Board Briefs: CB 12, February 2008

Notes from the February 26 Community Board 12 general meeting:

• The meeting, with a scheduled start time of 7 p.m., began at 7:45.

• 34th Precinct commanding officer Deputy Inspector Andrew Capul announced three arrests in connection with the February 5 murder of Jason Lugo. (Details here.)

• CB 12's top request to the city's Office of Management and Budget was for more police officers in the 33rd and 34th Precincts, yet no graduates from the latest recruiting class were allocated to the area. Capul said most graduates went to "impact zones" and that he hopes more officers will be directed to Northern Manhattan in the spring.

• CB 12 Chair Manny Velazquez warned that teenagers are attacking people to take their cell phones, especially iPhones.

• CB 12 has scored in the 97th percentile in street cleanliness compared to other CBs across the city, according to the mayor's office.

• The Department of Transportation is working on a revamp of the 181st St. corridor and should release its plans by December of this year.

• District Manager Ebenezer Smith said complaints regarding dog waste are up. Ebenezer also said CB 12 is working with police to deal with noise complaints stemming from "restaurants" in the 33rd and 34th precincts.

• On behalf of Borough President Scott Stringer, Wendy Garcia reported on negotiations with Con Edison regarding the M29 transmission line project. Garcia said Con Ed has pledged to provide block-to-block construction timelines; outreach to affected businesses; and help with traffic tie-ups. Garcia also said community board appointments and renewals are in progress, and that Stringer's office would be organizing a workshop in Washington Heights to help citizens identify gangs and gang activity.

• Two residents spoke about relentless noise from Serie 56 at 190th and Broadway. Though they said the club blasts music from 11:30 p.m. to 6 a.m. almost every night, calls for help to 311 and the NYPD have gone unheeded. One likened conditions to "sadistic torture." CB members said they will contact the precinct to set up a meeting with the police and club owners. The citizens were also told the CB will follow up with the Department of Environmental Protection regarding noise measurements, and said the nuisance abatement act could be used to shut down the club.

• Another member of the public testified that the city has refused financial help to the Lead Safe House, which provides shelter for families who must leave their apartments due to lead hazards. The safe house, at 168th and Amsterdam, is the only one of its kind in Manhattan, the man said.

• At 9:13 p.m., during a series of votes on liquor license applications -- the first votes of the night -- enough members of the board left the meeting that the CB lost its quorum. Secretary Elizabeth Ritter announced that she has compiled attendance records and will soon begin distributing attendance warning notices as needed among the board's 48 members.

Comments

[Dhalgren]

Beware the iPhone robbing teenagers? Please.