Hello Friends & Neighbors! Summer 2023 Newsletter
Co-leaders Katina and Andrea
We were so happy to gather with everyone at our Summer Celebration on West 71st Street! We had great weather, met new neighbors, signed up new members, and were joined by our elected officials! Thank you to Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal, who stayed the whole time and is always available to work with us on our neighborhood issues, along with her superb staff. Councilwoman Gale Brewer also for joined us, listing our event in her famous newsletter, and providing literature. Senator Brad Hoylman’s aide, Evan Lieberman, came and stayed from beginning to end! We are grateful to each one of them, who work tirelessly for our community.
Thank you to Cafe Metro, Felice, and Little Italy Pizza for donating food, to neighbors who brought treats and supplies, and to Bill Ellison who arranged for our musicians, Tristan Waife on bass and Kai Uemura on guitar, bringing sublime live music! Thank you Upper Westside Copy! As always, thanks to our great partners and hosts at Grace & St. Paul’s Church, particularly Pastor Martin and Shelly. See photos of the event here and below.
Our Beloved Theo and Friends
Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal and members!
Theo greets neighbors; Pastor Martin and Debbie greet and sign-up new members
Welcome new members! We are thrilled to have met you and to have you join our Block Association. Attached is a list of Community Events & Resources as well as information on our work. We look forward to getting to know you better and to working together to make our block an even better place to live!
Instagram & Facebook Thanks to our new co-leader, Andrea Fondulas, we now have an Instagram account at @West71StBA and a Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/West71StBA/ We will post lots of photos there so, check in! We still have our blog at: http://w71stba.blogspot.com
National Night Out! We were there on Tuesday August 1st 6-8:30 pm in Verdi Square. It’s an annual community-building campaign that promotes strong police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie to make our neighborhoods safer, more caring places to live and work. We mingled with our local precinct police, our elected officials, and other members of our community, sharing the work and goals of our group.
Mike and Karen greet neighbors at National Night Out 2023!
Donations/Venmo: We now have a Venmo account:@West71StBA and can more easily accept donations or payments for our t-shirts. 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.
No August meeting: We will skip our August meeting (we’ve been busy with celebrations and advocacy!) and will see you at our next meeting on Saturday September 23rd at 4pm at the Grace & St. Paul’s Church at 123 West 71st Street. We will soon let you know about plans for that meeting or gathering. Feel free to be in touch with us before then with ideas and concerns - our work continues behind the scenes!
Relocate E-bike Charging Station: We have been unable to get any information on whether the e-bike charging station is still being planned for the ill-advised proposed site of the subway island at 71st and Broadway. We continue to oppose this site for obvious safety reasons and we have suggested numerous other safer locations on the UWS. Please sign our petition to voice your opposition to this location: https://www.change.org/w72ebikestation. Also, voice your concerns to our City Councilwoman Gale Brewer at: gbrewer@council.nyc.gov or call her office: (212) 873-0282. Our subway island should remain a safe spot for pedestrians when crossing the dangerous "bow-tie" intersection as well as a safe area for the tens of thousands of commuters who use that subway entrance daily.
Rat Walk-Through: We have signed up for 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 Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal and CityCouncilwoman Gale Brewer. We will identify problems, letters will be sent to building owners and summons issued where appropriate. Continue to report rats to 311.
Contact 311: Please continue to report any issues that concern you to 311. It really is very effective and easy by calling 311 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.
Talent Show in the Fall! Our great neighbor, Blessed Sacrament Church, has offered to host a fund-raiser for the Block Association in their downstairs theatre - thank you, Padraic Confrey! We thought a talent show would be such fun. Sharpen up your talents and we will let you know when we decide on an Autumn date for this fun event! All are welcome.
Thank you again to all and welcome to our new members! Reach out to us anytime.
Kindly,
Katina and Andrea
Katina Ellison and Andrea Fondulas
Co-Leaders
West 71st Street Block Association
Bill Ellison arranged for our musicians, Tristan Waife on bass and
Kai Uemura on guitar - they are amazing!
Andrea Fondulas, co-leader, and Evan Lieberman, aide to
Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal
Karen and Shelly!
