invalid or unenforceable, the remainder shall not be affected thereby, and only the affected portions are declared eliminated.
No officer, representative, spokesperson or member shall have any financial liability of the Association.
Last Updated February 26, 2007
Sunday, February 04, 2007
February 3rd Meeting Minutes
This was our first meeting in the new YMCA building, and it looks great! It's also the biggest meeting we've had so far, around thirty neighbors were there. We started with introducing ourselves and summing up the minutes from our last meeting.
Toya has sent of a couple applications for grants, and she's about to send one off for the garden. She's also looking for in-kind donations from local businesses, and a grant to set up a comunity bulitein board.
Our bank account has been set up with Commerce bank, and we've got a bit of money right now.
We have an update from the Community Garden Committee. The garden has been registered and we're good for two years. It has to be re-registered every two years. We're hoping to have an organization called "Green Guerillas" at a future meeting, in order to give us some tips. June also mentioned that she's trying to get the contractors that are currently occupying the west part of the garden to donate some plants in order to fix the area they're using right now.
We also have an update from the Block Party Committee. Kisha says that they're thinking of a carnival theme, and building some carnival-style games. There's also been discussion about setting up some music and the possibility of using the church's parking lot on the NorthWest corner of the block. Contact Kisha to help with the Block Party Committee. We'd like to have the party on July 14th with a raindate of the 21st.
We'd also like to invite representatives of the different NYC comunity agencies to attend out meetings and hear us. There is a new police captain at the 79th Precinct, Donald Lyons. We hope to have him at our next meeting. We'd like to talk to him about the problems we've had with double-parking tickets on stret-cleaning days. There was a suggesion to get a representative from the Botanical Garden. Also we'd like to see a representative from Sanitation. There's been some confusion and dissatisfaction with the service we've been getting lately. Someone mentioned that the cardboard recycleables have been getting picked up at 2am on Tuesday morning, so most people leaving there cardboard out in the morning find it still sitting there when they get home from work. Someone also mentioned that there's been problems with putting recycleables in non-clear bags. Apparently sanitation only wants recyceables to be placed in clear bags, not blue or black.
Kisha and Maliza gave their report on the 79th Precint's council meeting, which they both attended last week. There's a new scholarship that's been set up. Also, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly will be at the next council meeting.
Lorna Davis, the president of Madison Block #2, stopped by to give us some information on the health of our neighborhood. She passed out a community health profile of our neighborhood, information on diabetes, and HIV/AIDS in our neighborhood. We have much more information about the health of our community thanks to a recent survey. We have a disparity in out neighborhood of HIV, diabetes, heart disease, health care availability, and asthma. We have a higher smoking rate than most of Brooklyn, but teen smoking has been down. 40% of our high-school age shildren are overweight. Our death rate for HIV is down, but 10% of people are infected in the neighborhood.
Christopher Kim then went through the new bylaws. There was concern on how we would determine voting members. We don't want to exclude anyone, but we will need to start collecting dues. Voting on financial issues will be limited to dues-paying members, the logic being that people who contribute money should be able to say how that money is spent. We'd also like to keep all information on members private and confidential. We don't want any marketer or advertiser ever getting their hands on our emails.
The official name of our group is "Madison Street #3 Block Association", as it's the name we registered with the IRS.
OLD BUSINESS:
Apparently the program to get free garbage cans through the health department has ended. Toya is going to be ordering some new stickers, the kind that say what is and is not recycleable, and she'll bring them to the next meeting.
NEW BUSINESS:
There's been problems on the block in the past few weeks with the new construction happening on the site of Joe's old parking lot. It sounds like they've been taking up all the parking on their side of the street and using "Police Line: Do Not Cross" tape to rope parking off for themselves. Barbara said she got a ticket for parking near the construction site with the cause being listed as "pedestrian walkway." Chris Kim said that all legal curb cuts are located on the NYC Department of Buildings "Building Information Service. June said she's had luck with 311 reporting problems with construction crews.
In order to have a legal curb cut, it's important to remember that you need 18 feet from the edge of your property to the front of your house, not from the stret to your house. You need at least 18 feet for the car to rest in so it can be completely off the sidewalk. You can get a ticket around 2500 dollars for parking in an illegal driveway, so please be careful.
And there it was! A really busy meeting! I hope to see you all next month. Please remember to shut off your cel-phone ringers before the meeting.
Toya has sent of a couple applications for grants, and she's about to send one off for the garden. She's also looking for in-kind donations from local businesses, and a grant to set up a comunity bulitein board.
Our bank account has been set up with Commerce bank, and we've got a bit of money right now.
We have an update from the Community Garden Committee. The garden has been registered and we're good for two years. It has to be re-registered every two years. We're hoping to have an organization called "Green Guerillas" at a future meeting, in order to give us some tips. June also mentioned that she's trying to get the contractors that are currently occupying the west part of the garden to donate some plants in order to fix the area they're using right now.
We also have an update from the Block Party Committee. Kisha says that they're thinking of a carnival theme, and building some carnival-style games. There's also been discussion about setting up some music and the possibility of using the church's parking lot on the NorthWest corner of the block. Contact Kisha to help with the Block Party Committee. We'd like to have the party on July 14th with a raindate of the 21st.
We'd also like to invite representatives of the different NYC comunity agencies to attend out meetings and hear us. There is a new police captain at the 79th Precinct, Donald Lyons. We hope to have him at our next meeting. We'd like to talk to him about the problems we've had with double-parking tickets on stret-cleaning days. There was a suggesion to get a representative from the Botanical Garden. Also we'd like to see a representative from Sanitation. There's been some confusion and dissatisfaction with the service we've been getting lately. Someone mentioned that the cardboard recycleables have been getting picked up at 2am on Tuesday morning, so most people leaving there cardboard out in the morning find it still sitting there when they get home from work. Someone also mentioned that there's been problems with putting recycleables in non-clear bags. Apparently sanitation only wants recyceables to be placed in clear bags, not blue or black.
Kisha and Maliza gave their report on the 79th Precint's council meeting, which they both attended last week. There's a new scholarship that's been set up. Also, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly will be at the next council meeting.
Lorna Davis, the president of Madison Block #2, stopped by to give us some information on the health of our neighborhood. She passed out a community health profile of our neighborhood, information on diabetes, and HIV/AIDS in our neighborhood. We have much more information about the health of our community thanks to a recent survey. We have a disparity in out neighborhood of HIV, diabetes, heart disease, health care availability, and asthma. We have a higher smoking rate than most of Brooklyn, but teen smoking has been down. 40% of our high-school age shildren are overweight. Our death rate for HIV is down, but 10% of people are infected in the neighborhood.
Christopher Kim then went through the new bylaws. There was concern on how we would determine voting members. We don't want to exclude anyone, but we will need to start collecting dues. Voting on financial issues will be limited to dues-paying members, the logic being that people who contribute money should be able to say how that money is spent. We'd also like to keep all information on members private and confidential. We don't want any marketer or advertiser ever getting their hands on our emails.
The official name of our group is "Madison Street #3 Block Association", as it's the name we registered with the IRS.
OLD BUSINESS:
Apparently the program to get free garbage cans through the health department has ended. Toya is going to be ordering some new stickers, the kind that say what is and is not recycleable, and she'll bring them to the next meeting.
NEW BUSINESS:
There's been problems on the block in the past few weeks with the new construction happening on the site of Joe's old parking lot. It sounds like they've been taking up all the parking on their side of the street and using "Police Line: Do Not Cross" tape to rope parking off for themselves. Barbara said she got a ticket for parking near the construction site with the cause being listed as "pedestrian walkway." Chris Kim said that all legal curb cuts are located on the NYC Department of Buildings "Building Information Service. June said she's had luck with 311 reporting problems with construction crews.
In order to have a legal curb cut, it's important to remember that you need 18 feet from the edge of your property to the front of your house, not from the stret to your house. You need at least 18 feet for the car to rest in so it can be completely off the sidewalk. You can get a ticket around 2500 dollars for parking in an illegal driveway, so please be careful.
And there it was! A really busy meeting! I hope to see you all next month. Please remember to shut off your cel-phone ringers before the meeting.
Friday, February 02, 2007
February Meeting
Our next meeting is coming up!
6:30pm in the community room of the new YMCA building on the corner of Bedford and Monroe. We'll be discussing our new list of by-laws.
Make your voice heard!
6:30pm in the community room of the new YMCA building on the corner of Bedford and Monroe. We'll be discussing our new list of by-laws.
Make your voice heard!
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Recycling and Sanitation tickets
I noticed Sanitation writing tickets on our block this morning. It looked like they were writing tickets for people who had put un-recyclable plastic in with their recycleables. I didn't know they were that strict, but they apparently write tickets if you have a few of the wrong plastics mixed up with the right plastics.
Here's a link to the list of what we can put in with our recycleables.
Here's a link to the list of what we can put in with our recycleables.
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Our block in 1879...
I found an interesting site that lets you search the old issues of the a Brooklyn Daily Eagle from 1842-1902. Most sites list our houses as having been built in 1899, because there was a fire that destroyed some of the housing records in that year. I looked around a little and found that my house is at least 128 years old, if this "help wanted" listing is correct.
You can also search the old papers for a lot of interesting articles about Brooklyn history, like the building of the Brooklyn Bridge.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Old Photos From Our Block
I found a website that has old photos from our block. I think they're from the 1980's, judging by how old the cars are in the photos. The website is www.propertyshark.com , and I had to sign up for a membership to download photos. I think I'm allowed to download some more for a month, so email me at frankrause@hotmail.com if you'd like me to email you an old photo of your house.
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Notes From Our Last Meeting
Saturday was the first meeting with out new elected officers. They will be serving a six-month preliminary term. Toya, the block president, started off the meeting.
We are looking for volunteers to help with the block's garden. Contact Fran (frankrause@hotmail.com) if you'd like to sign up for a plot. We have tools and materials available for free. It's been confirmed that the garden is an official public garden with the city. Currently June has keys to the garden, but copies can be made for other members.
The Blog is up and running. We will be using it to discuss things that we don't have time to cover in the meetings.
Malize asked if there's any way we can hurry up the trimming and pruning of overgrown trees on the block. Andrew says that the city reacted within a week when he told the city that a tree was dangerous and was about to fall down, but it seems like the process is slower if you're looking for the trees to be pruned rather than cut down outright.
We also discussed that it was possible, for those of us waiting for the city to plant trees in front of our houses, to do it ourselves. You can request a permit with the form available at this link: http://tinyurl.com/yx7jpx but the process requires licensed contractors to deal with possible underground pipes and can be expensive. If you can wait, the city will do it for free. Sign up for a free tree here: http://tinyurl.com/wznjo
We are going to be making a welcome kit for new neighbors moving onto the block. The welcome kit would be a folder containing importand phone numbers, contact information for city and neighborhood organizations, and answers to frequently asked questions like parking information and trash pickup schedules.
We would also like to start collecting monthly dues, or contributions, to help offset costs of the block association. 5 dollars a month was suggested, though the people in attendance seemed to agree that this would be suggested but not required for participation in the block association. We're looking for as much participation as possible and don't want to exclude anyone because of economics. It was also suggested that the contributions would be more convenient if collected quarterly ($15) bianually ($30) or yearly ($60). We will also be trying to sign up the block association as a tax-deductible organization so that contributions will be write-offs on all our taxes.
It was also pointed out that before we start collecting money, we're going to need to put together out bylaws. The officers are going to put the bylaws together in the next two weeks or so, so that we can have them up on the blog for discussion before the next meeting.
Andrew brought up a good idea he plans to use with his tennants. He wants to give them a discount on their December's rent if they're gone to six block association meeting the preceeding year, or volunteered at the local library. A nice way to get tennants invested and involved in the block. The library is located on Franklin and Hancock.
The floor was opened up for neighbors to voice their goals for the blocks. One person said that their goal is to have no empty houses on the block. They'd like the block to be the kind of place that would be so nice to live, all houses would be filled. Another person said that outreach with the neighborhood children was importand, and another person said he's like the block to be pretty and deal with some thoughful work on our houses we could have a really beautiful block.
We want to have a list put together of the abandoned buildings on the block. The numbers that were mentioned were 175, 186, 207 and the yellow building next to the car lot. Someone said that the situation with 207 was that the contractor had walked off with a lot of money, but the renovation has recently re-started.
We've also heard that there's been rat sightings on the block in the late night hours. We will need to look into possible poison baits through 311, but we're also going to need to be vigilant about keeping our garbage in bags and trashcans and keeping our front walks clean and swept.
The final issue of the night was the block party. Toya would like to combine the efforts of the block association with the VFW and the church so that we can have one big block party a year rather than close the block down for three smaller parties. She also asked us if a block party is really a priority of the block.
We are looking for volunteers to help with the block's garden. Contact Fran (frankrause@hotmail.com) if you'd like to sign up for a plot. We have tools and materials available for free. It's been confirmed that the garden is an official public garden with the city. Currently June has keys to the garden, but copies can be made for other members.
The Blog is up and running. We will be using it to discuss things that we don't have time to cover in the meetings.
Malize asked if there's any way we can hurry up the trimming and pruning of overgrown trees on the block. Andrew says that the city reacted within a week when he told the city that a tree was dangerous and was about to fall down, but it seems like the process is slower if you're looking for the trees to be pruned rather than cut down outright.
We also discussed that it was possible, for those of us waiting for the city to plant trees in front of our houses, to do it ourselves. You can request a permit with the form available at this link: http://tinyurl.com/yx7jpx but the process requires licensed contractors to deal with possible underground pipes and can be expensive. If you can wait, the city will do it for free. Sign up for a free tree here: http://tinyurl.com/wznjo
We are going to be making a welcome kit for new neighbors moving onto the block. The welcome kit would be a folder containing importand phone numbers, contact information for city and neighborhood organizations, and answers to frequently asked questions like parking information and trash pickup schedules.
We would also like to start collecting monthly dues, or contributions, to help offset costs of the block association. 5 dollars a month was suggested, though the people in attendance seemed to agree that this would be suggested but not required for participation in the block association. We're looking for as much participation as possible and don't want to exclude anyone because of economics. It was also suggested that the contributions would be more convenient if collected quarterly ($15) bianually ($30) or yearly ($60). We will also be trying to sign up the block association as a tax-deductible organization so that contributions will be write-offs on all our taxes.
It was also pointed out that before we start collecting money, we're going to need to put together out bylaws. The officers are going to put the bylaws together in the next two weeks or so, so that we can have them up on the blog for discussion before the next meeting.
Andrew brought up a good idea he plans to use with his tennants. He wants to give them a discount on their December's rent if they're gone to six block association meeting the preceeding year, or volunteered at the local library. A nice way to get tennants invested and involved in the block. The library is located on Franklin and Hancock.
The floor was opened up for neighbors to voice their goals for the blocks. One person said that their goal is to have no empty houses on the block. They'd like the block to be the kind of place that would be so nice to live, all houses would be filled. Another person said that outreach with the neighborhood children was importand, and another person said he's like the block to be pretty and deal with some thoughful work on our houses we could have a really beautiful block.
We want to have a list put together of the abandoned buildings on the block. The numbers that were mentioned were 175, 186, 207 and the yellow building next to the car lot. Someone said that the situation with 207 was that the contractor had walked off with a lot of money, but the renovation has recently re-started.
We've also heard that there's been rat sightings on the block in the late night hours. We will need to look into possible poison baits through 311, but we're also going to need to be vigilant about keeping our garbage in bags and trashcans and keeping our front walks clean and swept.
The final issue of the night was the block party. Toya would like to combine the efforts of the block association with the VFW and the church so that we can have one big block party a year rather than close the block down for three smaller parties. She also asked us if a block party is really a priority of the block.
Monday, January 08, 2007
New Neighbor on the Block
Hi all..my name is Michael Broder and my partner Jason Schneiderman and I are the owners of the spanking new 209 Madison and we live in the downstairs apartment. We met some of you at the Block Association meeting the other night. Just wanted to say hi and thanks to all of the block association officers and activists who are working to make our block safe and attractive. And to Fran for creating and managing this blog.
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
2007 Meeting Schedule
The Madison St. Block Assoc. #3
Meeting Calendar 2007
@ the YMCA Bedford and Monroe
All meetings Saturday at 7pm
January 6th
February 3rd
March 3rd
April 7th
May 5th
June 2nd
July 7th
August 4th
September 1st
October 6th
November 3rd
December 1st
Meeting Calendar 2007
@ the YMCA Bedford and Monroe
All meetings Saturday at 7pm
January 6th
February 3rd
March 3rd
April 7th
May 5th
June 2nd
July 7th
August 4th
September 1st
October 6th
November 3rd
December 1st
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