East 40th And 41st Street Block Association

Meeting Minutes of 40/41 Block Association

Meeting Held 2/17/05 at Flatlands Reform Church

The meeting was called to order at 7:43PM.

The focus of the block association should be the prevention of new community problems as well as the solving of problems that already exist. The block association is mostly made up of residents of East 40th and East 41st Street between Kings Highway and Flatlands Avenue, but others who take an active interest in the block association will not be turned away from participation. The present goal of the block association is to firmly establish a strong core organization within the blocks indicated in the Mission Statement.

Reports About Local Community Groups:
The 63rd Precinct Community Council Meeting of 1/26/05:
The 63rd Precinct's Anti-Graffiti/Vandalism Unit has been enlarged. Complaints about graffiti and vandalism can be filed by calling 311. There will be increased efforts to promote public cooperation in order to solve the problem.

The Community Council #18 Meeting of 2/16/05: Discussions held concerning zoning regulations and the filing of variances of those regulations.

The East 40th Street/ East 41st Street Block Association was mentioned in an article published in the 2/7/05 issue of the Kings Courier. The article discussed difficulties caused by dollar vans in the 63rd Precinct. Mr.Tarver represented the block association at the 63rd Precinct Community Council Meeting of 1/26/05

Block Association members are urged to visit the block association website, to register/sign in and to express their feelings about community issues.

Concerns about security in the driveway shared by residents of East 40th Street and East 41st Street:
a) Close the gates of the driveway at night. b) Driveway intruders are a potential threat to all people who use the driveway.c) Intruders can be a source of vandalism and robbery.
d) Installing a set of security lights in the driveway might lessen security threats.

Trucks making deliveries to the C-Town Grocery Store located on Lott Place and Flatbush Avenue cause problems after making deliveries. As trucks try to turn from Lott Place onto East 40th Street, traffic is often blocked for long periods of time. Creation of truck delivery zones on Flatbush Avenue and Lott Place might reduce this problem, but it might also result in the loss of parking spaces on Flatbush Avenue and on Lott Place. This will cause major problems for residents of Lott Place.

Discussion of creating a block snow removal squad to help the elderly and the infirm when walkways and parking spaces are snowed in.

Attitudes that the block association should cultivate within the community: "Get to know your neighbors!" "Keep an eye out for your neighbor and your neighbor will look out for you!"

The block association must create a governing structure and draft a set of by-laws. The block association should also seek a not-for-profit status. The block association should raise its own funds and should be able to provide its own copying machine and copying supplies.

An active block association can play a vital role in keeping community real estate values high.

Rules of Order should be written and enforced during block association meetings so that private conversations do not interfere with the expression of ideas being discussed on the floor.

Election of Acting Officers of the East 4oth Street/ East 41st Street Block Association

A slate of candidates, made up of people who previously expressed a desire to serve, was presented to those who were in attendance. Those elected will be acting officers. A new election will be held in September 2005 to select new officers who will assume office in October. The slate presented by Mr. Tarver was unanimously elected by all who attended the meeting.

The Acting Officers of the East 4oth Street/ East 41st Street Block Association are: Richard Tarver, President; Jean-Louis Camille, Vice-President; Daniel Marino & Rolda Nurse, Secretaries; Hugo Choo-Ying, Treasurer.

Minutes submitted by
Daniel J. Marino & Rolda Nurse