Help Improve B61 Bus service

Brad Lander's office is still looking for volunteers in the effort to improve B61 service:

Councilmember Brad Lander, Councilmember Sara Gonzalez, and Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez are looking for volunteers to help improve the service of the B61 bus. Our goal is to find easy ways to speed up the bus line and reduce travel time for those who depend on the B61, especially as the Smith-9th Street station closed for rehabilitation through March 2012.

As the MTA is advising riders to take the B61 bus to the 4th Ave-9th St station as an alternative, we are expecting heavier ridership on the route. By collecting data on B61 performance, you can help us determine what can be done to help improve the speed of the B61.

What We Are Doing

We are collecting ridership data to assess:

• The number of riders that use the B61;
• Which bus stops have the highest and lowest ridership;
• Which buses are the most chronically delayed;
• How the closure of the F train is impacting B61 riders’ commute; and,
• Where “bunching” most frequently occurs among buses along the route

This data will be used by the Councilmember’s office to identify issues with the bus line and recommend possible service changes to help improve the riding experience on the B61 bus.

How You Can Help

We need volunteers to collect data about the B61, including rider count and bus arrival time, to help us know more about overcrowding and delays along the B61 route. Our office will provide volunteers with the necessary field sheets to record their data.

Volunteers will collect data Monday-Thursday. Morning shifts are 7-9am and evening shifts are 4:30-6:30pm.

Bus Stop Monitoring: Volunteers will collect data at several major bus stops, including the 4th Ave/9th Street and Atlantic Ave/Hicks bus stops, among others. Our volunteers will count the number of riders at each bus stop for roughly 2 hour shifts. We will collect data at peak hours of bus service in both the morning and evening.

Ride the Whole B61 Route: To help us know more about B61 ridership characteristics, volunteers will also ride the complete B61 route and count the number of passengers who get on and off the bus at each bus stop. We would like volunteers to ride the complete bus route both northbound and southbound so we know more about ridership levels throughout the B61 route.

Rider Surveys: During August, we will get a more detailed picture of who is riding the B61 bus by conducting a survey of passengers who board the B61 at the Park Slope 9th Ave / 9th in the Red Hook direction. Contact Matt Green at MGreen@council.nyc.gov or 212-788-6969 to volunteer!

Wild Flowers in the hood!!!

Every Friday Saturday and Sunday wild flowers are for sale outside the Pharmacy at Henry and Sackett. Maria will make you a bouquet with your choice of colors or style. Or you can pick a lovely already assembled bouquet. Priced by the stem. For me it fills a real void in the hood. Thank you Maria.

A Night of Bluegrass and other Delectable Americana at Jalopy Theatre - Sun 24th

An evening of old-time Americana Sunday, July 24th at the celebrated Jalopy Theatre in Red Hook, beginning at 7:30pm. Brooklyn-based string band Union Street Preservation Society's spirited vocals and runaway-train instrumentals breathe fire and soul into their original blend of bluegrass, blues and early jazz. With fellow Americana roots group The Third Wheel Band starting off the evening, it’s sure to be a night of electricity and a rip-roaring, foot-stomping good show.

Jalopy is located at 315 Columbia Street b/w Woodhull and Rapelye (Carroll St. F/G stop)

Sunday, July 24 at 7:30pm

$5.00 cover

Best grilled sandwich competition to profit the Amazing Garden this Saturday!!

Click to enlarge.

The Talk at Tonight's CoWNA Meeting

If you missed tonight's Columbia Waterfront Neighborhood Association meeting, here's what was discussed:

Traffic Safety on Columbia Street

Some improvements have been made, like daylighting (removing parking spaces at an intersection to increase visibility) and striping, but more substantial and effective improvements are still needed. A more comprehensive analysis of the traffic patterns in the neighborhood is the first step. Some large trucks are still using Columbia and we would like to press for more enforcement. Phoenix Beverage trucks have also been seen driving through. State Senator Dan Squadron, who attended the meeting, will continue conversations with Phoenix Beverage. Wondering when the Van Brunt Street project be finished? No one seems to know, and the last completion date given was in February. A rep from NYS Assemblywoman Joan Millman's office described the work they have been doing to support traffic safety measures.

B61 Bus Service

Matt Green from City Council Member Brad Lander's office is still looking for volunteers to report on the B61 service. Write mgreen@council.nyc.gov if you are interested. They are also distributing a survey at bus stops and counting riders. Dan Squadron is asking riders to email his office when the bus is not on time or bunching. Email the bus stop, date, and time to squadron [at] nysenate [dot] gov. His office will pass the information to inspectors. A rep of Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez explained that there was a meeting with the DOT to follow up on the Red Hook trolley connection study results. The trolley idea was rejected, but the study revealed some ways the bus route can be improved to be less circuitous.

"Noisecopter" Protests Continue

If you see a helicopter flying low over the pier or neighborhood, call 311 with the exact time. Get the tail number if you can. Check out Red Hook Noisecopters at http://www.facebook.com/public/Redhook-Noisecopters if you can't take the flyovers anymore.

Lowering Air Pollution from our Ports

CoWNA is part of the Coalition for Healthy Ports (http://healthyports.org/). Cruise ships will being plugging into shore power next spring or summer. Brad Kerr talked about his work in the Healthy Port Initiative to reduce port truck pollution. Diesel pollution from trucks is 40% of port air pollution. One goal is to ban old trucks from the port so they are replaced with newer, cleaner vehicles. The first step is to conduct a truck count. Volunteers are needed to hang out at Hamilton and Van Brunt to count how many trucks come out of the port and where they go. Contact contact bhkerr [at] gmail [dot].com to help. You can also ask your elected officials to support legislation that will get the neighborhood's air cleaner.

The federal bill is the Clean Ports Act of 2011:
http://nadler.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1594&Itemid=132

The state bill is Commercial Goods Transportation Industry Fair Play Act:
http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?default_fld=&bn=A08506&term=&Summary=Y&Memo=Y

Fix the Ditch

It's important that we keep up interest with the BQE enhancement project. EDC has done their study and DOT has showed willingness to take some first steps but we must keep the pressure on to get results.

Get Involved!

CoWNA is seeking board nominations. Nominate yourself or a neighbor. Email a brief bio to contact [at] cowna [dot] org. Brooklyn Bridge Park is also seeking a new member for its Community Advisory Board.

And in other news… it was reported that a new bicycle repair and rental shop is getting ready to open on Van Brunt Street!

That's the short version, folks. Attend the next meeting of your local neighborhood association to get all the goodness.

Art Walks in Red Hook this weekend

Wish I could go.... Could someone go and tell me all about it?

http://shinenycart.com/home.html

Let's Improve B61 Service!

A message from the office of our City Councilmember, Brad Lander:

Councilmember Brad Lander is looking for volunteers to help improve the service of the B61 bus. Our goal is to find easy ways to speed up the bus line and reduce travel time for those who depend on the B61, especially as the Smith-9th Street station closed for rehabilitation through March, 2012. As the MTA is advising riders to take the B61 bus to the 4th Ave-9th St station as an alternative, we are expecting heavier ridership on the route. By collecting data on B61 performance, Councilmember Lander’s office is seeking to determine what can be done to help improve the speed of the B61.

What We Are Doing We are collecting ridership data to assess:
· The number of riders that use the B61;
· Which bus stops have the highest and lowest ridership;
· Which buses are the most chronically delayed;
· How the closure of the F train is impacting B61 riders’ commute; and,
· Where “bunching” most frequently occurs among buses along the route.

This data will be used by the Councilmember’s office to identify issues with the bus line and recommend possible service changes to help improve the riding experience on the B61 bus.

How You Can Help!

We need volunteers to collect data about the B61, including rider count and bus arrival time, to help us know more about overcrowding and delays along the B61 route. Our office will provide volunteers with the necessary field sheets to record their data. Volunteers will collect data Monday-Thursday, starting July 11 and ending July 28. Morning shifts are 7-9am and evening shifts are 4:30-6:30pm. Thanks for letting me know if you, or other people you might know, would be interested in helping us collect data on the B61!

Feel free to write me an e-mail with the time and days you are available, or by calling me here in the office at 212-788-6969. I look forward to hearing from you soon!

Many thanks,
Matt

Matt Green
Office of Councilmember Brad Lander
mgreen@council.nyc.gov
212-788-6969 / 718-499-1090

Neighborhood Association Summer Meeting

Please join the Columbia Waterfront Neighborhood Association for our summer

NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING

Thursday, July 21, 2011

6:30 pm - 8:00 pm

On the agenda:

Helicopter Noise

Columbia Street Safety

Campaign for Healthy Ports

Fix the Ditch

Nominations for Board Positions

Jalopy Theater and School of Music

315 Columbia Street

Between Woodhull & Hamilton

Stroll over to a gallery opening.

Friday night there's a new show opening at Work gallery on Union and Van Brunt.

New Works by: YUSUKE NISHIMURA

Opening Friday July 8th, 2011, 6-10PM

Artists Talk Sunday July 18th 2011 @ 6PM

WORK Gallery is pleased to announce a solo show by New York based artist Yusuke Nishimura. Through a combination of thoughtfully elegant composition and cool observation, Nishimura creates photographs that are records and impressions of time, space, and light. In the two series shown, Tracing Paper and Shadow, Nishimura delves further into ambiguities, as his investigations of immaterial elements yield photographs with such a sense of physicality, that they feel almost more sculptural than flat, two dimensional documents.

Beautiful Veggies

This summer I joined a CSA group for the first time. The Urban Meadow partnered with Just Food to provide fresh produce direct from a local farm. We've also been getting eggs and there has been talk of cheese and coffee. Here are my photos from the first pickup day two Saturdays ago.

For more information check out the Urban Meadow Community Supported Agriculture program site.

New 24 hour bagels?

There are three reasons to be excited about this new business "coming soon" to Hamilton Ave next to the Chase bank.

1. Open 24 hours! This may be the only business that will be open 24 hours in the Waterfront. Correct me if I'm wrong.

2. Outdoor seating! I hope it's sidewalk seating so I can eat al fresco with my dog.

3. Bagels in the hood! We've had a shortage of bagels since the place on Union and Henry closed. (Though Margaret Palca always has a few bagels.)

I will report back when it opens.

Hooray for bike racks!

You may have wondered, as I did, how all the new bike racks appeared overnight in our neighborhood last month. This interview with Brad Kerr, a member of our Columbia Waterfront Neighborhood Association (CoWNA), sheds some light:

http://seeclickfix.blogspot.com/2011/06/bike-friendly-fix-in-brooklyn.html

Brad and ten neighbors began a year ago by documenting our need for bike parking with an app called SeeClickFix, but he credits Dave Abraham from Transportation Alternatives for getting the bike racks installed.

His advice for anyone looking to make improvements to the neighborhood is to seek out "others who have experience with your issue." Thank you to Brad, Dave Abraham, and all our neighbors who worked on this project. Neighborlujah!