The new Red Hook Civic Association is making progress as 17 people attended the general meeting despite the 95 degree weather on September 6.
The Communications Committee has decided that one-pagers (one-page documents with information on issues that members think are important) are an effective way to pass along information on key issues.
Kristen Rouse, deputy district director for Congress Member Dan Goldman voiced her support for the one-pagers, saying “Having a one-pager on issues is very useful to take back to the office and say this community organization voted on this and want this. Whenever you decide on something, blast it out to every elected official and staff member.”
The Services Committee came up with a position statement regarding the possibility of a bus route from Red Hook to Manhattan which said “For thirty years Red Hook has asked for direct local bus service through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel to Manhattan. As Brooklyn bus service is currently being redesigned by the Transit Authority and Congestion Pricing fees will provide a new revenue stream the time to do this is NOW.”
A vote was held on whether members wanted to pursue a bus that would go directly from Red Hook into Manhattan and it passed unanimously. Dave Lutz, who has been calling for such a bus for years mentioned the possibility of having the M9 bus continue its route into Red Hook since it stops in downtown Manhattan and could continue through the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel.
The Infrastructure Committee came up with a proposal with a position statement regarding safe streets which said “The Red Hook Civic Association Infrastructure Committee is working for safer, healthier street design that builds a more walkable and inviting community. We are starting our work at the key intersection of Hamilton Avenue and Van Brunt Street, a dangerously designed intersection that will soon be a magnet for Red Hook children.
“We are also working to expand this effort to two or three other key intersections including the 9th Street and Hamilton pedestrian crossing and creating a less dangerous truck route paralleling the Gowanus Canal.”
A vote was held on whether this was an issue that members wanted to pursue and it also passed unanimously.
At a Communication Committee meeting on September 26, Imre Kovacs provided an update on the search for a temporary library location while the Red Hook Library is closed for renovations.
“Right now it looks like the River of God Church [110 Wolcott St.] is no longer a possibility,” Kovacs said.
Carolina Salguero of PortSide NewYork has suggested the possibility of using the former Santander Bank location (498 Columbia St.) The location would certainly be ideal since it is located just a few blocks from the library itself. She also said she is working with Zack Aders of the NYC Economic Development Corporation (EDC) on finding a location that will work.
In addition to those developments, Matias Kalwill put together a one-pager on the “Truckpocalypse” which has come to Red Hook.
It states “With only two of three new giant warehouses open, and at least six in different stages of development, traffic has choked Van Brunt Street, further slowing our bus service, increasing crash hazards to cyclists and pedestrians, and adding to particulate pollution and unhealthy horn and siren noise. We knew this was coming, and we know it’s only going to get worse unless immediate action is taken to avert this crisis.”
In response to these issues, six immediate actions were suggested which include: a new trucks and vans route, delaying the opening of the warehouse at 640 Columbia St., avoiding arrival and dismissal times of schools in the neighborhood when dispatching trucks and vans in Red Hook, prioritizing vision zero pedestrian safety improvements in Red Hook, activating the waterways, and a moratorium on new facilities.
At the most recent General Meeting, which took place at the Rec Center on Monday, October 2, a press release demanding local bus service to Manhattan was presented and approved. Longtime community leader Jim Tampakas recalled that this service was actually approved by DOT back in 2007, but before it had a chance to be implemented, the 2008 financial crash interfered. The position paper prepared by Lutz states: “As the current process of redesigning Brooklyn’s bus routes has gone forward, it (Red Hook) was introduced at every juncture and has thus far been ignored. We are told it can’t be done.”
Next was a discussion of the “Truckpocalyse” Action plan, prepared for the group by Matias Kalwill and the infrastructure committee. Among it’s demands were designing new truck routes, delay the opening of the latest Amazon warehouse at 640 Columbia, prioritize Vision Zero pedestrian safety, and activation of the waterways for low emission deliveries to last mile warehouses.
This was passed as well. The next general meeting is scheduled for Monday, November 6.
For lots more information, check out the website, redhookcivic.org frequently.
