Mind the Gap: Another Brilliant Performance by the MTA

Witnessed this morning at the Prospect Park station around 8:50am: a woman exiting the Manhattan-bound B train slipped and fell, causing her leg to fall into the gap between the train and the platform. The leg appeared to be brutally broken after a loud crack heard by a number of passengers. An unfortunate and terrible accident to be sure, and we hope she recovers quickly and with as little pain as possible.

What really disturbed me, aside form the amount of pain this woman appeared to be in, is the MTA's apparent mishandling of the situation. The train was delayed until an emergency response team could assist (so far, so good).  After 15 minutes, no EMTs had arrived on the scene. Here's where it gets really good: the B train was then taken out of service, forcing all passengers to spill out onto an already crowded platform. Adding insult to injury, the Q train behind us was rerouted to the Coney Island-bound platform and also taken out of service. Those passengers, having received no directions other than to leave the train, headed over to the Manhattan-bound platform, now packed like a tin of sardines and pushing towards the location of the accident. I headed out on the S train at about 9:15 so I'm not sure when the EMTs finally arrived, but let's just say it was much later than it should have been, and they were faced with a heck of an obstacle course.

Lessons learned: (1) be careful of the gap when entering/leaving the train, and (2) don't ever, ever get injured on NYC transit (partnered with, of course, don't get sick on NYC transit). Lawsuit pending? We expect so.

Free Workshop on Local Public Schools, Pre-K, Kindergarden

Even though our son is only one, people often ask what we're planning on doing for school. Answer: I have no idea. Fortunately, we have 4 years to worry about it. But for those of you on a tighter deadline who are equally clueless, Joyce Szuflita of NYC School Help will be presenting an introduction to the NYC public school system in Park Slope next week.

- Tuesday, December 1st, 2009
- 7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
- 298 6th Ave., between 2nd & 3rd Streets, Park Slope, Brooklyn
- Free, with a $10 suggested donation per family to offset the cost
  of the speaker and support Brooklyn Free Space (pay as you are able)
- No child care will be available

Reminder: Community Board 9 Meeting Tuesday night

Details:

Tuesday, November 24, 7:00 pm
Middle School 61 Auditorium
400 Empire Blvd
Brooklyn NY  11225

Scheduled to speak:

1. Inspector Peter Simonetti, Commanding Officer for the 71 Precinct, will address community complaints about guns, shootings, and murders in the district, as well as, crime and drugs on Flatbush Avenue, within Community District 9....

2. Police Officer Daniel Fox, NYPD Youth Service Section, will do a Power Point presentation on gangs and gang related matters. This presentation is an effort to better educate and raise awareness in the community.

Comedy on Cortelyou

I don't talk about it much here because it would undermine the neighborhood blog if it became a personal listing service, but I am a comedian. I also don't talk about it much because I haven't performed much since Sidney was born 16 months ago. That said, I am performing tomorrow at Vox Pop in Ditmas Park.

My friend Rachael Parenta has started producing a monthly comedy night and has invited me along with fellow PLG resident Paul Goncalves, Emily Epstein, Luke Thayer, Pat O'Shea and host Abbi Crutchfield.

Vox Pop Comedy Night

Sat. Nov 21st

9pm -10:30pm

Free

And then, after the show, karaoke. Come out and laugh.

Free H1N1 Vacinations in Community District 9

This just in from Community Board 9:

FREE! H1N1 VACCINATION CLINIC

George Wingate Campus  Brooklyn
600 Kingston Avenue, bet. Rutland and Winthrop
Saturday, Dec. 5th: 9AM - 6PM
Sunday, Dec. 6th: 9 AM - 5PM

The H1N1 Vaccine will be available at temporary centers in all five boroughs for anyone 4 to 24 years old, anyone pregnant, anyone in close contact with new borns, and people aged 25 to 64 with an underlying medical condition that makes influenza more dangerous.

Each weekend center is designed to accommodate up to 500 people per hour and will be open from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm on Saturdays; and on Sundays from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. Anyone under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian or present a signed parent consent form.

Councilmembers Pander To Brooklyn Merchants

In recent days both Courier Life and The Brooklyn Paper have written about recent efforts by the Brooklyn City Council delegation to pass bills intended to (a) make small businesses offer their employees mandatory paid sick leave and (b) institute a kind of rent control for commercial leases. I'm at a loss to decide which policy is worse.

The reason that small businesses are routinely exempted from labor laws like mandatory sick leave is that a company with few employees often lacks the financial resources to cover the extra expense and even less frequently has the employees necessary to cover for sick employees. While the impact on employment overall is probably overstated - the law would likely not lead to massive layoffs or business closings - some struggling businesses would get severely hurt by the imposition. Part of working for a small business is the knowledge that you are working for the kind of company that can't give you the benefits that Starbucks does.

On the other end of the spectrum, rent control for commercial leases is preposterous. I support rent stabilization (if not old-school rent control) for large residential apartment buildings despite the negative affect it has on the condition of rental housing and the rental market generally. I am willing to have the economy suffer in order to prevent the disruption and upheaval to individuals and families that would result if landlords could easily oust their tenants once a neighborhood became hot or the economy as a whole started improving faster as a whole than it did for the most vulnerable populations.

But commercial leases? No way. Yes, it is disruptive to have to close a business because it isn't profitable enough to meet the new lease terms. It is unfortunate for the patrons of that business to have to find a new way to meet that need. It is not, however, the city's responsibility to prop up small businesses that can't survive on their own.

In other words, the legislators are trying to simultaneously support businesses that don't earn enough to survive AND burden those businesses with substantial labor costs. Brilliant. And to think that this is supported by all of the candidates that I endorsed in the last election. *sigh*

In other, better, news, and in an attempt to regain my left-wing cred, kudos to the New York Court of Appeals, which upheld the decision of the New York Department of Civil Service to extend marriage benefits to same-sex couples with valid out-of-state marriages and congratulations to my sister-in-law, who wrote one of the amicus briefs in support of the State's decision. It was a narrow ruling by a bare majority and may not withstand later challenges for boring legal reasons ... but today I'll enjoy the good news.

How Would YOU Improve PLG?

Last week we got a direct mail piece from State Senator Eric Adams asking us, as his constituents, what we think would make the community a better place to live.

Instead of just sending my response to Adams, I thought I'd post my thoughts here before sending them on. Adams asked about public views on local schools, hospitals, police, etc. But rather than answer all his questions, I thought it made more sense to list specific ideas for making PLG a better place to live. If you have any ideas of your own, please leave them in the comments and also email them to Senator Adams at eadams (at) senate.state.ny.us.

IMPLEMENT TRAFFIC CALMING. Based on city crash statistics, several intersections in our area are particularly dangerous to pedestrians and cyclists. Encourage the Department of Transportation to study these intersections and come up with traffic calming solutions. The intersection of Parkside and Flatbush, for example, is a well-trod bus and commercial route and one and half blocks away from a public elementary school. During business days, the red light here seems optional. A red-light camera would be useful here. The intersection of Ocean and Parkside is also seriously flawed, as we discussed earlier. And the intersection of Empire and Flatbush needs study.

FIGHT BLIGHT. Use laws that are already on the books to crack down on absentee property owners, particularly those properties on major commercial strips, such as 205 Parkside. Abandoned buildings and boarded-up storefronts make streets less safe and reduce the options for services available in a neighborhood. Absentee owners don't clean graffiti, don't remove trash left on sidewalks in front of building, and often don't shovel snow in a timely manner. Fining them and taking other measures to fight such violations will help discourage the practice of letting buildings sit abandoned.

IMPROVE PUBLIC TRANSIT. Cut down on illegal dollar vans while actively encouraging legal public transportation options. Illegal vans are less likely to be safe and insured, and they make it difficult for public buses and other legal services to do business. Unfortunately, riders have difficulty telling a legal van from an illegal van. Perhaps licensing info could be placed on the front or side of vans instead of on back; this would make it easier for prospective riders to see.

Dollar vans thrive because their services are needed. The City should simultaneously work on improving bus service and/or provide incentives for legal van services to thrive.

MORE SAFE PLAY SPACES. Create more recreational outlets for young people. We're eager to see Prospect Park's Lakeside Center project come to life and believe that it should be fully supported... but what about a skateboard park? Skateboarding has become popular with inner-city kids in recent years yet they have few places to skate. If a skatepark isn't possible, what about adding more summer play streets in the neighborhood? One block of Hawthorne Street bordering Nostrand Avenue is closed on weekdays during the summer, for example. Kids play in the street all day there, and seniors sit outside in the shade. It's extremely popular with the families (if not car owners who park on the street).

Flatbush gets stimulus funds for affordable housing

Coming soon to a block near you: 53 units of affordable housing, courtesy of the federal government. CAMBA (a Flatbush nonprofit with an elusive acronym) will receive $2.239 million to construct the building at 97 Crooke Avenue. While technically outside the border of PLG, it's damn close — just two blocks from Ocean and Parkside.

B’klyn Housing Construction Benefits From 2nd Round of Stimulus Funding [Brooklyn Eagle]

Reducing crime in Brooklyn neighborhoods: not as hard as you think

After the shooting on Parkside last month, quite a few people on the Lefferts list expressed concerns about an uptick in crime. We've seen this all before: people demand more cops on the street, there's scattered talk about organizing a "citizen's watch," and after a couple of weeks things revert back to normal.

The problem, as I see it, is that people keep focusing on the wrong solutions. Having cops on every block isn't the answer. Nor is expecting residents to regularly patrol the streets, vigilante-style. But there are a few things the average person can do that don't require transforming into a Chuck Norris character... and that's because one of the best ways to deter crime is to create an environment inhospitable to it. Changing the environment is both more efficient and more effective than relying on individual manpower.

PERCEPTION IS REALITY

A place that feels safer is likely to BE safer. That's because people are more likely to frequent areas that feel safe, and the presence of people helps makes them safe. Thus, one way to improve places is to eliminate things that make them look scary (boarded up store-fronts, broken windows, vandalism) and to encourage a human presence.

Left: No lights on at home makes a street more foreboding and crime-friendly. Right: Residential lights contribute a sense of "eyes on the street."

LIGHTING

A well-lit street is a safer one. If you notice a street light is out, call 311 and report it. Outdoor lights in front of private homes on residential blocks also helps.

Even having lights on inside your place can make a difference on the block. Along some blocks in PLG, all lights are off in front of homes at night and window shades are drawn, conveying a sense that no one is home. If people can easily walk down your street and feel invisible, that's a ripe environment for crime.

LEAVE YOUR WINDOW SHADES OPEN

Many years ago, I lived in a rowhouse in Park Slope and one night while getting ready for bed I realized my curtains were up and that someone on the block behind us could conceivably see me naked. When I turned around to draw the curtain, my imagined paparazzi was no where in sight. There was, however, a middle-aged woman standing topless in front of her window putting her jammies on. I stopped worrying about open windows.

Brooklyn Jews in Daily News!

The Daily News has a feature on our Brooklyn Jews t-shirts. I think the writer did a great job capturing our (at-best) semi-seriousness.

Please ignore how tight the shirt is across my midsection.

If anyone has any ideas for local stores that might want to sell these, please email Carrie at brooklynite282 at gmail.com.

(Photo: Todd Maisel / Daily News)

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