SHEEPSHEAD BAY'S ONLY INDEPENDENT NEWS BLOG

This is a paid announcement from Coney Island Hospital (2601 Ocean Parkway) and the NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation:

The New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will host a free public workshop at Coney Island Hospital (2601 Ocean Parkway) to help residents get the most out of their benefits in advance of the new enrollment period.

Health insurance specialists from CMS will conduct a learning session at Coney Island Hospital on October 1 to prepare residents to enroll when Medicare and the Affordable Care Act reopen for enrollment on October 15 and November 15, respectively.

The sessions will offer information about health care reform, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and how to select and purchase on the online New York State of Health, an exchange set up under the ACA last year to provide subsidized health insurance. Open enrollment for New York State of Health takes place November 15, 2014 through February 15, 2015.

“HHC wants to help people make the most of their health coverage options,” said HHC President Dr. Ram Raju. “The Affordable Care Act and the State’s health insurance exchange offer many people subsidies to make health coverage affordable. Our partnership with CMS will help City residents understand the ACA and maximize their Medicare benefits.”

Workshop participants will learn about:

• The benefits of the Medicare program and how to apply;
• The parts of Medicare – Part A: hospital insurance; Part B: medical insurance – outpatient visits, lab work, preventive services; Part C: health plans; and Part D: prescription drug coverage;
• The Medicare appeals process;
• The Medicare programs in place for people with limited income and resources;
• Medicare information and resources now available online;
• Updates on the New York State of Health;
• Enrollment resources for the uninsured.

CMS is the federal agency that provides health coverage for 100 million people through Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program. Medicare is a health insurance program for people age 65 or older, people younger than 65 with disabilities, and people with end stage renal disease who require dialysis or a transplant.

“Close to a million New Yorkers have signed up for health coverage under the Affordable Care Act and over three million are enrolled in Medicare, yet most are not aware of how to get the most of their health benefits,” said Frank M. Winter, Partnership Manager, CMS New York Regional Office. “Many others need help obtaining coverage. Our Health Insurance Workshops at HHC facilities throughout New York City provide us a unique opportunity to provide our partners and community members information they can use to sign up for health insurance and to use their new benefits. Our goal this year is to help our partners connect those who are insured from coverage to care.”

Workshops take place from 8:30am to 1:00pm. Participants may register by calling (212) 788-3450, or by clicking here to register at Coney Island Hospital.

In addition to Coney Island Hospital, two more workshops are planned at the following dates and locations (click the links to register online):

• Thursday, October 16, Kings County Hospital Center, 451 Clarkson Avenue
• Thursday, October 23, Woodhull Medical and Mental Health Center, 760 Broadway, Brooklyn

The above is a paid announcement by Coney Island Hospital and the NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation. Sheepshead Bites has not verified the claims made in this advertisement. If you own a business and would like to announce a special offer to tens of thousands of locals, e-mail us at advertising [at] sheepsheadbites [dot] com.

Source: pamhule/Flickr

B LINE

From 9:45am to 3pm, Wednesday to Friday, Brighton Beach-bound B trains run local from Prospect Park to Kings Hwy.

Q LINE

From 9:45am to 3pm, Wednesday to Friday, Manhattan-bound Q trains run express from Kings Hwy to Prospect Park.

F LINE

From 11:45pm to 5am, Monday to Friday, 179 St-bound F trains skip Van Wyck Blvd and Sutphin Blvd.

From 12:01am to 5am, Tuesday to Friday, Coney Island-bound F trains run local from Roosevelt Av to 21 St-Queensbridge.

From 12:30am to 5am, Tuesday to Friday, 179 St-bound F trains run local from Roosevelt Av to 71 Av.

DOT speed-enforcement camera sits at this location, fining people who fail to slow down after exiting the highway. (Source: Google Maps)

That’s some fast money.

The speed enforcement camera stationed at the base of a Belt Parkway exit ramp near Ocean Parkway issued approximately 6,000 violations in just one day, earning the city about $300,000 in revenue, according to Councilman Chaim Deutsch.

The camera earned notoriety earlier this month when Sheepshead Bites revealed its location on Shore Parkway between Ocean Parkway and West Avenue, at the very end of a 400-foot-long exit ramp from the Belt Parkway. Locals and Councilman Mark Treyger expressed outrage at the placement, calling it a trap. But the numbers have led Councilman Chaim Deutsch, in whose district the camera is located, to hail it as a success.

“There were 6,000 summonses issued in one day coming off the Belt Parkway. Now it is almost to zero, so the camera is helping,” Deutsch told members of the Manhattan Beach Community Group at a public meeting last week. “But we still want to make sure that people slow down, [that they] have enough time to slow down carefully when they come off the ramp.”

The cameras photograph any vehicles traveling faster than 10mph over the speed limit and send a violation in the mail within 30 days. The fine is $50.

Approximate location of the camera, between the exit and entrance ramps. (Source: Google Maps)

Deutsch brushed off concerns that the camera could be a speed trap, saying that the steep reduction in the weeks it has been there shows that drivers are changing their behavior. To make sure it’s not all about revenue, he’s urging the Department of Transportation to add signage on the Belt Parkway just before the ramp indicating that there is a speed camera in the vicinity.

“I support that if anyone is speeding, enormous amount of speeds, they deserve a summons,” Deutsch told Sheepshead Bites. “But I dont want it to be a ‘gotcha’ camera, and people need to be aware there’s a camera and they should exit the ramp safely.”

He also said that while locals have learned the location and adjusted accordingly, the next season of visitors to Coney Island, Brighton Beach and Sheepshead Bay would benefit from the early warning while also achieve the goal of safer driving.

“Coming next summer when people come to visit the waterfront communities you’re going to have new people coming in, fresh faces to the area, so at the end of the day you want to slow traffic down when they come off the ramp,” he said. He also doesn’t want drivers slamming on the brakes when they see the camera at the last moment. “They’ll slam on the brakes. So if you have signage several hundred feet before the ramp it gives the driver a chance to slow down and get off safely.”

He said the DOT is studying his proposal.

The DOT did not return several messages requesting confirmation of Deutsch’s numbers, or whether or not they were considering additional signage.

Previously, the DOT told Sheepshead Bites they were not currently planning to relocate the cameras as Councilman Treyger had requested. They added that, at 400 feet long, the Belt Parkway’s exit ramp provided drivers with sufficient space to safely reduce speed.

UPDATE (September 23 @ 4:15pm): A Department of Transportation spokesperson said Deutsch’s claim is incorrect, but refused to reveal the peak number.

UPDATE (September 24 @ 10am): The Department of Transportation spokesperson told Sheepshead Bites this morning that 1,551 violations were issued on July 7, suggesting that this was the peak day.

A special public hearing originally slated for tonight on the proposed expansion of Loehmann’s Seaport Plaza, whose owners seek to add a new floor of office space, has been postponed to allow further scrutiny of the plans. However, the zoning committee of Community Board 15 is still moving forward with a special meeting to consider nine other projects in the community.

The meeting will kick off at 6pm in the faculty dining room (U112) of Kingsborough Community College (2001 Oriental Boulevard).

The plans for Loehmann’s Seaport Plaza (2027 Emmons Avenue), as first reported by Sheepshead Bites, call for an additional 10,000 square feet of commercial offices on an entirely new floor of the building. The owner said he needs the additional revenue it would create to offset losses from Superstorm Sandy.

Already built far outside of zoning allowances, the building’s developer needs to obtain approval from the city’s Board of Standards and Appeals, which asks for a recommendation from the Community Board before deciding for itself.

A hearing was added at the last minute to Community Board 15′s agenda for its final meeting before summer recess. With cooperation from the developer, the Board voted to table the matter so it could gather more public input.

With many boardmembers and local community group leaders on vacation, the Board struggled to coordinate an on-site visit with stakeholders.

“[Councilman Chaim Deutsch] and the Community Board want to have the opportunity to really examine this. Over the summer, it was difficult to get the zoning people together and set up meetings,” explained CB15 Chairperson Theresa Scavo. “We want to get all the community groups together and on-site before any decisions are made … and determine any possible downside.”

The developer agreed to postpone his plans again.

Still, the Board is moving forward with a long list of hearings on other projects tonight to make next week’s regularly scheduled meeting more manageable.

Tonight’s agenda will review the following projects:

• 1601 Gravesend Neck Road – An application to legalize an existing physical culture establishment. This project, for FG Fitness Gallery, was previously denied by the Board after owners failed to send representation in June 2013. The Board at that time also voted to refuse to consider the matter again in the future.
• 2442 East 14th Street – An application for a special permit to allow the enlargement of a single family dwelling.
• 2137 East 12th Street – An application for a special permit to allow the enlargement of a single family dwelling.
• 4167 Ocean Avenue – An application for a special permit to allow the enlargement of a single family dwelling.
• 325 Avenue Y – An application for a special permit to allow a school within a M1-1 Zoning District
• 1937 East 14th Street – An application for a special permit to allow the conversion of a two family dwelling into a single family dwelling.
• 1981 East 9th Street – An application for a special permit to allow the enlargement of a single family dwelling.
• 1977 Homecrest Avenue – An application for a special permit to allow the enlargement of a single family dwelling.
• 2268 West 1st Street – An application for a special permit to allow the enlargement and conversion of an existing two family residence to a single family residence.

At least this low-life is making it easy for the cops.

Moments before slugging a 73-year-old man in the face and robbing him of his wallet, a perp gave authorities a clear view of his face when he stared into a surveillance camera that captured both suspect and victim.

The thug was filmed entering the elevator of an apartment building on East 13th Street between Avenue O and Avenue P on Wednesday, September 17, at noon. Both he and the victim got on at the same time. As they arrived on the fourth floor, the suspect punched the septuagenarian in the face, rifled through his pants and made off with his wallet.

The victim suffered a laceration when he fell to the ground. He was taken to a local hospital, and was treated and released.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) and then entering TIP577.

Coney Island Creek by Cropsey Avenue is the city’s most fecal-filled waterway, according to one number-crunching analyst.

Ben Wellington, a statistics professor at Pratt Institute who runs the I Quant NY blog, pulled Department of Environmental Protection water sampling data on fecal coliform around New York City. The results? The beaches along the Coney Island peninsula are clean, at least compared to the city’s crappiest waterway – the Coney Island Creek.

Fecal coliform is bacteria that forms in mammalian intestines, and is an indicator of raw sewage in the water. It gets there when storms push so much water into the sewer drains and overwhelms the sewage system, causing the DEP to release it untreated into the rivers, oceans, bays and creeks through Combined Sewer Outflows. When the beach is closed during the summer, it’s usually because there’s an unsafe amount of sewage in the water – an amount of more than 1,000 coliform per 100ml of water.

Wellington dumped all that data into a spreadsheet and began calculating the mean, minimum, median and max levels of fecal coliform at all testing sites around the city, going back to 2008. The indicator he used to determine his top 10 dirtiest locations is the percent of days sampled that were too dirty to swim.

On that top 10 list are four Southern Brooklyn locations: Coney Island Creek at Cropsey Avenue, Coney Island Creek at its entrance, the head of Bergen Basin, near JFK airport, and the mouth of Bergen Basin.

The average amount of fecal coliform in the water at the creek when tested? It was more than 37 times the amount deemed unsafe for swimming, and it was found to be unsafe 94 percent of the times it was tested. Ugh.

Wellington mapped out his results to show us the ring of shit that encircles New York City:

 I mapped the percentage of time that water levels were unsafe for swimming.  Larger circles indicate a higher percentage of unsafe days, and thus dirtier water.  Clicking on a circle gives you fuller details for that site. 

Note that the larger circles appear more inland. The conclusion?  If you are going to swim in NYC, i guess the rule of thumb is to stay away from anything with the word “creek” in its name (and of course “canal”) and head toward the rivers. 

Photo by Emilia Amos

I ran this for last week’s puzzle, but I found it deserving of its own Morning Mug post as well.

Photo by Emilia Amos

Morning Mug is our daily showcase of photographs from our readers. If you have a photograph that you’d like to see featured, send it to [email protected].

 
Photo by Emilia Amos

Treyger and 61st Precinct Commanding Officer Carlos Valdez at the scene. (Source: Conor Greene)

After Sheepshead Bites’ report yesterday about a swastika appearing on the American Legion building at 300 Avenue X, elected officials condemned the hateful act and authorities rushed to have it investigated and removed today.

Members of the Marlboro Memorial Post 1437 American Legion chapter were apparently unaware of the graffiti. Councilman Mark Treyger’s office visited the site to inform them, and the pol called the NYPD’s 61st Precinct commanding officer, Deputy Inspector Carlos Valdez, to the scene to report the incident as a hate crime.

The pol then called the mayor’s office to dispatch the Economic Development Corporation’s graffiti removal service. As of 1:45pm today, police and the EDC were on the scene. When the police wrapped up their investigation, the graffiti was immediately removed.

Treyger said he spoke to members of the American Legion post, which included World War II veterans who were glad to see the symbol of hate eliminated.

The swastika before it was removed. Source: Michael S.

“A swastika is not just offensive to the Jewish community, it’s offensive to everybody,” Treyger said. “An attack against one part of our community is an attack against us all. We have a zero tolerance policy on that.”

He added: “I do want to commend the precinct for coming down quickly, and the mayor’s office for sending the graffiti removal van immediately.”

Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz expressed his outrage at the vandalism on Facebook yesterday evening.

“I condemn the spray-painting of a swastika on American Legion Marlboro Memorial Post 1437, whose members include World War II veterans who saw the Nazi atrocities firsthand,” he wrote. “I will continue to work with authorities to ensure that the perpetrator of this hate vandalism is swiftly brought to justice. As the son of Holocaust survivors, I believe we must continue to educate people about this terrible period in our history. Ignorance is no excuse for spreading messages of hate.”

New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer also reached out to Sheepshead Bites by e-mail following our report, also to condemn the graffiti. He wrote:

I condemn hate crimes—from the five boroughs of New York City to every corner of the globe. Our extraordinary diversity is one of our greatest strengths. As such, any and all acts against people based on their sex, race, religion, color, or creed are attacks that cut to the very core of who we are as New Yorkers and what this City has meant and always will mean to people around the world. We stand united against these crimes, confident that the light of peace and justice will always triumph over the darkness of hate and prejudice.

While Treyger and others expressed gratitude to Sheepshead Bites for bringing attention to the anti-Semitic vandalism, the real credit goes to tipster Michael S. who was the first to speak up about it.

If you see an issue in the neighborhood that’s not getting the attention it deserves, send details and, if available, photos and video to editor [at] sheepsheadbites [dot] com.

Source: rachelbradley.nyc/Instagram (Click to follow)

After a busy week, here’s a chance to catch up on some of the news happening outside of our neighborhood! We’ve pulled together some of our favorite recent stories from our sister sites, as well as some other fascinating pieces that are worth a read this weekend:
The Flatbush Frolic is this Sunday – which means music, rides, and food, food, food. [Ditmas Park Corner]

Convict offered undercover cop $10k to kill witness. [Bensonhurst Bean]

A new spot is serving up the most unusual tea we’ve ever had. [Park Slope Stoop]

Clinton Hill is getting its own CrossFit gym. [Fort Greene Focus]

Remembering a wedding dress shop whose old sign was recently uncovered. [South Slope News]

Calaveras, a new Mexican restaurant, is already getting glowing reviews from neighbors. [KensingtonBK]

The Park Slope outpost of Luke’s Lobster is opening soon! [PSS]

Should taxpayers still be footing the bill for the Mayor’s Slope home? [SSN]

Teacher makes her students pay rent, and gets an award for it. [BB]

Red Hook coffee roasters Brewklyn Grind opened their first café. [FGF]

Police addressed anger over tickets being given to pedestrians and bikers in Prospect Park’s Parade Grounds. [DPC]

A neighbor launched a petition to allow biking and walking through the Parade Grounds after sunset. [DPC]

For iconic Brooklyn buildings, is change welcome? [FGF]

Opinion: How The Mainstream Media Marred The West Indian American Day Carnival Parade [NY Daily News]

NYC’s libraries are in shambles. [Capital New York]

A look behind the making of Robert Caro’s momentous Robert Moses biography, “The Power Broker.” [The Daily Beast]

Video: Take a font tour of Brooklyn and Queens. [Gothamist]

The fate of LICH remains uncertain. [CNY]

In governor race, Cuomo won big in districts where turnout was small. [CNY]

Follow us on Twitter and Facebook, and sign up for our daily newsletter. If you have any news tips, story ideas, questions or anything else, e-mail us at editor [at] sheepsheadbites [dot] com.