Community Board Q&A BROOKLYN-USA.ORG
Borough Hall checks in with the leaders
of local Community Boards 6, 7, 12, and 13
Borough President Adams fulfi lls
an essential role in the most local
representative bodies of government
in Brooklyn, appointing members
to the 18 community boards who
are responsible for addressing community
concerns, assessing neighborhood
needs, and helping to manage
land use issues.
Working in partnership, they tackle
many of the obstacles and opportunities
facing Brooklynites. Below are
some questions that Borough President
Adams posed to leadership from
Brooklyn Community Boards (CBs) 6,
7, 12 and 13:
COMMUNITY BOARD 6
Borough President: What efforts
are being taken to increase community
engagement between public housing
residents and their neighbors in
the rest of the district?
CB 6: Public housing residents are
a signifi cant constituency in our community.
CB 6’s Housing Committee has
heard the concerns of tenants when it
comes to inclusion in the public housing
selection process, as well as issues
around health, education, and safety.
Recently we pushed for funding the
rehabilitation and maintenance of the
Gowanus Community Center and the
installation of security cameras. For
this year’s capital budget we advocated
for New York City Housing Authority
(NYCHA) improvements. As
a district and borough, we know how
important it is for public housing to be
addressed.
BP: Eight years since the Gowanus
Canal was designated a Superfund
site, how has that designation and remediation
project impacted the community?
CB 6: The designation of the Gowanus
Canal as a Superfund site has
given the community a renewed hope
for environmental justice. It has
brought divergent members of the
Gowanus community together to discuss
and urge city agencies to seek the
best and safest means forward. There
is a sense of impatience in the community
that derives from the hope for a
better canal.
COMMUNITY BOARD 7
Borough President: Twenty-two
percent of adults are without health insurance
in the district, a fi gure which
is nearly double the rate of Brooklyn
and citywide. Why is there such a high
rate of uninsured individuals in the
neighborhood, and what efforts are being
taken to alleviate this signifi cant
22 ONE BROOKLYN | SPRING 2019
Borough President Adams joined representatives of houses of worship across Brooklyn at the site
of Abraham Residence I in Sea Gate, a 75-unit single room occupancy independent living facility
for formerly homeless seniors 55 years of age and older, to present an honorary oversized check
totaling more than $3 million as part of his Fiscal Year 2019 capital budget allocation to create and
preserve more than 550 new and existing affordable housing units for people in need across Brooklyn.
Borough President’s offi ce / Erica Krodman
need?
CB 7: There are several factors
that contribute to the high rate of
uninsured individuals in CB 7. Foremost
is the low median income in our
community, which is approximately
$44,000 a year. Expenses like the cost
of insurance make health care a luxury
for many families. This pay gap
has been fi lled in the past by our local
hospital, which provided care to
the community despite a patient’s
ability to pay, and the city and state
have created numerous programs
over the past few years to reduce this
gap. Additionally, CB 7 has helped to
promote low-cost health insurance
plans in our community through email,
the community board website,
newsletters, promotional material at
meetings, and social media. Most recently,
we have been promoting the
New York City Human Resources Administration’s
(HRA) new insurance
program for seniors as well as partnering
with a not-for-profi t organization
to provide free breast cancer
screenings in the district in March.
BP: How is CB 7 addressing the issue
of increased air pollution in Sunset
Park? Levels of the most harmful
air pollutant, fi ne particulate matter
(PM2.5), have been recorded at 8.5
micrograms per cubic meter, which
is higher than the Brooklyn and citywide
averages.
CB 7: The district is home to many
sources of particulate matter, including
highways, heavy industry, and
power plants. The board has long
sought to promote green businesses
along our waterfront to reduce these
emissions. We have worked to combat
air pollution by calling on the federal
government to return to two-way tolling
on the Verrazzano Bridge to reduce
truck traffi c on the Gowanus Expressway.
We have also negotiated a reduction
in emissions from our largest
and least effi cient power plants alongside
seven community-based organizations.
Other steps we have taken to
tackle air pollution include reducing
street sweeping days to prevent the necessity
of moving vehicles nearly daily;
approving and promoting bicycle lane
use in the community; calling on the
New York City Department of Transportation
(DOT) to undertake a study
of all of our trucks routes to ensure
that they are the most effi cient possible,
and calling on our local police
precinct to vigorously enforce the law
against truck travelling off route. CB
7 is also looking forward to negotiating
a further reduction in local power
plant emissions later this year.
COMMUNITY BOARD 12
Borough President: How is CB 12
responding to the measles outbreak in
the district, which has seen at least 35
cases?
CB 12: It is unfortunate that a disease
that was nearly eradicated has
seen a comeback in recent years. CB
12 has been vocally advocating vaccination
for measles in the community.
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