Councilman Gentile Calls for Establishment of
Fire Emergency Number
CITY HALL?After errors related to the emergency 911 dispatch system of reporting fires ballooned last month, Councilman Vincent Gentile has requested that a bill be drafted to establish a separate number to facilitate the reporting of those incidents and expedite the FDNY’s response time.
Councilman Gentile called for a bill to be drafted in order to “establish a new 711 phone number for all calls related to fire emergencies that shall be answered and staffed by FDNY dispatchers.”
His request comes on the heels of a November 18 fire in Brooklyn. A father and two sons died in the blaze after the first two 911 calls from neighbors reporting the fire led firefighters to the wrong address, delaying their response time by more than a minute. That was the second incident that day in which firefighters were dispatched to an incorrect address.
In the original emergency dispatch system, discontinued in May 2009, the system was divided into three different agencies: FDNY, EMS and NYPD. The FDNY had five dispatch offices citywide – one in each borough. Now, they’re consolidated within a downtown Brooklyn location, and New York Police Department operators both receive and process information from callers reporting fires and other emergencies to the FDNY. The plan was modified two days after the fatal November 18 fire so that an FDNY dispatcher can be “conferenced” into a 911 conversation so that pertinent information won’t be overlooked.
“When it comes to fires in New York City, we’ve got to do everything we can to have fire companies on the scene as quickly as possible and not a minute later,” Councilman Gentile said. “We need that direct line from callers to FDNY dispatchers so that the right information gets to the right people not a moment too late.
“Fire dispatchers had an intimate knowledge of each borough’s streets and of what sort of equipment was needed for certain fire-related emergencies,” Councilman Gentile added. “Overlooking them as the valuable resource they are is a public safety risk.”
In testimony before the Council’s Fire and Criminal Justice Committee hearing Thursday afternoon, Uniformed Fire Officers Association President Captain Alexander Hagan endorsed the 711 proposal as a “long range solution” to the problems associated with the new Unified Call Taking system (UCT).
“We already have the 911 system for police calls, and during the eight years of the Bloomberg Administration, we have seen a 311 system successfully implemented, and now a 511 call number for transportation questions and answers,” Cpt. Hagan testified. “Frankly, the UFOA, although it sees the value of a call system that gives the caller the timetable for the next train out of town, feels a much higher priority should be placed on the safety of the people who live, work and visit our beautiful city.”
Dena Libner
Communications Director
Office of Councilman Vincent J. Gentile
District Office: 718-748-5200
Legislative Office: 212-788-7363
It’s nice to see the union officials backing the plan.
(btw, apologies for formatting problems on this page… the bayridgistan web-elf has struck again)
]]>Deputy Inspector Ralph Monteforte, Commanding Officer of the 70th Precinct, has asked CB14 to share the following tips with our residents for an enjoyable and safe holiday season:
Be alert and aware of your surrounding at [...]]]>]]>Holiday Safety Tips from 70th Precinct
Posted on: November 19, 2009 Deputy Inspector Ralph Monteforte, Commanding Officer of the 70th Precinct, has asked CB14 to share the following tips with our residents for an enjoyable and safe holiday season:
- Be alert and aware of your surrounding at all times. Criminals often confront people who are distracted.
- Travel on populated, well-lit streets. If possible, travel with a friend or family member.
- When driving, keep your doors locked and windows closed. Make sure the gas tank is full and maintain your car in good working condition to avoid breakdowns.
- If you are taking the subway, look for the red and green lights outside the entrance. A red light means that you cannot enter the subway at that location. Look for an entrance with a green light before going down the stairs.
- If possible, stay in the view of the token booth while awaiting your train. Never walk near the edge of the platform.
- Plan your purchases in advance and carry only the amount of cash necessary to make the purchase. If you must carry a large sum of money, divide the cash between your purse, pockets and wallet.
- Record the numbers for each of the credit cards you own. This will facilitate the theft or loss of the card.
- Carry your purse close to your body. Place one end of the purse in the palm of your hand and the other in the bend of the elbow. Never carry a purse by the handle or wrap the strap around your body.
- Always lock your car. Before getting into your car, check the back seat to make sure no one is hiding.
- If you are carrying a wallet, carry it in the breast pocket of your jacket or in your side pants pocket.
- The rear pants pocket is one of the easiest to pick.
- When in a restaurant, don’t leave your handbag or packages unattended.
- If you must place your packages in your car, put them into the trunk and make sure the trunk is locked. Never leave packages in the passenger compartment unattended.
- Don’t wait until you have reached your front door to look for your keys. Have them ready in your hand. If a stranger is standing near your door, it may be a good idea not to go in until the situation is safer.
- Lock your front door immediately upon entering your home.
- If you live in apartment building don’t buzz in someone who rings your bell until you have verified who they are. This will help protect both yourself and your neighbors.
- Be wary of con artists. Con artists use a number of ploys to scam you and steal your property. Some divert your attention while another pick your pocket, some pose as utility workers or a tradesperson to gain access to your home, while others conduct scams that are more elaborate involving several con artists. As a consumer you should also be wary of illegal vendors selling goods on the street. Purchase merchandise from only licensed vendors or reputable stores. Follow your instincts and remember, “If it seems too good to be true, it probably is”.
- Don’t drink and drive.
Below are some important tips from the NYPD on how to stay safe and what you can do if you’ve been sexually harassed or assaulted on the subway:
Do not be ashamed or afraid to report the offense to [...]]]>
]]>Below are some important tips from the NYPD on how to stay safe and what you can do if you’ve been sexually harassed or assaulted on the subway:
- Do not be ashamed or afraid to report the offense to the police or an MTA employee immediately.
- During off hours, wait at the marked waiting areas on the station platforms and sit in the conductor’s car when the train arrives.
- Know your way around your subway stations: the locations of exits and where stairwells lead.
- If the sex offense happens on a crowded subway car, if you can do so safely, step away from the perpetrator and loudly let others know what the offender is doing.
- If you are in an empty car, leave the car and find one with more passengers.
- If you can do so safely, use your cell phone to take a photo of the perpetrator, or make a note of any distinctive features or items of clothing.
- If the perpetrator follows you off the train, call the police and stay in a crowded area.
- Remain alert and awake.
For more information about the New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault, Right Rides and Girls for Gender Equity, please visit their websites at www.svfreenyc.org, www.rightrides.org, and www.ggenyc.org, respectively.
The scene on Friday night was one of curses, anger and [...]]]>
The scene on Friday night was one of curses, anger and typical MTA pandemonium. Surprised late-night straphangers were told N train service was being re-routed over the D line and that to reach any stop between 36th and 95th on the R they would need to transfer to the shuttle bus. On the platform, two unfortunate MTA employees directed the surly crowds. In 15 minutes, we recorded at least 8 instances of the MTA employees catching some form of flack or verbal abuse.
Outside, the line for the shuttle train looked more like a puffy-eyed blue-collar mosh pit. Exhausted late night workers stood waiting for the bus between 5 and 25 minutes. When the occasional bus arrived, during the 40 minutes of observation, not a single one had enough room for everybody. Some of the slower or older of the straphangers, as such, ended up waiting two or three rounds of buses. Sometimes this meant a 25 minute wait in the freezing cold. One MTA employee stood and ushered the disgruntled riders onto whatever buses finally came around the corner. Cabbies were on the scene like free pez was being given out. With so few buses available, and a palpable, unmanaged tension in the air, many opted to pay the extra cash to be on their way.
We counted over 25 cabbies picking up rides in a period of about 30 minutes. John, a Queens based cabbie who worked the shift, estimated the average fare that night to be between 7 and 12 dollars. Some cars picking up passengers, however, were clearly not TLC licensced. Numerous minivans and sedans pulled up with offers to drive folks down the avenue (for a fare). At one point, approximately 1:20a.m., one passenger jumped from the car when he saw the driver wasn’t TLC licensced. The driver got out and a 5 minute verbal shouting match ensued. After a few minutes, the driver picked up a new fair, cursed his old fair out the window, and drove down Fourth Avenue into Bay Ridge dusk.
A group of 4 or 5 MTA employees leaned on nearby cars, commenting to each other about the nearby commotion. They also took turns re-adjusting their belts and spitting–neither of which provided more shuttle buses or helped them arrive faster.
]]>The bridge was the last great public works [...]]]>
The bridge was the last great public works project in New York City overseen by Robert Moses, the New York State Parks Commissioner and head of the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, who had long desired the bridge as a means of completing the expressway system which was itself largely the result of his efforts. The bridge was the last project designed by Chief Engineer Othmar Ammann, who had also designed most of the other major crossings of New York City, including the George Washington Bridge, the Bayonne Bridge, the Bronx Whitestone Bridge, the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge, and the Throgs Neck Bridge. The plans to build the bridge caused considerable controversy in the neighborhood of Bay Ridge, because many families had settled in homes in the area where the bridge now stands and were forced to relocate.
Hm… that’s more than a little understated. Strange how history works.
This reads like someone’s history paper, t/h to everything2.com (anyone have better sources?).
In order to construct the bridge and its approachways, [Robert Moses] would have to condemn houses that lay in the right-of-way he wanted. The residents of Bay Ridge protested and picketed and petitioned that the bridge approachways run along the shoreline and connect to the Shore Parkway there, rather than the approach from the Gowanus that Moses proposed. Moses carefully considered their requests, but maintained that his way would require less condemnation of property and cost less. The right-of-way was acquired in 1957, and despite vehement efforts by the public and politicians, seven thousand residents were removed from their homes in 1959. Interestingly, some of these residents (including some of the most violently opposed) ended up working on the bridge.Incidentally, the opposite was occurring on the Staten Island side. Twice as many homes would be destroyed in Richmond County, but the residents were all for the bridge; it would finally link their isolated community with the rest of the city of which it had been a part for over 60 years. 1959 saw a massive land rush on the island, with lots doubling or tripling in price, some even during the same day. The bridge was seen as Staten Island’s savior.
Alas for the B+T crowd… see you at the Salty Dog.
]]>The internet is a great tool, except for one little flaw. It is saturated with humans and their own personal, unsubstantiated opinions. There once was a time when that opinion might never go any further than the fool’s, who thought it, front porch. It might just be one of those family secrets that everyone knows about and are conscience enough to never mention that topic when that crazy uncle is around. When outsiders would come for a visit, they might have gotten stopped at the door before entering and warned not to mention anything about “the lake.” But now that crazy uncle has a computer with internet access and has a “Creature in the Lake” website that gets over 15-thousand hits a month.
A website about a mythological creature living in a lake is pretty harmless, even if the website was to get a million hits a week. But such fervor over anything can lead to a disastrous outcome, especially when unsubstantiated. That lake might become a mecca for monster hunters who inadvertently destroy an entire ecosystem just to look for something that does not exist. Even when another hypothetical site out there, run by people of science who have studied the lake extensively, rebut such claims with facts and evidence. That website gets 1.1 million hits a week, unfortunately one million are coming from the other website to disprove the scientists using pseudo-science and sketchy information.
But I know, I know, the internet can be quite confusing. So I’ve proposed 3 easy “Internet Rules” to assist you on being more internet savvy.
Internet Rule #1: “Citation Needed”
http://images1.fanpop.com/images/image_uploads/Citation-Needed-wikipedia-819731_500_271.jpg
Always request sources to back up outlandish claims.
Example:
“Obama administration gives British distiller $3 billion to move from one American territory to another”
Rabble…Rabble…Rabble… As a person of Puerto Rican descent, I am outraged!!! How could Obama do such a thing? I thought he and I were boys? Brother went to Columbia, smoked weed and blew lines with the Puerto Ricans in Washington Heights. Okay, I have no proof of that. But I do have proof that this deal began over a year ago under the Bush Administration and that tax credit actually falls under the TARP program that Mister Bush and Hank Paulson pushed forward.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=amp5wXx35fkc
Internet Rule #2: “Get a Brain! Morans”
http://www.nerve.com/CS/blogs/scanner/2009/03/01-07/moran.jpg
Don’t listen to the crazies.
Example:
“I have a problem with the states controlling education. The federal government has…no business at all. That’s just way beyond their control; it takes parents even further away from what is and isn’t taught,”
http://onenewsnow.com/Education/Default.aspx?id=669984
What part of “Public Schools” and “Public Education” does she not understand? Regardless I just read the president’s proposed speech and by the time this column gets published he will have read it to the country and OUR CHILDREN!!!!
http://www.whitehouse.gov/MediaResources/PreparedSchoolRemarks/
You know what, I’m going to save you the time it would take to read it. The next link pretty much sums it all up in 35 seconds.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQT830mo8Mc
Don’t have 35 seconds? Here is a picture.
http://wagist.com/images/political/education.jpg
Internet Rule #3 “Think for yourself”
http://hongki.at/images/typography/3d/think.jpg
There is so much information on this superhighway that it is easy for us to become lost and wander into dangerous territories. One minute we are reading the day’s news the next moment we are being kidnapped by raging lunatics on the Fox news network. I mean those guys can’t be trusted. In fact, do you know what I heard? Now, I’m not saying that he did, but I just cannot prove that he didn’t in fact rape and kill a woman in 1990. There is a rumor going around and even a website, not saying that Glenn Beck raped and killed a woman in 1990.
http://glennbeckrapedandmurderedayounggirlin1990.com/
Which brings me back to Obama’s evil, socialist, communist, fascist, Marxist, plan to brainwash our children with his pro-life, universal healthcare, greener planet, and global unity using his charm and wicked jump-shot. We need to continue to think for ourselves.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/9/6/776647/-The-Stay-In-School-Conspiracy-Theory
We need to maintain within the facts, study the sources and understand that maybe, just maybe, someone on the internet, on television, in a book, at a church, at the supermarket or in your house is lying to you. Life is in fact a roller coaster full of ups and downs and twists and turns. We were once young like the kid in this video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XQzQYFYfy8
And there is no need for us to lose that excitement towards the world. I like to keep it as simple as possible and remember some deep words from a great philosopher named Socrates, “As for me, all I know is that I know nothing.”
Enjoy your trip through the tubes.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Hi Sunset Park folks,
After a highly successful Brooklyn Food Conference on May 2, we have morphed into the Brooklyn Food Coalition, with the intention of developing food activist groups in every neighborhood in Brooklyn. The Coalition has been holding neighborhood-based meetings in several neighborhoods this summer. Now’s the time to get a Sunset Park neighborhood group together to see what issues are most important to Sunset Park neighbors. We are proposing a meeting on Monday, Sept. 21 at 7pm, hopefully at one of the Lutheran Family Medical Center sites (I still need to hear back from them). But I wanted to give you a heads up on the date.The purpose of the meeting is to constitute a Sunset Park neighborhood branch of the Brooklyn Food Coalition which would identify and work on one, two, maybe more specific issues or campaigns related to food justice—access to healthy, sustainable food with social justice for food workers and consumers. So far there has been lots of interest in developing work around labor rights for food workers, general food access in the neighborhood, and school food. Other ideas may surface as well. The point of the group is to get neighbors together to work on a very local, neighborhood basis and then to bring those campaigns and concerns to the broader Brooklyn Food Coalition to see if actions can be spread throughout the Borough.Please save the date for this meeting and let me know if you will be available at that time. Also, please begin to spread the word among your friends, neighbors, and workmates to see if they would want to come to an initial meeting and see how to advance food justice issues in Sunset Park.Please send me any emails of people you think should know about a Sunset Park meeting of the BFC. I’ll send out a more formal invitation plus organizational documents once we have a definite meeting place. Until then, I look forward to hearing from you soon.Best regards,Nancy
–
Nancy Romer
General Coordinator
Brooklyn Food Conference
www.BrooklynFoodConference.org
nancyromer@gmail.com
……
]]>Below is Friends of Sunset Park’s response to last Saturday’s (8/15/09) raid.
Dear FRIENDS-
Please be assured that we, the Friends of Sunset Park, did not participate
in the planning or the execution of today’s RAID on the park’s unlicensed
vendors. This tactic, while it might make some people feel powerful for a
few minutes, does not work, period. In fact, it generates graffiti, other
types of vandalism (against trees/plantings, equipment & facilities), as
well as more garbage aka “garbage with a vengeance.” Members of the
Friends of Sunset Park have been approaching the vendors directly for the
past couple of months to elicit their cooperation as a partner in
preserving and maintaining the park. While this outreach may not carry the
drama of a raid or a call to arms vs. the vendors, we believe that it will
eventually yield better results. For the past several years we have been
advocating for a multi-prong/multi agency approach that includeseducation, small business tech support, and constructive enforcement, but
the response is always the same: ” it’s definitely the right approach, but we don’t have the
resources necessary.”At the end of the day, all that the RAID accomplished was to terrorize the
hundreds of children present, and the vendors’ children, in particular,
who witnessed their parents being chased like animals, as they abandoned
their carts and property to avoid perceived arrest. A number of the
vendors spoke with us today thinking that the RAID was orchestrated by us,
and since that was not the case, we are directing them to Park’s
management and the individuals who did so that they may discuss this issue
directly with them.Friends of Sunset Park was founded 12 years ago and has remained a
constant and effective presence in our park as different park’s personnel
has come and gone, and as many individuals and special interest groups
have also come and gone. We invite anyone who reads this posting and who
is interested in responsible, effective, long-term, hands-on and realistic
involvement in the preservation of Sunset Park to join us and work in a
collaborative and inclusive manner. Our mission is “TO PRESERVE OUR
WONDERFUL COMMUNITY BY BRINGING BEAUTY, EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS, RECREATION
AND ENTERTAINMENT TO A SAFE AND CLEAN PARK…One-shot RAIDS against the vendors, with the goal of scaring them
straight, have never and will never work long term. The “cleansing” effect
may, at best, last a couple of days, but they will re-establish themselves
and always in greater numbers and savvier, because of it; the graffiti and
vandalism that these “enforcement actions” generate will cost all of us
far more in preserving the well-being, frustration, park salaries,
materials, and reduced enjoyment of our treasured park.Yours truly- MR for the Friends of Sunset Park- friendsofsunsetpark@yahoo.com
____________________________________________________Please let us kow what your thoughts are on this issue.
Friends of Sunset Park
FRIENDSOFSUNSETPARK-BROOKLYN.BLOGSPOT.COM 718.437.1413
UPDATE: According to sources, this raid was ordered on the discretion of a single Parks employee in an attempt to lessen the amount of garbage in the park (i.e. make less work for Parks employee)
]]>Hello Everyone,
We are writing today for your support and action! The Astoria Generating Company, the corporation looking to site another power plant in Sunset Park, has filed a Motion for Expedited Processing Without Oral Testimony to the Public Service Commission. If this Motion passes, the power plant company has the ability to decide on power plant placement without public hearings! This is a clear violation of democracy where the community has no say on decisions that will affect us, our children and our way of life.
On Wednesday, SPAN will be filing a legal request to block this motion.
Please support us by signing a petition in support: http://www.petitiononline.com/SPANSPAN/petition.html
We are asking for everyone to get 15 signatures so we can deliver a strong message to the Public Service Commission that Sunset Park is watching when they try to site another power plant in the neighborhood.
If you want to come out on Monday or Tuesday to gather signatures with SPAN, please email Ivette at: <xiaanais@yahoo.com>.
If you’d like to find out more about SPAN (Sunset Park Alliance of Neighbors) visit http://www.spanbrooklyn.org/ or just click here.
]]>… after a two day survey of 3rd avenue and 5th avenue in Bay Ridge, our reporting team found over 25 vacated or vacating storefronts.
Perhaps the most unfortunate block of all is 3rd avenue, between Bay Ridge Avenue and 70th street. Here we found four empty store fronts. The remaining stores are niche food services, a used goods store, a deli and the famous fresh-bread Cangiano’s.
and City Cuncilman Vincent J Gentile and Republican Challenger Robert Capano were kind enough to respond with some comments, suggestions and possible courses of action.
Here is the statement from Vincent J. Gentile’s office
““The recession has hit a lot of people in our area, and that affects local business owners. Those business owners are an important part of our neighborhood’s economic backbone, and to help them I released a brochure to help navigate the federal stimulus package in March,” Councilman Gentile said. “Another way of helping is to continue fighting the ticketing blitzes on major commercial avenues – I’ve spoken personally to store owners who feel that agents are driving shoppers away from their stores, and this is the worst economic climate possible for them to be doing that. I’d also encourage residents to do their shopping locally – let’s spend our money in our neighborhood, show support for local store owners and make sure our neighborhood emerges from this downturn strong and resilient.”
And here is a response to the store front vacancies from Republican Challenger Robert (Bob) Capano
“First, I live right by the area you emphasize. I’m at 73rd and Ridge.
We have to create a positive environment for small businesses and mom and pop shops to open, grow, and succeed. Government has to be a partner to them- not an obstacle that makes it more difficult for them.
For example, traffic agents who use no common sense when they ticket drivers waiting to pull into a parking space is a disincentive for people to shop at avenue stores. This decreases the customer base of local stores. Merchants along 3rd and 5th Avenues, as well as 18th Avenue in Bensonhurst, have complained about this issue.
It was small businesses that provided me my first jobs. While a student at Xaverian High School, I worked at Once Upon a Sundae, which was on 77th and 3rd Avenue, and Logue’s Restaurant, which was also on 3rd Avenue. Prior to this, I worked at a candy store and deli on 4th Avenue between 85th and 86th streets. I will be a strong advocate for local store owners so they can not only stay open, but flourish to provide the same opportunities to young people today that they gave to me.
I will work closely with the City Department of Small Business Services, our Business Improvement Districts, and Merchant organizations to give local merchants access to loans, resource information, and ideas for business growth and expansion.”
Mr. Capano then added this PS. “From me directly- not any staff or aides!!”
Firstly, we would like to say a very gracious thank you to these two gentleman who are putting very much of their personal time and energy into the community. Reaching out to our small blog indicates a transparency of local governance that other nabes surely envy.
Strikingly, the one thing they both emphasized is the ticket blitzing on the main commercial strips. Most car-owners in the neighborhood will tell you about the “nightmare” parking situations. Shopping on 3rd or 5th or 8th avenue or 86th street while trying to look for parking is one of the most dreaded weekend treks for many a Bayridgistani. According to a few deli owners on 3rd Avenue, it’s usually the same 2 or 3 traffic enforcement officers doing the ticketing. (If anyone can get their badge numbers, email us editor@bayridgistan.com… Bayridgistan’s first mini-documentary perhaps? following the ticket-blitzers?)
If you’d like to respond back to Mr. Capano or Mr. Gentile themselves, you can reach Robert Capano at bob@bobcapano.com . If you’re trying to get a message to Councilman Gentile, reach out to Dena Libner, his Director of Communications, at dlibner@council.nyc.gov.
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