SHEEPSHEAD BAY'S ONLY INDEPENDENT NEWS BLOG

A street sign honoring Iraq War veterans appears to have been stolen from a Brighton Beach corner, leading residents to point the finger at anti-war activists.

The sign renamed the corner of Corbin Place and Oriental Boulevard as Heroes of Operation Iraqi Freedom Way in 2005. According to the Daily News, residents took it as a “symbol of the contributions to the war effort made by local immigrants from Russia and former Soviet countries.”

The sign vanished in December, and Raisa Chernina, founder of Be Proud Foundation, which lobbied for its installation, claimed unpatriotic critics of the Iraq War stole the sign because it appeared to support President Bush.

“I have no doubt about it, because so many people were against the war,” Chernina told Daily News. “But they mix people fighting the war with the war itself.”

Supporters are rallying at the corner today to demand the sign’s replacement. The Department of Transportation has already said they will install a sign soon.

Around noon today, a BMW zooming down Oriental Boulevard towards West End Avenue lost control, vaulted over the median, and plowed into the park fence on Hastings Street, said Flori Kostoff of the Manhattan Beach Community Group.

According to Kostoff, the car had several passengers, one of whom was taken to the hospital. His condition is unknown. The others were arrested.

Kostoff was dispatched to take photos for the group as part of their ongoing campaign for stronger enforcement of traffic laws on Oriental Boulevard. When she arrived, she said she heard one passenger ask the police if it would take long because he needed to get to an exam. She also said none of them copped to being the driver of the car. The owner was charged with excessive speeding, but he said he was not behind the wheel.

The car left skid marks in the street, damaged a fence, and rendered a bench useless. Kostoff says it could be up to two years for the bench to be replaced, as thats how long it has taken for other benches in the area that were damaged in automobile accidents.

This is an ongoing story. It will be updated as more information becomes available.

Despite numerous complaints and pleas from local leadership, a two year battle to remove concrete planters in Manhattan Beach has culminated in a dismissive letter from the Brooklyn chief of the Parks Department.

Community Board 15 Chairperson Theresa Scavo received a letter from Parks Department Brooklyn Borough Commissioner Julius Spiegel claiming that neighbor’s worries were exaggerated and that the concrete planters pose no risk at all. Scavo read the letter at last week’s Manhattan Beach Neighborhood Association meeting.

“I understand the issues you raise concerning traffic crossing over the boulevard from both directions,” wrote Spiegel. “The Park Avenue Malls, near Union Square, are lushly planted with high shrubs in containers, much like those on Oriental Boulevard, but still allow for the safe flow of traffic,” he added.

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Frustration over massive concrete planters along Oriental Boulevard’s median is riding high for Manhattan Beach Community Group, which put the Parks Department “on notice” during their November meeting.

MBCG’s traffic committee chairperson, Judy Baron, read a letter sent to Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe into the group’s record Wednesday. The letter put the blame for future accidents squarely on the shoulders of the city agency and was written after the group was advised that it would make the city accountable in future lawsuits. Continue Reading »

Kingsborough Community College will be co-sponsoring, with the Department of Housing Preservation and Development of the City of New York, a FREE Healthy Homes/Healthy Families Expo.

The expo is a jam-packed event of workshops and exhibitors whose goal it is to educate the community  about the prevention and identification of home health hazards. City, state, and federal agency representatives will be on hand to show you how to do that in as efficient and low cost way as possible.

Here are some of the important details about the event, or check the attached flyers and program details for more information:

Healthy Homes/Healthy Families Expo

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Open all day – 9am-8pm

WHO IT’S FOR: Tenants/Residents Home owners  Health educators/teachers
Contractors  Realtors  Sellers and potential buyers

REGISTRATION:   FREE! But signing up in advance is appreciated.
Email: expo@environmentaleducation.com or
Phone: (718) 443-8574 ext. 282

LOCATION: 2001 Oriental Blvd. Brooklyn, NY 11201
MAC Rotunda, 2nd floor

DIRECTIONS: Bus B1 or 49 to last stop/KCC main entrance
Train Q or B train to Brighton Beach, transfer to B1 bus
(School is in session, so on-campus parking is limited during the day,
better in the evening)

Here’s the flyer [.pdf] and the program [.doc].

UPDATE: Thanks to our reader who wanted to know more information about tonight’s Borough President’s State of the Borough Address, we need to alert our readers that the event tonight is by invitation only.

Based on the Borough President’s own press release on the official website, it appears as though the event is one open to the community. After our reader contacted us for more information, I spoke to two representatives at the Borough President’s office and they both had no idea about the press release or the website link. Although, I spelled out the URL address to the press release numerous times, one of the representatives was unable to find it and indicated that she knew nothing about this press release.

Readers, we apologize for this erroneous information. All of the information available on the internet did not indicate at all that this was a private, invitation only event with a special reception for an over-21 crowd.

Here is the link to our original post with the erroneous information:
Live, from Kingsborough…It’s the State of the Borough Address!

PLEASE NOTE: Follow the link below to read the IMPORTANT UPDATE informing our readers that this event is by invitation only.
UPDATE: State of the Borough Address Invite Only

Marty Markowitz, Brooklyn’s Borough President, is delivering his State of the Borough Address at Kingsborough Community College this Thursday, January 12, 2009.

If you were looking for information about this event at the Borough President’s website, you might have found it a bit difficult. The press release is buried deep and can be found only with some secret keyword search — and it’s not “entertainment” — as the office is referring to the planned events.

We heard about the event from Gowanus Lounge, when it was scheduled to start at 7 p.m. The entertainment has now been rescheduled to start earlier at 6:00 p.m. (address at 6:30 p.m.).

If you’re worried that you won’t have time to get home from work to bake some heart-shaped cookies for your child’s Valentine’s Day school party the next day, and still make the meeting — don’t worry! You can do both at the same time.

If you have cable, you can catch the live broadcast on Brooklyn Community Access Television (BCAT). What did you say — you got distracted when the cookies got burned? Take heart, there will be a rebroadcast on Tuesday, February 17 at 7:30 p.m.

Here is the information from the Borough President’s website:
*UPDATED START TIME* BP MARKOWITZ TO DELIVER STATE OF THE BOROUGH ADDRESS

6:30 P.M.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12
Kingsborough Community College
Leon M. Goldstein Performing Arts Center
2001 Oriental Boulevard
Manhattan Beach

Here is the information from BCAT:
SPECIAL
BIT PRESENTS:
Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz’s State of the Borough Address

Live! From Kingsborough Community College
Thursday, February 12th
6:00pm
Rebroadcasts: Tuesday, February 17th at 7:30pm

Sheepshead Bay/Plumb Beach Civic’s attorney, Gene Berardelli, was arrested on June 6 on disorderly conduct charges while defending the rights of black youths to use Manhattan Beach.

According to Berardelli, police were blockading the Sheepshead Bay and Manhattan Beach foot bridge and other access points to Manhattan Beach, turning away black students. The students, who converged on the beaches in celebration of Senior Cut Day, were being told that they could access the beaches at 2:00 p.m., while white students were told they should return at 1:30. Black students were also being directed to Brighton and Coney Island beaches.

DSC_2464
Originally uploaded by GerritsenBeach.Net

The outraged Berardelli met a handful of black students who were turned away, and told them that he would escort them to the beach front. What ensued was several instances of harassment from police officers, who treated both the kids and Berardelli inappropriately. The officers also attempted to misinform or outright lie about the reasons black students couldn’t access the beach, though no mind was being paid to white students attempting entry. On their journey across the footbridge, on Oriental Blvd., and at the entrance to the beach, they were stopped numerous times, the last ending with a Lt. Harrington attempting to physically intimidate Berardelli, shoving him, and ordering his arrest.

Berardelli was put behind bars before being issued a summons. He told SheepsheadBites.com he found the incident “disgusting”, and plans to report the affair to the NYC Civilian Complaint Review Board, among other groups. He has also refused the help of politicians, requesting no special treatment, and indicated he plans to fight the charges all the way, and potentially sue the lieutenant who ordered his arrest.

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