Hello, Columbia Street Waterfront! Happy Juneteenth!
In this issue:
- KNICKS IN FIVE! Joy at our community watch party!
- Columbia Street Cleanup Volunteer Project - Saturday, June 27!
- BMT news - Advisory Task Force and BMT Dev Corp meetings, and finally EDC makes the full Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI) responses public!
- Jalopy Theatre got robbed! Your support is still needed.
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Huge trucks and charter buses drive illegally in our neighborhood, causing havoc - what we can do now.
- Summer is here and so are electrical brown-outs - how to report them.
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Helicopter Hell descends on CSW with the US Open? Who you gonna call?
- Working Waterfront "Placemaking" chat last Sunday - thanks to the presenters and all who attended.
- Reminder - VOTE in next week's primary!
KNICKS IN FIVE!!!!!!
Congrats to the New York Knicks! On that magical Saturday night (has it really been less than a week?), neighbors gathered at the corner of Columbia and Degraw to watch the game on a big screen. This, like the watch parties there for each Finals game, was courtesy of CSWA Vice President John Leyva (thank you so much, John!). As the last seconds ticked off the clock and we all realized that yes, the Knicks had actually won, we celebrated together, just as New Yorkers did across the city!
Today, the Knicks got the parade and celebration they deserved. Meanwhile, Brooklyn's very own New York Liberty, who we cheered down the Canyon of Heroes in 2024, have made the final for the WNBA Commissioner's Cup! Could we have two basketball champions in one year! 🗽Go, Liberty!🗽
Columbia Street Cleanup Volunteer Project - Saturday, June 27, 10 am - 12 pm
CSWA's Community Life Committee and the District 39 Cleanup Crew are teaming up for some hands-on fun cleaning up District 39 and the Columbia St Waterfront! This is a great chance to meet new people, enjoy the fresh air, and help keep our Columbia Street Waterfront looking its best. CSWA had a terrific turn-out for our Earth Day Community Clean-up, so we are sure many of you will want to join us to beautify the BK waterfront! Scan the QR code below to register or click here.
BMT News
Upcoming Brooklyn Marine Terminal Meetings:
The next BMT Advisory Task Force (BMTATF) meeting is Friday, June 26, at 10 am. The topics will be Sustainability, Resilience and Open Space. The meeting will be held virtually. The public may observe the meeting using this link. The EDC has stated meeting materials will be posted in advance on the ATF webpage.
If you have questions you'd like raised at this meeting, please send them to admin@columbiastreetwaterfront.org and we will pass them along to CSWA's BMTATF representatives, Bryan Woll and Sharon Gordon.
The next BMT Development Corporation meeting will be on Tuesday, June 30, 2-4 pm, in person and virtually:
- Brooklyn Borough Hall, 209 Joralemon Street, Court Room, Brooklyn, NY 11201
- Public observation is available in person and virtually using this link.
Meeting notices, links, and materials will be posted on the Brooklyn Marine Terminal Development Corporation webpage.
BMT Port Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI) - complete responses now available
Following requests from our electeds and CSWA, EDC has made the full responses publicly available on their Brooklyn Marine Terminal Public Engagement webpage. To find these documents, scroll down to BMT RFEI Responses.
There is a great deal of information here, especially relating to the pros and cons of replacing the finger piers at the north end of the BMT site with a new "marginal" pier. This is one of the most important design decisions of the project, with serious implications in terms of cost, environmental impact, and BMT's viability as a Blue Highway hub. The responses by some of the Port Tenant group (6th Boro Marine, Marine Design Dynamics, U.S. Coastal Service, Atlantic Salt) and Service Providers (Persak & Wurmfeld) all comment on the port design, specifically building the new marginal pier vs. restoring the fingers piers (8, 9A, 9B). This information was not included in the EDC's RFEI summaries.
Our favorite Music Performance Hall, Music School, and Community Gathering Place needs our help!
Early Monday morning, our beloved Jalopy Theatre was broken into. Lynette Wiley Wood, co-owner and CSWA Board Member, was relieved to report that no one was hurt. The break-in caused significant damage to the Theatre's front door and one-of-a-kind cash register, and a substantial amount of cash was stolen.
Jalopy Theatre has generously hosted many community events. For CSWA especially, Jalopy has been invaluable, from our first organizing meeting on May 5th, 2025, to our meetings this year on Columbia Street traffic safety and opening the preschool on Van Brunt and President.
If you haven't already, please give what you can to help the Jalopy Theatre recover from the break in: Jalopy Got Robbed! Thank you to all who have already donated!
Local Business Owners/Employees: There were break-ins at two Red Hook businesses between Sunday and Monday. Please take precautions.
What about all those Huge Trucks and Charter Buses Driving Illegally on our Streets?
John Leyva's Columbia St Waterfront District BK Instagram page has featured videos of the havoc caused by 53-foot trucks and large charter buses attempting to navigate the narrow streets and shop corners of the CSW. The results include smashed cars. We are fortunate no one has been hurt.
CSWA has raised this issue with the 76th Precinct and our electeds, and we are discussing the best course of action. For now, we need community members to report these incidents to the precinct. If you do have videos of these incidents, please share them with admin@columbiastreetwaterfront.org.
Summer Brownouts are Here, and it's not even Summer Yet!
Residents of Tiffany Place have already experienced brownouts as the temperature rose this month to July levels. Given the neighborhood is experiencing these electricity shortages now, even before anything is built on the BMT site, it's critical to understand the limitations of the existing electrical grid.
CSWA discussed this with Council Member Hanif's office, and her team suggested community members should report these to Con Ed on their Report an Outage or Service Issue page. Here you can also check outage status. Please notify Council Member Hanif's office as well.
Helicopter Hell descends on CSW with the US Open? Who you gonna call?
As Julie Holstein reported in her June 8 Ward 6 newsletter:
"For those of us who suffered through the Ryder Cup helicopter invasion last summer, I’m sorry to report that from Thursday, June 18th, through Sunday, June 21st, Blade Aviation will be shuttling people willing to pay as much as $1400 to travel from Manhattan to Shinnecock Hills for the U.S. Open Golf Championships."
The copter buzzing was intolerable last summer. Julie recommends you register your displeasure - call 311 (FAA) or Council Member Hanif and Assembly Member Simon.
(and definitely subscribe to WARD 6 BROOKLYN!)
Thanks to all who Presented and Attended last Sunday's Working Waterfront "Placemaking" chat!
Over 30 people attended last Sunday's presentation at 1 Tiffany Place's community room. Thanks very much to Carly Baker-Rice and the Red Hook Business Alliance for cohosting this discussion with the CSWA Greening Committee. Likewise, thanks so much to Ethan Kent and TJ McGuire for their presentations. A special thank you to all who took part in the lively discussion following those presentations.
And Finally, DON'T FORGET ABOUT NEXT TUESDAY'S PRIMARY!!
Early voting is open now! So don't miss the chance to vote for races which are critical to our community! Find your poll sites and view a sample ballot here. And read Brooklyn Paper's voting guide.
Questions? Email us at admin@columbiastreetwaterfront.org. Also, please share our mailing list sign-up page with your friends and neighbors: Columbia Street Waterfront Association Email List.
Some of you may be receiving this newsletter for the first time. Welcome! We hope you decide to stay with us. You can always click "unsubscribe" below.
Media Contact:
Randy Gordon, President
Columbia Street Waterfront Association, Inc.
Phone: 917-593-2674
Email: admin@columbiastreetwaterfront.org