Decemer Minutes

The December meeting started out with updates from our committees.

The Garden Committee is thinking about what kind of project can benefit from it's recent $500 grant. The Garden Committee will need to figure out a bank account, possibly a joint account with the Block Association. The Target-sponsored garden on Bedford was also discussed.

The Public Safety Committee was next. We started a list of derelict homes on the block. 186 has been recently cleaned out, Toya had called HPD (Housing Preservation & Development) about the building. Contractors have been seen going into it, so it might be getting fixed. 148, the vacant lot, was recently cleaned and had a rat abatement. 175 has been sealed by HPD & NYPD. The status of 169 Madison is unknown for now. The house near the North-East corner of the block, the one with the new tan vinyl siding, is being restored by The Bridge Street Development Corporation.

Over the past month, the records of the Block Association have undergone their regular audit. This audit is scheduled by our by-laws, once a year, to make sure everything is in order. This year, the audit was carried out by Rebbecca Broughton and Rachel Hernandez. It was determined that everything was in order. We have 1110.88 in the bank, 1158.88 including cash on hand. Not bad for starting the year with $0!

We will need to spend some of that money by March to stay on schedule with our grant. As part of that plan, we will be installing some beautification projects such as flower boxes.

There was no Old Business to cover.

The nomination and election of officers followed.

Toya Williford was elected unanimously as President.
Maliza Joseph-Gabriel was elected unanimously as Vice-President
Fran Krause was elected unanimously as Secretary
Andrew Robinson was elected unanimously as Treasurer
Jason Schneiderman & Michael Broder will serve as assistant secretaries through their continued work on the newsletter.

We'd also like to thank Kisha Sigler for all the work she's done over the past year as Vice President. She did a huge amount of work on the block party and fund raising. Kisha won't have time to be Vice President this year, but will still be participating in the Block Association. Thanks, Kisha!

Speaking of the Block Party, we're going to need to start planning that in January to have all the paperwork in on time.

For New Business, we'd like to organize a painting activity with the children of the block. There was some discussion about painting the light poles, but the utility companies probably wouldn't allow it. There was also talk about getting florescent lights for the block, perhaps in bulk. Gil Mason says that the reason the city garbage can was removed from the corner of Madison and Nostrand was that it was being filled with residential trash.

For general announcements, Madison Block #2 has a bunch of plant bulbs that they might give us for our garden. Also, we're going to need to re-apply for our Citizen's Grant this year. As part of the new grant, we'll need to raise matching funds.