While Councilmember Brad Lander has gained some help in fixing the flooding issue at the Fort Hamilton Parkway subway entrance, his Participatory Budgeting Transit Committee has been working on ideas for capital–as in, one-time, not on-going–improvements for the entrance. They’ve sent us this information with hopes that neighbors will be able to provide additional input:
We were delighted to hear the announcement from Catherine Zinnel of Councilmember Brad Lander’s office that they were able to get various city agencies (Department of Parks, Sanitation, and Environmental Protection) to commit to cleaning up the area outside the Ft. Hamilton F/G subway entrance. We applaud the great strides that Councilmember Lander’s office has made with this recent announcement. This is indeed a triumph!
Through the newly implemented and innovative Participatory Budget process, residents of four Council Districts–including Brad Lander’s District 39–are recommending how to spend approximately $6 million of public money. (To learn more about the process, see pbnyc.org.) As part of the Participatory Budget process, we are a committee of four who, over the past few months, have been working with Mr. Lander’s staff to study how to remedy the various situations occurring outside the southern entrance of the F/G subway station at Ft. Hamilton Parkway.
Our Transit Committee would like to go beyond the much-needed maintenance of that area and achieve some structural changes that would address the fundamental issues that create the problem. For example, the pitch of the sidewalks does not adequately lead to the drainage, so we are proposing the installation of drainage trenches (about 6 inches across and run the width of the sidewalk. To prevent much of the run-off, we propose that the fencing be replaced, the ground turned over and reseeded and proper curbing built up. This will go far to eliminate the mud flats that accumulate under the overpass. In addition, we are exploring anti-slip coatings for the sidewalks because, even with clean and working drains, if there is any precipitation and when it is lower than 32 degrees, those slopes are always going to be treacherous.
We are also proposing netting barriers to the pigeons roosting spots under the overpass and better signage to identify the subway entrance.
Our committee welcomes any and all suggestions, photographs, professional opinions, observations and even personal horror stories. This will help solidify our proposal and make for a more powerful presentation in order to win funding to help this problem area. Please send your comments to fixfthamilton@gmail.com. Our community deserves a safe and clean entrance to its subway station
The City Council approved a parking legislation package yesterday that aims to make parking enforcement fairer and to eliminate excessive ticketing. The three parts are:
* Being able to cancel a ticket on the spot if you have a muni-meter receipt that’s time-stamped five minutes within the ticket’s time.
* Freezing late fees on tickets until 30 days after they’ve been issued, to give you a chance to contest them.
* Banning the city from placing parking stickers on cars that are said to be violating alternate side parking rules.
It’s those stickers that got under the nails of nearby Councilman David G. Greenfield, who wrote that legislation. The Sanitation Department has used neon stickers in cases of alternate-side parking violations since 1988, issuing about 400 each day alternative-side parking rules are in effect for street cleaning. The City Council argues that the stickers are attached even before motorists are given the chance to prove their innocence.
“Punishing drivers with these impossible-to-remove stickers is unfair and unnecessary,” said Greenfield in a statement. “New York City doesn’t employ methods of public humiliation and shame for those who violate serious crimes, yet has no problem defacing private property with neon stickers because you forgot to move your car on an alternate-side parking day.”
The bill, which keeps in place existing $45 to $60 fines for alternate-side parking violations but ends the practice of placing these stickers on the car’s rear window, received support from Council members, drivers, and the Automobile Association of America when introduced earlier this year.
The Bloomberg administration has voiced its opposition to the entire legislation package, but because it received such overwhelming support in City Council, it seems unlikely the Mayor will be able to veto it if that’s his plan.
If you’ve ever dealt with one of these stickers, you know how hard they can be to remove. The Daily News experimented with various removal liquids recently, with Windex leading the pack. What have you found works best?
The problem of the often-flooded pathway leading to the Fort Hamilton Parkway F/G station, which we first wrote about last March, and which we began making more noise about this fall thanks to your photos and efforts in reaching out to community leaders, has been resolved.
Catherine Zinnel, District Director for Councilmember Brad Lander, tells us that the city has made a commitment to maintain the area. She writes:
In response to your concerns we have been in touch with multiple City agencies, namely the Department of Parks, Sanitation, and Environmental Protection, and asked them to address this ongoing problem. We are happy to report that we have received a commitment from the City to maintain this area, including removal of garbage and debris year-round and removal of snow and ice during the winter months. Further, the City has cleaned the drain and drudged the attached pipe.
This should do it, but if you notice any flooding, please contact the Councilmember’s office at 718-499-1090.
If you’ve got the day off from work on Monday and you’re looking for a fun way to spend it locally, the Prospect Park Tennis Center may be the answer. They’re holding a Martin Luther King, Jr. Day event where adult and junior players can spend three hours in a clinic that will help improve your moves.
The day features a fast-paced station drill that focuses on specific skills, including serve and volley, ground strokes, approach shots, and offense/defense strategies.
The clinic runs from 1 to 4pm, and costs $80. You must register in advance by filling out and faxing back the registration form to 718-972-2690. For more information, call 718-436-2500.
While riding the F train last week, one man had a pleasant interaction with a local artist–but he didn’t make a move, and he’s looking for her now on Craigslist:
…there you were, wearing a pink scarf and beige glove/mittens moved from one side to the other to sit beside me sketching in your look book communicating via symbols drawn of a brief case, glasses, a heart, and an arrow. Capturing the expression in my eyes in another drawing. I would love to have a drink with you and wish I asked you before you got off at the church avenue station.
The 66th Precinct is encouraging people from all over Brooklyn to take advantage of a gun buyback program that’s coming up in Brooklyn North.
On Saturday, January 28, the 77th Precinct is hosting the program at the Bedford Central Presbyterian Church, located at 1200 Dean Street at Nostrand. The cash-for-guns program will exchange $200 bank card for operable handguns and $20 bank card for operable rifles and shotguns.
For more information, call the 66th Precinct Community Affairs Office at 718-851-5601.
Today is the deadline for the public to comment on the controversial New York State fracking issue. Councilmember Brad Lander explains:
If you’ve ever tried a bagel outside of New York, you know why ours are considered the best. Many people say the difference is the water. New York has the largest unfiltered water system in the country – but that massive source of clean water is now in danger.
Oil and gas giants are planning to start “fracking” (hydraulic fracturing) in New York – a process that involves injecting secret chemicals into the ground at high pressure to access the natural gas contained in underground rock formations. The United States Environmental Protection Agency says that fracking may be responsible for groundwater pollution in other states.
Today, I am submitting my comments to the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation on their draft plans to open much of New York to fracking.
While the Cuomo Administration proposal does not technically allow for fracking within New York City’s upstate watershed, there are so many loopholes that the Marcellus shale could soon look swiss cheese – maybe tasty on a bagel, but too risky where our water is concerned. Drilling would be allowed with 1,000 feet of our water infrastructure, including the tunnels and aqueducts that bring it down to the city.
As the New York City Department of Environmental Protection has argued, natural gas well construction must be limited to no less than seven miles from NYCDEP’s underground infrastructure.
We must also hold gas and oil companies accountable for their pollution. Fracking produces large amounts of wastewater, polluted with toxins that our water treatment plants cannot process. The Cuomo Administration must ensure that our water treatment facilities do not take this toxic wastewater.
Only we can protect New York’s water. Thanks to a giveaway to Big Oil back in the Bush Administration, the EPA is barred from taking action to protect our water from fracking. So it is up to us.
The Department of Environmental Conservation told WNYC yesterday that the state has received nearly 21,000 comments already. The review that follows is expected to take several months.
NY Communities for Change has organized a second rally to support the workers at Golden Farm, who, with support from RWDSU/UFCW Local 338, have filed a lawsuit against the owner, Sonil Kim, to gain back pay and future contracts that ensure workers receive benefits, paid sick leave, and more. From the organization:
What to do to take action?
1. Call the store at (718) 871-1009 ask to speak with Mr. Kim and let him know that you support the workers.
2. When you shop ask to speak with Mr. Kim and let him know that you support the workers.
3. Come out to the Kensington Fair Food Rally: FRIDAY JANUARY 13!
Join us for a neighborhood meeting. Save the date: January 19th at 8:30, location TBA. We will discuss how the community can best support the workers, workers will be present.
They will be meeting outside of Golden Farm on Church Ave and East 3rd Street on Friday, January 13 at 12pm. To RSVP for the rally or the neighborhood meeting, or for more information, contact Alexandra García at mgarcia@nycommunities.org.
We have contacted Mr. Kim for comment, and are waiting to hear back.
A head’s up for those with kids looking for wintertime activities and those looking for a Prospect Park pit stop: The Prospect Park Audubon Center and the Lefferts Historic House will be closed to the public for a month, from January 3 through February 3. Both will reopen February 4.
United Cerebral Palsy of New York City, located across from the 70th Police Precinct on Lawrence Avenue, offers several programs and services to children and adults with cerebral palsy and other disabilities. They sent over some information about some of the services available:
The SHARE Center (Samuel Hausman Activities Resource & Education) offers education, information, and assistance to families who have a child with special needs. SHARE brings together expert staff support along with a unique range of specialized resources that include a lending library for books, videos and equipment; adapted toys; adapted computers; specialized software augmentative communication systems; and more. Click here for a brochure to learn more, or call 718.436.7979, x708.
TechWorks gives people an opportunity to explore the variety of assistive technology products available to help make their, or their family members, lives easier. These include aids for daily living, environmental control units, adapted telephones, seating and positioning equipment, and home and workplace adaptations. To learn more about how to “test drive” this equipment, download this flyer, and to learn about their mobile TechWorks centers, download this one, and email techworks@ucpnyc.org to learn more.
As 2011 wraps up, some may be considering making tax-deductible charitable donations. Why not keep some of that money in our community?
Based at Newkirk Avenue and E 8th Street, Compost for Brooklyn could use your support. From C4B:
While C4B is an all volunteer run organization, we do have everyday expenses to keep the garden running. As an added incentive, a neighborhood resident will match all of your donations between now and January 13th dollar for dollar up to $500, bringing the total for C4B to $1,000. Any contribution, whether $5, $10 or $100, will allow us to buy needed tools and equipment, upgrade our compost bins, cover our liability insurance, and buy seeds and plants for the garden. And with a gift of $100 or more, you will also receive a free C4B t-shirt!
All contributions are tax deductable. Compost for Brooklyn is fiscally sponsored by the Open Space Institute, Inc., as part of their Citizen Action program. We thank you for your support!
You can make a donation online or by mail. Find out how at their website.
Season’s Greetings and many thanks to Officers Rodriguez, Ruiz, and Spurrell of the 66th Precinct’s PIMS (Comp Stat) unit for pulling these figures regularly for this blog—often when swamped by other, more pressing, assignments. As of the fall, Officer Spurell took her promotion to sergeant and transferred to another precinct. Thanks also and good wishes to Deputy Inspector John Sprague for authorizing the release of this data.
And an especial shout-out to Lt. James Selleck, retired. We cannot thank him enough for getting this project moving. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to him. We wish him a long, interesting, and prosperous new life.
Sector K: from Caton Ave to Beverley Rd; from 37th St Coney Island Ave
Mon Dec 12 Burglary on East 3 Street Upon her return home, a woman discovered someone had entered her apt from the rear window and took her cash without either her permission or authority. No arrest.
Mon Dec 12 Larceny on East 5 Street A man states unauthorized charges were made on his Home Depot card. No arrest.
Sector G: from Beverley Rd to Ave F; from 37th St to Coney Island Ave
Wed Dec 14 Assault Felony on Cortelyou Rd
A man says while waiting for the bus another man hit him with an unknown object causing laceration. No arrest.
“Nearly one in five women surveyed said they had been raped or had experienced an attempted rape at some point, and one in four reported having been beaten by an intimate partner. One in six women have been stalked….
Linda C. Degutis, director of the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which conducted the study, said “I don’t think we’ve really known that it was this prevalent in the population.”
The data collected covered “sexual violence other than rape, psychological aggression, coercion and control of reproductive and sexual health…types of aggression not previously studied in national surveys.” The study says 40% had been raped by an acquaintance, 50% by an intimate partner. In a Jane Brody column in the NY Times last week, she notes, “Among female victims, nearly three-quarters are assaulted by men they know—friends, acquaintances or intimate partners, according to federal statistics.”
This is an epidemic in which women are the main victims. We lack an avenging feminist angel: a Lisbeth Salander, or a Dr. Erin Mears, the Centers for Disease Control scientist, played by Kate Winslet in Contagion, to give her life to protect them.
Meanwhile, in the real world, Brody, the NY Times Health columnist, says there are long-lasting health consequences from sexual assaults: among them depression, eating disorders, post-traumatic stress disorders.
The New York Cares Coat Drive announced today that it’s collected just 20,000 coats out of the 100,000 coats it needs. The organization distributes the coats to New York City’s homeless and low-income men, women, and children who desperately need these coats to stay warm as the temperature drops. If you have a coat sitting in the back of your closet that you don’t use anymore, now’s the time to bring it out to donate.
You can donate gently-used, freshly laundered coats at hundreds of locations throughout the city through Saturday, December 31. Collection sites include all NYPD Police Precincts (the 66th Precinct is located at 5822 16th Avenue; the 70th Precinct may be more convenient for some at 154 Lawrence Ave, between Ocean Parkway and Seton Place), Penn Station, the Port Authority Bus Terminal, Grand Central Terminal, Citi Pond at Bryant Park, Janovic Paint and Decorating Centers, Oz Moving and Storage locations, and many other sites.
Selfhelp Community Services is looking for volunteers to visit Holocaust survivors in their homes. They have clients all over Brooklyn, and the visits are usually about an hour a week, and can take place any day of the week, including evenings and Sundays.
“Our visitors and their older friends meet and decide what they want to do together,” Fran Tarshish, Social Work Supervisor and Brooklyn NV Program Volunteer Coordinator at Selfhelp explains. “Current activities include making cookies, scrap-booking, discussing current affairs, visiting a favorite diner, and playing chess.”
Visitors are provided with training before they go into anyone’s home.
If you’re interested in becoming a volunteer, please contact Fran at 718-633-1300 or ftarshish@selfhelp.net.
As a result of the lawsuit still pending at Golden Farm over the alleged unpaid back wages, NY Communities for Change, the group that organized Occupy Our Homes in Brownsville, organized a protest there today with former employees and community members.
The group of protestors began assembling around East 3rd and Church Ave around 11:30, and told us that the owner of Golden Farm, Sonil Kim, had asked them to leave. The march began around 12:30.
They had collected around 300 signatures from neighbors asking the owner to remit the unpaid back wages to his employees and to pay current workers minimum wage. The plan began with having 3 representatives–an NYCC representative, a former employee, and a neighbor–present the signatures collected to Mr. Kim. If he rejected them, they planned to rally inside the store to bring attention to his alleged practices, and then picket outside.
The owner’s response:
The protestors held signs and marched around the store, chanting “What do we want? Living wages!” and “Golden Farm steals wages.” A worker states that he had been earning $400 for a 72-hour workweek, which comes out to $5.56 per hour, or $1.69 less than minimum wage hourly. The suit, which was filed by 10 employees since terminated, is for approximately $11,000, for unpaid overtime, underpayment of wages, and penalties.
One customer asked a cashier, “Do you think this will get you a raise?” She shook her head.
The protestors re-assembled outside to picket, and received support from passing cars. They briefly went back into Golden Farm to make one last go-around, and then returned to Church Ave.
The group was gathered to listen to closing statements. Mr. Kim told a few protestors by the fringe of the group, “Thank you, you guys gave me advertising.” The protest ended with a chant of: “We live around the corner, we’ll be back.”
I would guesstimate that there were about 30 protestors in attendance. It is difficult to guage the community support–the customers in the store seemed to be annoyed with the inconvenience and did their best to ignore the rally, though others joined up with them outside.
Sonil Kim could not be reached for further comment. I called the number listed on Yelp, (718) 871-1009, and a woman answered. When I asked to speak to him, I got the noise that comes from accidentally dialing a fax number and no further human response. He is welcome to get in touch with us, as well.
It’s been a while since we’ve heard any news about the string of sexual attacks on women in the area, thank goodness. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t continue to prepare yourself to feel safe in all situations.
Safe Slope and the Center for Anti-Violence Education, which organize educational and self-defense workshops, are conducting a survey to better understand what people in the community are looking for in anti-violence programming. If you’ve taken a course, or would like to in the future, here’s an opportunity to give some input. Find the survey here.
On Thursday between 10am and 3pm, the New York City Office of Emergency Management, in partnership with the FEMA, S&T, and the FCC, will conduct a test of the Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) system. This is a new, free emergency notification service that will allow authorized government officials to send geographically targeted emergency alerts to enabled mobile devices on the AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon wireless networks.
They will be sending the alert to six test phones, but some members of the public may receive a message as well. Some newer mobile devices may be WEA-capable and may receive one or more of the test messages, which will be an audible notification (no matter if you keep your device on vibrate, or have an awesome ringtone) along with a text message that says “Severe Alert” or “Extreme Alert” on your main screen, then info about the test in the text message body.
Due to the limited nature of this test, you probably won’t get one, but now you know what it is if you do.
Participating mobile carriers are required by the FCC to begin deploying WEA technology by April 2012, so this isn’t something you need to opt into–it will automatically be available on new phones in the future.
They are collecting email addresses and inviting neighbors to join their protest this Friday, December 16 at noon in front of Golden Farm to protest the lack of progress on the lawsuit over minimum wages and unpaid overtime.
What are your thoughts on this? Do you plan to attend?
As you shop for gifts for your family this holiday season, it’s a good time to reflect on how fortunate you’ve been through the year, and to remember that others in our are may not have had such an easy time. These nearby food pantries help families in need, and they could use replenishing now, and throughout the year:
Immaculate Heart of Mary 2805 Fort Hamilton Parkway The pantry is in need of non-perishable items (tomato sauce, coffee, tuna, canned fruit, peanut butter, jelly, crackers, canned vegetables, boxes of rice). They also need baby shampoo, toilet paper, and paper towels. Drop off your non-perishable foods in the baskets at East 4th and 5th Street doors of the church.
Masbia 4114 14th Avenue
As a kosher soup kitchen network with one central kitchen, food donations must meet specific requirements. Call 718-972-4446 before bringing food donations, or consider a donation of money or time.
Just in time for the Winter Solstice, the Fall season of Singing Winds continues this Saturday afternoon at 2pm when Kensington storytellers Annie Ferdous and Jill Reiner narrate a Bangladeshi fable about winter, told in words and scrolls, in English and Bengali. For extra points, compare with Persephone’s tale.
As we brace ourselves for whatever winter will bring, Citizens Committee for New York City is partnering with NYC Service to help enlist community organizations in an effort to help seniors and the disabled clear the snow in front of their homes.
Citizens Committee has already worked with the Department for the Aging to identify seniors that would need this last resort service. NYC Service is currently building a list of community groups in order to deploy volunteers to meet the needs of seniors in their neighborhood.
If your are part of a group–neighborhood association, school committee, book club, whatever–that would like to volunteer to help the elderly and the disabled clear the snow from their homes in our area, please send an email to Saleen Shah at sshah@citizensnyc.org.
The family of an elderly Kensington woman says New York Community Hospital told them of their mother’s death seven days after she passed. 89-year-old Catherina Hawa’s son, Michael, tells the Daily News that he is distraught:
Hawa’s corpse remained unclaimed for over a week, until an employee of a funeral home Michael hired picked it up on Nov. 24, Thanksgiving Day.
“The thought that she laid there cold and dead — it’s a horror,” said Michael, 64, of Morrisville, Pa. “It’s just too sad to digest.”
New York Community Hospital claims they called Catherine’s daughter just minutes after her mother’s death, but the daughter denies receiving a call.
Four weeks ago today, I was the victim of a hit and run on Ocean Parkway. Here is information that I hope will help any future victims:
The case is still open at the 66th Precinct, though as far as I have been told, there are no new leads. Getting a copy of a police report requires a $10 money order, which adds insult to injury. The fee is waived if you are the victim of the crime and pursue prosecution, but this is not a possibility if your assailant is unknown.
No one responsible for billing you understands the concept of a hit and run. The ambulance company asked me for the driver’s insurance. When I told them I didn’t have that, they asked for his name. I told them I didn’t have that, either. The hospital’s billing department did one worse, and asked for my no-fault auto insurance for the car accident I was in. Incidentally, you will most likely need the police report to correct both of these mistakes.
If you go to a hospital’s clinic to have your stitches removed, there is a chance your surgeon will spend 20 microseconds with you and neglect to remove all of your stitches. When you go back, someone will attempt to bill you for this.
Lenscrafters’ eyeglasses protection plan does not cover car accidents, revolutions, or wars.
I would like to stress that I was still extremely fortunate that I was not seriously injured, that I was able to get up and walk away from the accident, and that our neighbors stepped up for me, even though the driver did not stop. Still, I advise not getting hit by a car if you can avoid it. At least once a week, I see people crossing Ocean Parkway in the middle of the street, and they are literally risking their lives – Ocean Parkway is the third most dangerous street for pedestrians in Brooklyn. There is no reason to cross in the middle of the parkway – the two minutes at most that you will save are not worth your life, or even the paperwork headaches I am currently experiencing.
This weekend there’s an opportunity to resolve outstanding warrants (no felonies, or anything through the DMV or MTA, however). Project Safe Surrender on December 2 and 3 from 9am to 3pm:
Brooklyn clergy, partnering with the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office, the New York State Office of Court Administration, the Legal Aid Society and the New York City Police Department offer the opportunity for individuals with warrants/summons to turn themselves in to clergy and law enforcement and to have their warrants/summons lifted and their cases adjudicated in a safe environment. This is not a pardon; but rather a solution that is favorable.
Outstanding warrants they can help with include:
· Unlawful possession of alcohol under age 21
· Consumption of alcohol in public
· Aggressive solicitation
· Unlawful possession of handcuffs
· Littering
· Riding a bicycle on the sidewalk
· Making unreasonable noise
· Animal nuisance
· Failure to have a dog license
· Unleashed dog
· Spitting
· Trespassing
· Disorderly conduct
· Loitering
· Unlawfully in a park after hours
· Failure to comply with posted signs in park
· Marijuana possession – New!
· Smoking marijuana – New!
Backed up storm drains, especially in the autumn as they get clogged with fallen leaves, can be a real pain for pedestrians. Neighbor Emma Gordon let us know that the corner of East 7th Street and Beverley Road is a particularly bad spot–you can see that the puddle at the corner is so huge, pedestrians have to walk out into traffic to make it across the street.
If you deal with this corner–or any others like it–you know what an annoyance this is. And for kids and the elderly, it’s downright dangerous. We’ve set up a See Click Fix page, so please vote on it so that it will get some attention.
Last month the city unveiled a sleek new design for public seating, and you can let them know where you want to sit. The CityBench program aims to install 1,000 steel benches across the five boroughs, and while they have priorities–bus stops, retail districts, near libraries, etc.–the public is welcome to help determine where they go.
There is a form for bench requests available online, so if you know of a spot where a bench is needed, please fill it out. In addition to the top priority locations, there are several restrictions that limit where they can go, including width of the sidewalk and where tree pits and business doors are. But I’m sure there are some good places you can think–any ideas? Or do we have enough?
HuffPo has an article about the Boro Park Hatzolah (volunteer ambulance service) debating allowing female volunteers:
Most Orthodox Jewish women avoid touching men except direct relatives. They don’t sit next to men on buses or even at weddings. They have separate swimming hours at indoor pools. But for an emergency birth, Orthodox Jewish women will usually turn to the all-male volunteer ambulance corps known as Hatzolah.
Now a group of women in one of the country’s largest Orthodox Jewish communities is proposing to join up with Hatzolah as emergency medical technicians to respond in cases of labor or gynecological emergencies.
The proposal for a women’s division has stirred up criticism within Orthodox Jewish circles, with one well-known blog editorializing that it amounts to a “new radical feminist agenda.” And when a prominent elected local official, Assemblyman Dov Hikind, spoke about it on his weekly radio show, he was criticized for even bringing the subject up.
Rachel Freier, a Hasidic attorney who is representing the women in the Borough Park neighborhood of Brooklyn, said there is a need for emergency services that adhere to the community’s customs of modesty, calling for the sexes to avoid physical contact unless they are related.
“It has nothing to do with feminism,” Freier said. “It has to do with the dignity of women and their modesty.”
If you are a masochist who read the comments on the HuffPo article, you might enjoy the radically different response on VIN.
What are your experiences and thoughts on Hatzolah? After my accident, Hatzolah was called for me, and I appreciated that the volunteers asked me before cutting off my bloody clothing, which the ER attendants did with abandon and without warning.
Be on the lookout for a guy (or guys) that rings your bell. When you answer he says he is from Con Edison. Well dressed (but no Con Ed gear) and ID tag around the neck you can’t read because he has a clipboard with Con Ed type bill on it.
His offer is to check your electricity bills because you may be eligible for a reduction in your electricity rate.
RIGHT. Guess Kensingtonians just fell off the turnip truck.
He could see I wasn’t biting and I asked why he didn’t ring everyone’s bell. He said he was about to.
I stepped in, then went back out to see where he went but he vanished.
While there are some legitimate Energy Service Companies (ESCO), there are also some that have been known to perpetrate scams–promising customers savings, but then requiring large fees to get out of a contract. Always ask to see identification, and write down their info. Please be vigilant, and wary of anyone saying they can save you money.
If you’ve got a coat sitting unused in the back of your closet, consider donating it to the New York Cares Coat Drive. The drive aids many New Yorkers who cannot afford to purchase a warm coat for the upcoming winter. The goal for this year’s drive is 100,000 coats, so they need your help!
Coats are being collected citywide through December 31 at any New York City Police Precinct. Our 66th Precinct is located at 5822 16th Avenue; the 70th Precinct may be more convenient for some at 154 Lawrence Ave, between Ocean Parkway and Seton Place.
Wahhhhhh! Tell me all the things I wanna hear, 'cause that's true, that's what I like about ramps, yeah. Ok, enough riffing with the Romantics. Ramps. What I truly like about them is their earthy flavor, bordering on the taste of woodland humus, their mild sting, and the delicate fruit undertones in the stem and leaves. That's what I like […]
It could only have been genius that struck when someone, probably the landlord's swift and conscientious workers, realized they could eliminate the weeds with an herbicide spray. The only negatives could be the fact that a) it drifted onto my perennials and curled their leaves and b) didn't fully work because it rained afterward. Their greatest s […]
I've been relishing spring green and salmon, some of the best I can recall, at highway speeds for a couple of weeks now. First on my trip to the upstate garlic farm, and this week on my trip out to Amagansett to check out a possible location for next year's crop. I cannot recall ever winding my way through the Long Island Pine Barrens in early spr […]
