Block Association Meeting Minutes

We once again had a great turn-out for our Block Association meeting this past Sunday (especially for the summer)!   Each time we meet we get several new members to sign-up and contribute their ideas and enthusiasm!

IMPORTANT UPCOMING DATES:  

W. 71ST ST. BLOCK ASSOCIATION CELEBRATION DAY!   Wednesday August 1st 5-8PM.

Our goal is to publicize our group, attract new members, and learn of their concerns and ideas.  We will meet in front of the church at 123 W. 71st where we will have tables set up with literature and sign-up sheets.  We will also have info on sanitation, rat control, tree well beautification, etc. There also will be baked goods, balloons, a kids' table and doggy treats and water.  We will all wear white shirts with name tags (to be provided) and some of us will walk the block with clipboards and info to greet people and sign them up.  

More details to follow!

Next general meeting:  Sunday August 26th at 4PM at church (always 4th Sunday of the month at 4PM)

Issues discussed at July 22nd meeting: 

1.  Rat update - Brewer's office is preparing letters to go out to owners of various problem buildings on block (input from Stringer and CB7 as well.)

2.  Homeless people - Residents continue to have great concern over the number of homeless people on our block.  It is our hope that homeless people will be offered and accept housing and treatment, but that is often difficult.   We have a good relationship with Goddard Riverside (a non-profit) who regularly reach out to the homeless (you can reach them by calling 311).  However the growing number of homeless people is causing concerns about health and safety.  The group agreed that we will draft a letter and visit our local police precinct to ask for increased police presence to deal with unlawful or dangerous behavior.   

*Some good news:  The young couple with the dog who were homeless outside Grace & St. Paul's church have a new home!  We wish them well.

3. Trash - We are all concerned about trash cans which overflow at both Columbus and Broadway.  We have already requested new and bigger trash cans from Stringer's office and we will follow up to see if we can arrange more frequent emptying of trash cans. 

4.  Various members volunteered to help with our Celebration Day!  Details in the next email.

5.  An effort will be made to reach out to the management and/or boards of larger buildings to help spread the word about our block association.

6. Call or email 311 - http://www.nyc.gov/apps/311/about.htm - to report problems on our block.  You will receive a reference number to track the progress of your complaint. 

Thank you to all of you and welcome to our new members!

Rat Walkthrough with the Dept. of Health

Thank you to everyone who attended the Rat Walk last week on our block, West 71st Street. Through the efforts of several offices, including Gale Brewer and Scott Stringer, we were joined by representatives of the Department of Health and the Department of Sanitation. Thanks also to Penny Ryan of CB 7, who has been providing much support and information!

We found many issues that are contributing to our rat problem.  We found a lot of holes (violations) which need to be plugged up and trash cans with loose lids, and areas where loose trash was found.

The first step is cleaning up and sealing up. Some areas were much worse than others, with several buildings where we found rat feces, holes, and other evidence of rats. We also observed scurrying rats and one dead rat.

The info we compiled will be reviewed for accuracy by the rep from Dept. of Health, and then be used in a a letter to be drafted and mailed to property owners who are in violation or who could help by taking certain steps. This will probably be a joint letter sent by Council Member Brewer and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer. These owners will be asked to take certain actions and then the Dept. of Health will check within a week or two to see if they have complied.

We have been advised by DOH to call 311 whenever we see a violation or sign of rats.

Please let us know if any rat problem areas your want us to be aware of. We will keep you posted as to our progress.

Next meeting Sun, July 22 at 4 pm

Please join us at Grace and St. Paul Church at 4 pm Sunday, July 22 for our next meeting!

Recent Block Association Meeting Minutes

We had a wonderful turnout for our second block association meeting at Grace and St. Paul’s Church. Thank you to Pastor Martin for hosting us and to everyone who came to share their concerns and ideas. We are grateful to Council Member Gale Brewer and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, who lives on our block, and is a member of our group, for sharing their ideas and offering support on the Rat Problem.  Thank you, too, to Rebecca Godlewicz, Scott Stringer’s Community Liaison for CB7, who joined us, and to Jesse Bodine of Gale Brewer's office.   Penny Ryan of Community Board 7 is also providing support on the Rat Problem and other issues. 

 Next meeting:  Sunday, July 22nd at 4PM at Grace & St. Paul’s Church.  (We always meet on the 4th Sunday of the month at 4PM.)   Block Association Celebration!:  Wednesday August 1, 5-8pm (details below) 

 Summary of June Meeting:  

 1. Rats: The Block Association will work with Brewer, Stringer, and CB7 to walk the block with a representative from the Depts. of Health and Sanitation to identify problems and solutions.  Brewer has formally requested a walk through and efforts will be coordinated with each of the above-mentioned offices.  We will post on our blog and through email when this walk through will occur so that you can join us.   Brewer's office sent us a link where we can review the rat inspections on our block:  http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/rats/home.shtml 

Attached please see a summary of the rat problem with photos which we put together and shared with all offices. (Don’t hesitate to send us more info to add.) We thank Penny Ryan of CB 7 who is discussing our rat situation with Dept. of Health, as they (CB 7) are addressing this problem all over the Upper Westside.

 PJ Sarraf  (member of our group) has offered to look into the cost of rat bait boxes.  Initial cost may be high, but maintenance is affordable.  We can apply for a grant for Rat Abatement by contacting Dee Rieber of West 75 Street DRieber@Halstead.com  

The key will be to do something about the trash problem which provides food for the rats.  DOS can provide some free trashcans, which some buildings clearly need  – we will look into that.  Brewer’s office can help us by sending letters to buildings who routinely fail to clean up and dispose of trash properly.  

 2. Treepits/Trash/ Beautification:  We may want to take care of the rat problem before doing much work on beautification, though one can still order trees (call 311), and clean up.  Stringer’s office will help us obtain new bigger and nicer trashcans for the corners of our block.   Please see directly below great info from Brewer’s office on free resources to help beautify our block:

 "The West Side Federation of Neighborhood & Block Associations launched its street beautification project Adopt A Tree Pit, featuring kits for protecting, maintaining and nurturing street trees.  Each kit contains metal tree guards, gardening tools, "curb your dog" signs, tree care instructions, and more.  Federation is giving out kits FOR FREE!  Info: 212-969-8047, westsidefed@aol.com and http://www.wsfed.org/ -West Side block associations that want to paint over graffiti should contact Beacon Paint and Hardware. This wonderful business is very supportive of community projects - Block associations on the West Side are meeting regularly. Contact: Dee Rieber of West 75 Street DRieber@Halstead.com   -Did you know the Department of Sanitation will lend tools for your neighborhood cleanup project?  To reserve brooms, shovels, rakes, work gloves and trash bags, contact (646) 885-DSNY at least four weeks in advance. Info:http://www.nyc.gov/html/dsny/downloads/pdf/contact/requests/misc_request/vol%0Acleanup.pdf  -Several block associations recommend Curb Allure Modular Tree Guards. This is a West Side company. Info: Kim Johnson athttp://www.curballure.com/ or 212-769-CURB (2872). "

3.  Publicizing our Group:  We are planning a Block Association Celebration  to publicize our group and attract new members.  It will be on a Wednesday August 1st between 5-8pm.   The church will provide two long tables (one for each end of the block) and we will have plenty of flyers and other info along with sign-up sheets and Block T-shirts or we can all just wear white and have badges or sashes.   We can provide baked goods for free (or for sale) and free doggie treats!  We welcome other ideas for making this festive!  Please also see attached document with our info;  there are two flyers per page, so you can cut them in half and carry with you to share with others. 

** Please let us know of your thoughts for T-shirt design and other ideas.  We will have a volunteer prep session to plan.  

4.  Committees and Liaisons:  Please see attached document with Committee Lists and think of which group you might want to volunteer for.  You will also see names of people who are on committees and who have offered to be liaisons to different offices; that is still developing.

5.  Fiscal Agent/Fundraising & Donations:  Pastor Martin said the church can act as a fiscal agent so that we can accept donations, which we need for xeroxing, stationary supplies, etc. refreshments, T-shirts, etc.  People can make out their checks to Grace & St. Paul's Church and write FOR BLOCK ASSOCIATION in memo line.  They keep a careful accounting on the computer of contributors and amounts, so the money is always available and accounted for. Whenever there is an expense, they will write a check and debit the Block Association account.  The church has been donating Xeroxing for us!

6.  Other issues raised included:

a.  Con-Ed work – what is being done and how long will it last?

b.  Bicycles on streets (going the wrong way) and on sidewalks

c.  Continue to call 311 with complaints on trash, noise, rats, and illegal behavior(create a record).  Brewer and Stringer offices can follow-up if no results.

d.  Cleaning of curb and sewer area on SE corner of 71st and Broadway where water collects (check with CB7)

We have some terrific momentum going and great support!  We look forward to seeing you on Sunday July 22nd at 4PM!  Thank you to everyone for all your efforts and interest.  Remember to check the attachments below for more info. Please help spread the word and check our blog regularly for updates and other info:  http://w71stba.blogspot.com/