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?

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.

SeeClickFix issue closed!

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.

…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.

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.

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.

Will you join me in submitting a public comment today calling on the Cuomo Administration to protect our water?

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.

Please join me and submit your comment today.

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.

Take action to protect our water – and our bagels – before it’s too late.

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.

For alternatives, take a look at the Kensington Library events calendar for kids activities, and the Prospect Park interactive map for restroom options.

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.