Notes from Town Hall Meeting, June 25

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I attended my first Town Hall meeting in the neighbourhood last night at Northeastern Academy on W. 215th St. There were representatives from a number of agencies, including the 34th Precinct, Dept. of Parks & Rec, and the MTA. It was interesting (and heartening) to see this kind of direct interaction between officials/public servants and local residents, and I definitely want to check out more of these in the future. Not being from NYC (or the US), I have a bit to learn about the federal system here and the various roles within municipal and state governments.

Anyway, here are my notes. I’ve tried to be as accurate as possible, but I am still familiarizing myself with local issues and who’s who. So please let me know if there are any mistakes!

We got there about 15 minutes late, so missed some of the beginning.

Crime and Safety

• Andrew Capul (correct me if I have names wrong) from the 34th Precinct (which covers the area between 179th St. and 218th St.) discussed some of the measures being taken to increase safety and security in the neighbourhood: plainclothes police officers and unmarked cars patrolling park, more walking and bike patrols, 100 [?can't make out BC's notes?] auxiliary officers
• Jennifer Hoppa (?) from the Dept. of Parks & Recreation also mentioned that the undergrowth has been cleared to increase visibility
• City Councilperson Robert Jackson reiterated that safety and security were his highest priorities, but also mentioned budget cuts to NYPD that were limiting action
• Question about lack of lights in wooded area of Inwood Hill Park. Parks & Rec rep responds that it is a nature preserve. Lights disrupt the natural habitat, so there will be no lights installed in this area.

Loud Music and Motorcycles

• Capul: the motorcyclists are not local people. They come into Inwood from other parts of the city or from NJ and CT. Police have seized a number of motorcycles and have further operations planned.
• Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer mentioned the task force established to investigate noise and drag racing complaints in the area. This task force is not only working with police, but also parks, traffic, and other depts. Stringer also discussed his proposed plan to keep the school board running in case the School Governance Law is allowed to expire in Albany June 30.

Transportation

• State Assembly member Adriano Espaillat stated that he opposed the introduction of tolls to Harlem River bridges as they would disproportionally affect district residents going between Inwood and Marble Hill for shopping, business, etc. He feels that there should be a solution for funding the MTA in which all districts in the city that benefit from public transportation carry the burden.
• The representatives from the MTA (apologies, don’t know their names) discussed the upcoming re-habs of the 215th St. station, Dyckman St. station, and 207th St. station. Dyckman St. station reconstruction begins in October 2009. 207th St. station begins in 2010
• There will be services outages as result of reconstructions. e.g. “A” trains will be out late-nights M-F from now until the end of the year.
• There will be Bx12 buses leaving from 207th St. to Orchard Beach on the weekends

Improvements and Repairs

• Hoppa: $1 million set aside to repave the paths, tennis courts and basketball courts in Inwood Hill Park. Also planning to fix the bathrooms and bring them up to standard next year. Also some work will be done on playground.
• Reps from Dept. of Design & Construction (?): the replacement of the 215th St. steps is currently in pre-design stage. This stage will be complete by October 2010 (?!?! lots of boos). After pre-design, there are design, pre-construction, and then construction stages. Espaillat agrees with jeering crowd demanding shorter timeline. Rep from D&C says that replacing the steps is a complicated job.
• Resident inquires about gardening. Parks & Rec responds that they do not want to take on any new projects that cannot be sustained in the long-run. That said, they are open to proposals and testing pilot projects.
• Espaillat and Public Health officials working on dealing with the rat infested building on 215th St. They have some cooperation from the landlord.
• Resident inquires about outdoor public art. Parks & Rec states that they have a few ongoing projects, always interested in public art projects. Transportation also occasionally has public art projects.
• Espaillat is working with Congressman Rangel to make improvements to the Inwood Post Office (yay!). Also mentions that they have renewed the lease on the 181 St. Post Office for another 10 years

Traffic Safety

• Resident proposes speed bumps on Park Terrace East and West, like there are on Seaman Ave.
• Lots of motorists running red lights at 215th St. & Broadway. Espaillat says he will push to have red light cameras installed there.
• Bx12 buses turning on Isham St. are dangerous. Resident claims to have video of buses running lights and endangering school children. Buses are too big to be on this street. MTA reps had no response to this. Espaillat asks them to review the routing of this bus.
• Speeding cars on 218th St. Dept. of Transportation has previously denied request to put lights at Seaman Av. Request made again.
• Fire safety: concern about fires in overstocked 99-cent stores. Fire Dept. rep reports that stores are inspected only every 5 years, unless someone makes a specific complaint. If someone complains, the Fire Dept. can inspect the store that day. During holiday periods, certain stores get inspected once a week.
• Bikes speeding down Fort Tryon, even though bikes are prohibited from path. Parks & Rec rep will look into this. Possible solutions include cobbling the path?

Volunteer Opportunities in the Community

• Espaillat mentions the recent tree survey, and ongoing Rat Patrol. Hoppa mentions that Parks are always looking for volunteers. A member of the community mentions that locals can also volunteer to read to school children.

And How to Categorize This?

• Resident complains that baseball players in Inwood Hill Park are changing their clothes in public, in full view of residents and young children. There are bathrooms in the park, but players do not use them. Sanitation Dept. rep and Parks rep say to note time and jersey of the offending players and report.

Whew! Hopefully I didn’t miss anything!

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