Newsletter March 2024
Dear Friends & Neighbors,
Thank you to those of you who braved the heavy rain to join us at our Saturday March 23rd meeting of the West 71st Street Block Association!
Special thanks to City Council Member Gale Brewer and Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal who joined us and spoke at length about their work for our community. They, along with our State Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal, are tireless advocates for our neighborhood and we urge you to sign up for their newsletters which provide great info on their work and community happenings. (Brewer: CLICK HERE; Rosenthal: Join email list; Hoylman-Sigal: https://www.nysenate.gov/questionnaires/brad-hoylman-sigal/sign-email-alerts-senator-hoylman-sigal)
Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal (the tallest one!) with members of the West 71st Street Block Association on Saturday
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Updates:
1. E-bike charging station: Gale Brewer has assured us that she opposes the choice of the W71st Street bow-tie intersection for a charging station and is working with Dept. of Traffic and Parks Dept. to agree on a different location away from pedestrians. She is almost certain this location will NOT be chosen. Community Board 1 just voted against the City Hall location, which is slated to be the first one built. Sensible people realize it is a foolish and dangerous choice to place these near pedestrians! Read here: https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2024/03/27/neighborhood-with-many-deliveries-rejects-rest-stop-for-the-deliveristas-who-make-them. We will stay vigilant until we have 100% assurance that the 71st Street location is no longer being considered for this dangerous project. Please sign our petition to voice your opposition to this location: https://www.change.org/w72ebikestation.
2. Police Safety Report for our neighborhood: (see attached report). The city now holds "Build the Block" meetings. These quarterly meetings are an opportunity for your local police officers to report on safety issues, statistics, etc., specific to our neighborhood (W 70th-79th Streets) and to hear about your concerns. To join the Build the Block, Sector B list, please email: buildtheblocksectorb@gmail.com. The monthly 20th Precinct Community Council meetings typically take place on the fourth Monday of each month at 7:00 PM at the precinct at 120 West 82nd Street. These are different than the quarterly Build the Block meetings and are held monthly. All are welcome to attend.
3. Rat Walk-Through: Councilmember Gale Brewer will help us arrange a walk-through of our block to evaluate problems leading to an increase in rat presence. We did this several years ago with the Dept. of Health and Sanitation with the help of Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal and City Councilmember Gale Brewer. We will identify problems, letters will be sent to building owners and summons issued where appropriate. Continue to report rats to 311. Visit the rat portal to check for rat activity at any address: https://a816-dohbesp.nyc.gov/IndicatorPublic/Rats/
Last year, the city found a problem with rats on our block, particularly at 120 West 71st, the site of serious trash problems, and the city stated:
"West 71st Street between Broadway and Columbus Avenue was identified as another area of concern. Four out of six initial inspections failed, and then all four failed again in their followup inspections. Bragdon added, “Most of them failed recently in March 2023 and are currently being treated. You can see the addresses of the places that are on the treatment list.” Read the details here: https://ilovetheupperwestside.com/pest-expert-reveals-where-the-rats-are/.
4. Sanitation: This remains a huge challenge. We are constantly reporting sanitation problems and working with surrounding block associations and our local Sanitation Supervisor. We are planning a walk-through in April with reps from Sanitation and our elected officials. Please continue to report problems to your super, 311, or us. Your treewells must also be kept clean by your super! It is illegal to place household trash in corner trash cans, though some co-op owners on this block have been seen doing so!
5. Donations/Venmo: We need funds for mulch and new signs for treewells for the Spring! We now have a Venmo account:@West71StBA and can more easily accept donations or payments. Please consider a donation and thank you for supporting our work and keeping our fund healthy for literature, a new banner, mulch and treewell signs, plants, t-shirts, and celebrations.
6. Contact 311: Please continue to report any issues that concern you to 311. It really is very effective and easy by calling 311, using the app, or online at https://portal.311.nyc.gov. You can post photos, video and audio. Repeated calls on the same issue work very well for ongoing problems! You will receive an email confirmation and report #, and a follow-up within a few days. Copy us, please, and feel free to call Katina to discuss any issue you want help with.
Finally, our General Flyer is attached, along with a list of our Work & Traditions, and the recent police report form Build the Block. Thank you to Debbie, Miriam, Susan, and Mike for helping with literature and coffee, and thanks to Rita Genn, the co-leader of the Wets 72nd Street Block Association for attending; we look forward to future collaborations! We are grateful to Pastor Martin and Grace & St. Paul’s for hosting our meetings!
We will let you know our next meeting or outdoor celebration will take place and we welcome your calls or email in between times.
Kindly,
Katina Ellison
Founder & Co-Leader
