I hope this post finds you well after last night’s board meeting.
Before recapping the meeting, I’d like to thank NYP Brooklyn Methodist hospital for hosting us.
The meeting was not as short as the agenda may have suggested, but that is a reflection of the thought and care our members put into our deliberations.
We got started by approving the January minutes, and our Chair, Peter Fleming, gave his report focussing on work the board is doing and will continue to do in terms of updating our Responsible Development Policies. Peter also mentioned that he’d spoken with representatives for the new owners of the 5th Avenue Key Food site who said that groundbreaking is anticipated for this fall and that they would adhere to the agreement ensuring that a supermarket remains at the location.
Following the chair's report David Briggs, our Landmarks Chair presented 2 applications for Certificates of Appropriateness (C of A). You may recall, from reading the agenda or yesterday’s newsletter, that our Landmarks Committee had recommended approval the “C of A” at 895 Union Street while recommending disapproval for 187 Amity Street. It’s important to mention that because the full board overturned both of those recommendations.
895 Union Street’s application for a rear yard extension was, narrowly, disapproved while their request to replace non-visible mechanical equipment on the roof was approved.
187 Amity Street’s application for a two-story rear yard addition was overwhelmingly approved. The importance of efficient energy uses, such as window type used in passive house design in this case, was valued more than traditional casement windows.
After the voting portion of the evening, I reminded folks that Friday, February 14th, is the deadline to apply for CB membership and a change of party registration before the presidential primary. I also mentioned tonight’s BQX forum and thanked people for signing up to receive our newsletter.
The final 2 items were community session and elected official reports.
During the community session, we heard from NYU , FDNY, the Civilian Complaint Review Board, and the Office of Emergency Management.
Finally, we heard from reps for Borough President Adams, Congresswoman Velasquez, State Senators Kavanagh, Montgomery and Myrie, Assemblymember’s Carroll and Simon, and Councilmembers Lander and Levin.
P.S Please forgive any typos or brain freezes in the text as I get these updates out in haste at the end of the day, and and if there is a community-centric item you think I should know about please reach out.