SHEEPSHEAD BAY'S ONLY INDEPENDENT NEWS BLOG

Mark Treyger (Source: Assemblyman Bill Colton’s office)

New York State received $340 million dollars from the federal Environmental Protection Agency last week to upgrade sewage and drinking water plants to protect against future storms like Superstorm Sandy. Local City Council candidate Mark Treyger, running for the 47th District covering Coney Island and Gravesend, is calling on the state to steer those funds to the Coney Island Sewage Treatment Plant on Knapp Street, saying it needs it the most.

Of the $340 million, most of it – $283 million – is earmarked specifically for sewage plants. The funds are part of a the Sandy emergency relief package approved by Congress at the beginning of the year, and are aimed at making upgrades that would keep raw sewage contained instead of discharging into public waterways – as is the case during heavy rainfalls when the plants’ tanks overfill.

Treyger said in a press release that the local plant should be a high-priority for the state because of its vulnerable location and its trouble grappling with Superstorm Sandy. The press release said:

“Coney Island was one of many New York communities devastated by Hurricane Sandy. During, and in the immediate aftermath of the storm, people who were unable to evacuate, as well as those who quickly returned to their homes, did not have access to clean drinking water or reliable sanitation services,” said Treyger.

The Coney Island Waste Water Treatment Plant, located on Knapp Street, was hit with a cascade of problems during Hurricane Sandy. Water from Shell Bank Creek came over the bulkheads and flooded the building. Flood debris clogged vital parts of the plant and power was lost and to make matters worse. To compound the problems a 72 inch outfall pipe had been previously shut down for repairs.

“Our part of coastal south Brooklyn – not just New York and America’s playground – is particularly vulnerable to future natural disasters. In the event that another storm, of similar or even greater magnitude to Sandy, hits our area, we must be prepared. I strongly urge New York to use the money given to us by the Environmental Protection Agency to, among other critical projects, expedite desperately needed sewer upgrades in Coney Island.”

But the state says that the $283 million, which will be dispersed to municipalities throughout the state, is but a drop in the bucket to make the repairs needed. EPA officials are directing municipalities to request additional funds via grants from the Department of Housing and Urban Development and FEMA.

Representatives from the Department of Environmental Protection, which oversees the city’s sewage treatment plants, told Sheepshead Bites that the Knapp Street plant was just one of many that took damage. They said 10 of the city’s 14 sewage treatment had some degree of damage and service issues, but they were all at 100 percent functionality as of February 10. They added that the funds from the EPA are being coordinated through the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation, and that the DEP had not yet received details about the allocation.

The NYPD is seeking your help in their effort to track down a man who robbed the 7-Eleven located at 2702 Knapp Street.

According to a Brooklyn News report, the convenience store was robbed around 11:30 p.m. on Sunday night. As you can see in the video above, the thief brought a roll of paper towels and a pack of Redbull to the counter, flashed a gun and demanded money.

If you have any information regarding the crime, the NYPD urges you to call the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). You can also text tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577. You can also submit tips to www.nypdcrimestoppers.com. All calls are kept in strict confidentiality.

Congresswoman Yvette Clarke. Photo by Erica Sherman

Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke will hold a “Town Hall Meeting on the Recovery from Hurricane Sandy,” March 11 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Brooklyn Amity School, 3867 Shore Parkway at Knapp Street.

Get information from FEMA about the National Flood Insurance Program and the IRS about itemizing casualty losses, extensions for filing deadlines, and other matters.

For further information, call (718) 287-1142.

Source: Daniel Hotaling via Facebook

Sheepshead Bites reader Andy Baum tipped us off to this beautiful and fascinating photograph of what is now Emmons Avenue and Knapp Street, an area once known as Hog Point Creek.

Taken in 1904, the photograph reveals the level of total commercial industrialization and development that has occurred in the area over the last century and change.

Daniel Hotaling, the guy who provided the photograph, gave some interesting information on Facebook as to what exactly we are looking at.

So it is basically looking down Knapp St towards Ave U from Plumb Beach. The cedar groves in the upper left hand corner were behind the sewage treatment plant on Knapp St. They were known as the cedars; my grandfather was born in the cedars 1905.

Great stuff, Daniel. If you, or anybody else, has any more wonderful historical pictures of the area, please send them to nberke [at] sheepsheadbites [dot] com!

“Bullet Points” is our format for Community Board 15 meeting coverage, providing takeaways we think are important. Information in Bullet Points is meant only to be a quick summary, and some issues may be more deeply explored in future articles.

Councilman Fidler Lays Out Green Vision For Coastal Protection: If anyone thinks a seawall will protect Southern Brooklyn from future Sandy-like tidal surges, they need look no further than Sea Gate to put that false theory to rest, Councilman Lew Fidler told Community Board 15 at their meeting last night.

“A lot of people think that you can just build a wall and that will solve all the problems. I suppose if you know people in Sea Gate, you can ask them whether or not that solved their problems,” he said.

Fidler added that the cost of erecting a seawall around the southern end of New York City would be around $5 billion, a hefty price tag for an uncertain solution.

Instead, Councilman Fidler, who said he has held and attended numerous City Council committee hearings on Superstorm Sandy and preparations for future threats, said the city should fight nature with nature.

Continue Reading »

“Bullet Points” is our format for Community Board 15 meeting coverage, providing takeaways we think are important. Information in Bullet Points is meant only to be a quick summary, and some issues may be more deeply explored in future articles.

Neighbors Demand Board Rescind Support For Drug Counseling Center: Residents of East 17th Street near Kings Highway rallied at last night’s Community Board 15 meeting, demanding the Board rescind a letter of support for a proposed drug treatment facility at 1670 East 17th Street.

Led by Madison-Marine-Homecrest Civic Association President Ed Jaworski, a group of residents took to the podium, claiming that the Board failed to inform the community that the issue would be discussed and voted on in December.

“The City Charter and the Community Board bylaws say that the Community Board should serve the community, should communicate within the community, should act as a liaison agency, should review services, should develop plans for the community. None of this was done regarding the drug center being located on East 17th Street,” Jaworski said. “What took place at the November meeting was a shortcut. It was cutting the community’s input.”

The center, One World Counseling, received a letter of support from Community Board 15 in November with a 31-4 vote. Dmitri Oster, a rep for One World, told the Board then that they intended to target immigrants in the Sheepshead Bay area who have turned to drugs to cope with cultural integration. They would offer only counseling and would not distribute medication.

Keep reading about this story, and summaries of other actions from last night’s Community Board 15 meeting.

Photo by Erica Sherman

Here’s some happy news.

Roll ‘n Roaster proved to be one of the luckier establishments that faced Hurricane Sandy’s fury along Emmons Avenue, as the venerable cheez whiz paradise has rebounded quickly with minimal damage.

“We got lucky,” Roll ‘n Roaster General Manager Ayet Karce told Brooklyn Daily. “There was mud and sand so we had some heavy mopping to do, but that was about it.”

The restaurant was also lucky to be located between Bedford Avenue and Knapp Street, an area unaffected by power outages, so they were able to save perishable food products from a trip to the dump. This was good news in the face of sorrowful Twitter rumors, which reported the demise of the beloved fast food spot.

The timing couldn’t be better as tonight is the airing of Anthony Bourdain’s series finale of his hit Travel Channel show, “No Reservations,” in which he visits the venerable 40-year-old Southern Brooklyn institution.

As we previously reported, the globe-trotting Bourdain visited Roll ‘n Roaster in August to indulge in its onion rings and famous cheez whiz-slathered roast beef deliciousness before he kicks off his new show on CNN.

Correction (7:28 p.m.): Our apologies for incorrectly repeating Bay News’ / Brooklyn Daily’s erroneous information about there not being power outages on Emmons Avenue. We know that much of that stretch is without power, and apologize for the error.

At approximately 9:15 p.m. tonight, thousands who were lucky enough to enjoy continuous electricity after Hurricane Sandy had the privilege snatched away as Con Edison cut power from Sheepshead Bay to Flatbush.

The affected area seems to be between East 16th Street to Knapp Street (and, further north, Nostrand Avenue), and from Emmons Avenue – which was already without power – to as far north as Foster Avenue.

That put Sheepshead Bay, Homecrest, Midwood, and a chunk of Flatbush.

According to super reader Ariela Baranov via our Facebook page:

Update for the most recent blackout: ConEd on the radio saying there was a transistor overload, so they took down the Sheepshead Bay network which affects many surrounding neighborhoods and about 160k customers. That makes about 815k customers in the dark now. They took it down to make sure there would not be a further cascade, and hope to have that particular network up within the next 4 hours or so. Let’s hope that’s an accurate estimate.

She said this info came by way of a public radio announcement by a Con Ed rep on CBS 88 AM.

UPDATE (12:04 p.m.): We’re hearing power is back online for many affected by this. Those who lost power during the storm, though – well, on to day two.

Sheepshead Nursing and Rehabilitation Center (2840 Knapp Street) is putting together a nice little event tonight, opening its doors to neighbors for a fun evening of live entertainment, dancing, raffles and refreshments. Above is the flier, and below is what the center sent us:

Sheepshead Nursing and Rehabilitation Center cherishes its place in the community, and  would like to invite its friends and neighbors to a free international concert and dancing under the stars to celebrate the end of summer.

There will be live music by several performers, a magician and mind reader, refreshments and raffles for exciting giveaways. There will be fun for all ages.

We value the opportunity to bring healing and comfort to our neighbors and their loved ones and hope they will join us in this celebration of community and friendship.

THE COMMUTE: Ned heard my name for the first time when I emailed him in March 2010 with my testimony opposing the Brooklyn bus service cuts at the public hearing held in the Brooklyn Museum of Art. That was shortly after I discovered Sheepshead Bites. He quoted a significant portion of my testimony for a story and ultimately asked me to become a regular contributor. At that hearing, I was the only person who spoke out against the B4’s proposed elimination, at all times, east of Coney Island Hospital.

Find out what we can learn from our fight for the B4.