Brooklyn Community Board 9, representing Crown Heights, Prospect Lefferts Gardens, Wingate and portions of North Flatbush, met on Tuesday, September 26, for its regular monthly meetings at M.S. 61 Dr. Gladstone H. Atwell Middle School.
The meeting started off as any community board would with a roll call and a reminder of the rules of order.
However, pandemonium quickly ensued once the public comment period opened.
Public Comment Period
Most residents who came up to speak bemoaned the 11 different development projects set to go up within a five-mile radius in the Prospect Lefferts Gardens area and the increased incidences of crime occurring.
“It’s getting difficult to find parking. There are more people coming into this neighborhood, we have to think about the safety of our children,” lamented one concerned resident.
To top it all off, protestors from the Movement To Protect the People peacefully protested the upcoming developments, specifically targeting CB 9 Chairperson Fred Baptiste and his role in the building projects. As the umpteenth resident went up to discuss the development schemes, protestors slowly trickled in to the front holding up signs that read, “Transparency Is The Law Fred!”, “CB9 ULURP: ONLY DEVELOPERS NEED APPLY” and “SAVE OUR COMMUNITY,” to name just a few.
Once Alicia Boyd, founder of MTOPP, got on the mic, the entire room lit up, fueled by her passion and vigor.
Speaking directly to Baptiste at times, Boyd called for more transparency from the board; more community representation and less pro-developer representation among the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure committee and demanded the development plans be placed on the agenda for the meeting.
“We don’t need no more homeless shelters; we need permanent housing,” exclaimed protestors as they voiced their frustrations specifically towards Baptiste.
The chaos finally began to dial down after a 10-minute recess. However, Boyd and her organization continued to let their frustrations be heard throughout the meeting.
Another community member, Saundra Roberson, brought up other pressing issues facing retirees and their healthcare, as the city has been attempting to switch their current plans off of Medicare and onto private insurance plans through Medicare Advantage, allegedly in an effort to cut costs at the expense of retired city workers.
“We call it the Medicare Disadvantage plan," Roberson said. "It just helps private companies. Premiums are going to go up."
Messages from Elected Officials
Photo: Shenal Tissera for BK Reader
After public comments, Assemblyman Brian Cunningham and District Leader Sarana Purcell spoke directly to their constituents about what was happening in the community and events happening around the area. Representatives of other elected officials also were present.
Business Session
Next, elections for the vacant Member-at-Large position were held between board members Nicolas Almonor and Theresa Westerdahl. Almonor won 27 to 6.
Following the election, the board voted on two items: the formation of an economic opportunity sub-committee for the City of Yes rezoning plan; and a proposed resolution to urge elected officials to allocate 1% of the New York City budget to parks and green spaces.
The CB 9 board votes yes on both items, thus concluding the lively and colorful community board meeting on an otherwise cold and dreary September night.
