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BOROUGH PRESIDENT HOSTS BROOKLYN'S FIRST EVER BLOCK ASSOCIATION ASSEMBLY

On November 7th, Borough President Marty Markowitz (speaking) welcomed several hundred Brooklynites to NYC College of Technology’s Auditorium for the borough’s first Block Association Assembly. The Borough President stressed the importance of organizing a Brooklyn Federation of Block Associations, which could, among other things, address important quality of life issues and be an incredibly powerful purchasing body. Another important topic was how these associations can and should collaborate together to help improve their neighborhoods and the entire borough.

“Because Brooklyn has so many block associations – about fifteen hundred at last count – I believe that we can accomplish a great deal more for our communities by organizing neighborhood groups to work together,” said Borough President Markowitz. “By organizing, I believe that block and civic associations can wield considerable influence in addressing community concerns and gaining access to city services. And I believe this is particularly true when a number of associations in the same neighborhood speak in one voice. So one of my major goals for this assembly, and for forming a federation, is to increase communication and organization among associations, so that we can address shared concerns in Brooklyn with the strength of Brooklyn’s numbers. After all, Brooklyn has the largest share of New York City’s population. We should receive a share of benefits in proportion to our size. And we can, if we are better organized.”

The Borough President also touched on a number of his initiatives aimed at making Brooklyn an even nicer place to live including providing funding for two graffiti removal trucks which will be dedicated to cleaning up graffiti all across the borough. Residents can call his hotline at 718-802-3875 to arrange for graffiti to be removed from a home, business, public space or street furniture. He also urged Brooklynites to call his Action Center at 718-802-3777 to report vacant debris-filled lots and any other neighborhood problems. The Borough President also discussed his Respect Brooklyn campaign to encourage Brooklynites to honor their neighborhoods and each other. He also spoke about Butt Out Brooklyn, which is targeted at stopping our young people from starting to smoke, and Lighten Up Brooklyn.

Community Board Two Chairperson Shirley McRae discussed the roles and functions of Brooklyn’s community boards. Judy Grimaldi, co-president of the Alliance of Bay Ridge Block Associations, spoke about her experiences with block associations. Ellen Kirby from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden spoke about her organization’s various programs including the “Greenest Block in Brooklyn” contest, which is part of the Borough President's campaign to improve Brooklyn's neighborhoods, and is co-sponsored by Brooklyn Botanic Garden and Independence Community Foundation.

All of Brooklyn’s block associations, as well as other neighborhood and civic association groups, were invited. In addition, Brooklyn’s Community Board chairs and district managers and representatives of various City agencies including the Police and Fire departments, Departments of Transportation and Sanitation, Health, Buildings, Parks, Aging and members of the Mayor’s Community Assistance Unit were also in attendance.