Community Magazine April 2014

126 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE Coney Island Amphitheater One of MartyMarkowitz’s final projects while in office, the Seaside Park and Community Arts Center, would offer a covered, seasonal amphitheater in the western section of Coney Island’s amusement area, the Office of the Brooklyn Borough President reported. “This beautiful new amphitheater will be a key component of a revitalized Coney Island for visitors and the community in the years ahead,” said Marty. “The Seaside Park and Community Arts Center will enhance the surrounding area and residents will benefit from a modern, performing arts venue – that ensures that free, cultural programming remains in Coney Island – as well as a lush neighborhood park and a refurbished and operating Childs restaurant.” The amphitheater will be available to the public for recreation and community use during the off-season and between events. Designed with removable seats, the venue can transform into a seasonally-shaded plaza, suitable for farmer’s markets, school graduations, festivals and other functions. The plaza is part of 2.4-acre open space that will also include a public park, children’s play areas, bench and lawn seating, a 9,000 sq. ft. garden, and elevated views of the beach. Along with the reopening of the Coney Island Library, the new gym at P.S. 188 and the brand new YMCA community center on the way, the amphitheater could help revitalize Coney Island with a renewed focus on creating jobs and improving infrastructure. Greenfield Advances Sidewalk Shoveling Proposal After receiving numerous complaints from residents about snow and ice-coated sidewalks in front of commercial and residential properties throughout New York City, Councilman David Greenfield is proposing changes to the city’s laws to better protect pedestrians. Currently, property owners receive a fine starting at $100 if they fail to clear their sidewalk within four hours after a storm ends. However, even when this fine is issued, the sidewalk remains covered by snow, posing danger to pedestrians, especially children and senior citizens. Under Councilman Greenfield’s proposal, the city would use its municipal workers to clear the sidewalk and would then bill the delinquent property owner $250 or more for the work, depending on the size of the property. This would ensure that the hazard is remediated at no additional expense to the city while still holding the property owner accountable for breaking the law. “We all have a responsibility to our neighbors to make sure that the sidewalks in front of our homes and stores are cleared and passable four hours after the snow stops falling,” said Councilman Greenfield. “Unfortunately, many people don’t care and ignore the law. Simply issuing a fine to the property owner really doesn’t solve the problem, as many of these tickets are ignored. That’s why I am proposing to amend the existing law so that the city can perform the work itself, which would actually result in ice-free sidewalks and additional revenue.” In many cases, the neglected sidewalks are in front of properties such as abandoned or stalled construction sites, vacant houses or empty storefronts. With these summonses often going ignored and unpaid, allowing the dangerous condition to persist, Councilman Greenfield is proposing to overhaul the existing law so that it better meets the ultimate goal of getting the sidewalk cleared on behalf of pedestrians. The city would use the revenue to fund the hiring of additional temporary snow laborers used to clear public areas such as street corners and curbs. The city already has a database of temporary snow laborers it calls on during major snow events and Councilman Greenfield envisions an expansion of this program through the hiring of additional workers to clear sidewalks as part of his new legislation. MTA Real-Time Bus Tracking Expanded to Brooklyn and Queens MTABus Time, a live bus tracking service, has expanded to cover all bus routes in Brooklyn and Queens as of March 9, Brooklynews reported. The MTAhas fulfilled its promise of offering MTABus Time on every bus route in NewYork City during the first quarter of 2014. MTA Bus Time began serving all bus routes on Staten Island in January 2012, all bus routes in the Bronx in November 2012, and Manhattan in October 2013.The recent expansion adds more than 9,000 bus stops to the MTA Bus Time system, bringing the total to over 15,000. MTA Bus Time uses location data provided by an enhanced GPS mounted inside each bus. Customers can get the locations of Brooklyn and Queens buses in real time via smart phone, web and text message. Once online, go to bustime.mta.info and enter a bus route, location or bus stop code. You’ll get a map showing where buses are located within the specific route or region you’ve searched. Click on a bus stop or a bus for more detailed information. You can also send a text to 511123 with your location and bus route, or scan the QR Code printed on the schedules posted at bus stops to learn how far away the next buses are. Apps such as All Aboard NYC for iPhone or iPad and NYC Bus Checker for Android are also available. New York City Municipal Schedule Occasion Day Date Alt Side Garbage Collection Parking Banks & Post Offices Passover: First/Second Days Tuesday - Wednesday April 15 -16 Suspended Normal Normal Open Observance Thursday April 17 Suspended Normal Normal Open Observance Friday April 18 Suspended Normal Normal Open Passover: Seventh/Eighth Days Monday - Tuesday April 21-22 Suspended Normal Normal Open Life in the Big City