BENSONHURST'S PREMIER NEWS BLOG

Councilman Vincent Gentile, Source: council.nyc.gov

The B37 bus line, which ran from Bay Ridge to downtown Brooklyn, was eliminated three years ago. Councilman Vincent Gentile pledged to bring back the service when the MTA announced that it was being axed and now he is continuing that fight by organizing a petition, according to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle.

In his effort to get his petition off the ground and bring the B37 back to service, Gentile is teaming up with fellow Council Member Sara Gonzalez, Transport Workers Union Local 100 and other community organizations.

The restoration of the dormant B37 bus route isn’t the only thing the petition calls for. Included is the restoration of station booths along the N/R lines and the installation of elevators in the subways.

“The MTA has received $40 million more than it requested from Albany this year so now is the prime time to call on the governor and the MTA Board to use some of this money to restore services that were cut in 2010,” the Daily Eagle reported Gentile saying. “The B37 was absolutely vital to this community. It was our neighborhood’s connection to Sunset Park, Park Slope, Lutheran Hospital and downtown Brooklyn.”

The MTA noted the discontinuation of the B37 was due to low ridership and close proximity to the R train. MTA spokeswoman Deirdre Parker defended the decision.

“Riders were not left stranded. The B70 was rerouted to replace the segment of the B37 south of Bay Ridge Avenue.”

To sign the petition right now, Gentile has urged supporters to visit his office at 8705 Third Avenue while an online petition is being created.

Source: rachaelvoorhees / Flickr

The sight of dog waste littering the streets is one of the more depressing things about New York City, especially as summer approaches. As we near the 35th anniversary that the city’s “pooper scooper law” went into effect, John Quaglione, a candidate for New York City Council’s 43rd Council District seat, is also disgusted by all the crap and wants the city to take a more pro-active approach in fighting it, according to Brooklyn News.

Quaglione, a Republican looking to unseat 10-year council veteran Vincent Gentile, has suggested that the city reverse the policy that stopped the printing of “Please Clean Up After Your Dog” signs, which once cast a more ubiquitous presence throughout our neighborhoods.

“I can tell you as a father, who enjoys taking my daughter out for a walk in the carriage, I am very disturbed by the amount of dog litter I find as I travel around the community. That is why I am calling on Sanitation Commissioner [John] Doherty to reconsider this policy and start placing these signs in the areas that residents are requesting them,” Brooklyn News reported Quaglione as saying.

Bensonhurst Bean recently wrote about the hazardous effect that unattended dog waste has on community members who rely on wheelchairs, canes and walkers, making it difficult for disabled children and seniors to navigate  the streets. According to Quaglione, the message isn’t getting through.

He noted that the Department of Sanitation’s policy regarding the signs consists of replacing ones that are faded, as opposed to putting up brand new ones in new locations. He believes that this is the reason the dog waste problem has spiraled out of control.

Currently, if caught, a delinquent dog-owner could be fined $250 for failing to clean up after their dog. It’s something to keep in mind the next time you take your best furry pal out for a stroll.

Congressman Michael Grimm

The bombing at the Boston Marathon last Monday marked a particularly rough week for the nation. For New Yorkers, the endless stream of videos and photographs from the terrorist attack brought back all too familiar memories. People from New York felt deeply for Boston residents and, as such. and Congressman Michael Grimm took it upon himself to lead a candlelight vigil last night at Caesar’s Bay to honor the victims and express New York’s solidarity with the people of Boston.

According to CBS New York, those gathered held signs that read “Boston and Brooklyn United We Stand” and “Boston Strong,” powerful displays of unity that transcended the natural rivalry shared between the two cities.

“People come together when you have to, regardless,” CBS reported one attendee saying. Grimm also underscored the symbolic importance of the gathering.

“We want them to know that New York stands with them, and that as days go by, we will not forget,” CBS reported Grimm saying. “There’s one flag today, the American flag.”

Source: Colton’s office

Local teens took to the streets on Saturday to celebrate Earth Day with a massive local cleanup, organized by Assemblyman William Colton.

The army of volunteers included members of Our Lady of Grace Teen Group, Our Lady of Grace Boy Scouts, Our Lady of Grace Girl Scouts, students from New Utrecht High School, Midwood High School’s Key and Environment Clubs, students from Brooklyn Technical High School’s Key and Red Cross clubs, students from Edward R. Murrow’s Key Club, students from John Dewey’s Key Club, students from James Madison High School’s Key Club, and members from the United Chinese Association of Brooklyn.

The kids worked their way along Kings Highway, from McDonald Avenue to Stillwell Avenue, and Avenue U, from McDonald Avenue to Stillwell Avenue, sweeping sidewalks and picking up trash with bags and other cleanup equipment from the Department of Sanitation and Home Depot.

“Our sustained Speak-Up! and Clean-Up! Campaign encourages residents to alert us about areas in need of cleaning up while mobilizing our neighborhood’s youth to get the job done. This is surely a win-win for our community,” said Colton in a press release.

It is the ninth cleanup event organized by Colton, and the initiative is the brainchild of Colton aide Priscilla Consolo.

(Source: Ed Yourdon/Flickr)

The MTA has announced that, due to repairs made under the Fastrak program, there will be no Southern Brooklyn N and D line daytime subway service this weekend, eliminating the only two available lines for Bensonhurst and stranding subway-dependent residents.

Beginning at 5:30 a.m. and lasting until to 8 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday, there will be no subway service on the N line between Stillwell Avenue and 86th Street, nor service on the D line from Stillwell Avenue to Bay Parkway.

As an alternative, the MTA suggests taking the F or Q trains in combination with the B1, B3, B4, B6, B64, and B82 buses.

There will be no shuttle buses replacing service for the N and D lines, the first time we’ve ever heard of such a broad stretch of subway line being suspended without a shuttle alternative (and hat-tip to Bay Ridge Odyssey‘s Brian Hedden for also pointing this out to us by e-mail).

Meanwhile, both F and Q trains have their own subway service advisories.

On the F line, trains continue to skip Smith-9 Sts in both directions. From 11:45 p.m. Friday until 5 a.m. Monday, Jamaica-bound F trains are rerouted via the A from Jay St-MetroTech to W 4 St. From 12:30 a.m. tonight until 5 a.m. Monday, Jamaica-bound F trains run local from Roosevelt Av to 71 Av. Finally, From 11:45 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday, Coney Island-bound F trains skip 4 Av-9 St, 15 St-Prospect Park, and Fort Hamilton Pkwy.

On the Q line, Manhattan-bound Q trains run express from Kings Highway to Prospect Park, meaning there will be no northbound trains at Gravesend Neck Road, Avenue U, Avenue M, Avenue J, Avenue H, Courtelyou Road, Beverley Road or Parkside Avenue.

Correction (5:42 p.m.): Reader Auxil B. correctly points out that there is local Manhattan-bound service at Avenue U and Neck Road this weekend. We’ve made the correction above, and regret any confusion this may have caused.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

If you live on the far end of a New York City borough and have the distinct pleasure of sitting through a 45-50 minute commute into Manhattan every day, you gain a unique experience. The trip highlights the diversity of races, cultures and economic classes as the train rumbles from your more modest home towards Fancytown. While it’s easy to notice the types of people you see on the train – homeless, hipsters, lawyers, mothers and tourists – it’s harder to guess their socioeconomic status, even if you have a rough idea. Thanks to the New Yorker, you can now know exactly how much people are making through their handy interactive graph which charts the median household incomes via subway stops.

The results will probably depress you, especially if you are a normal schmo from Bensonhurst, Sheepshead Bay, Brighton Beach or practically anywhere outside of the confines of Manhattan. The luckiest New Yorkers live off the 2 and 3 lines by Park Place and Chambers Street. If those people are even using the subway, they are on average earning more than $200,000 a year.

Riders near the 18th Avenue D stop in Bensonhurst clock an average of $39,524. Borough Park riders near 55th street also earn about $39,000. Further south by the Sheepshead Bay Q station, riders earn an average of $33,616. Brighton Beach riders are even less affluent, with the median being set at $28,398. If Q train riders from Southern Brooklyn want to see some fancy people living off their line, all they have to do is drop $2.50 and ride up to 5th Avenue in Manhattan where the median  household income is set at a breezy $171,000.

It’s a fascinating graph filled with huge spikes that tower over the lowly millions in far more precarious economic situations. Sigh…

Click to enlarge

CompStat reports are produced by the New York Police Department on a weekly basis. We publish the week’s statistics for the 62nd Precinct reports every Friday. The 62nd Precinct is the police command responsible for Bensonhurst and Bath Beach.

Congressman Michael Grimm

Domenic Recchia is rolling in cash while Michael Grimm is drowning in debt. So says Politicker which reports that Michael Grimm’s campaign to defend his congressional seat is deep in the red.

Earlier this week we reported that Councilman Domenic Recchia had claimed to raise a record $412,000 since he announced his candidacy to unseat Grimm late this past February. While the cash situation is looking positive for Recchia, the same can’t be said for Grimm.

According to a Federal Election Commission report, Grimm is almost $500,000 in debt with only $300,000 in cash on hand. Grimm will have a lot of work to do to keep pace with Recchia’s impressive fundraising and also fight off the Democratic Super PACs that are targeting Grimm, who they consider vulernable.

Councilman David Greenfield

Councilman David Greenfield is looking to plug the sinkhole on 53rd Street before it swallows the whole neighborhood.

According to a press release, Greenfield is working closely with the Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Transportation to make sure that the sinkhole on 53rd Street, just east of 16th Avenue doesn’t cause more damage. As of now, 53rd Street is full of cracks and depressions, causing a torrent of complaints from local residents fearful of the worsening driving conditions.

The sinkhole formed when a water main broke three weeks ago along 53rd Street between 16th Avenue and 17th Avenue. Greenfield was optimistic that with his prodding, city agencies were well on their way to making progress in repairing the sinkhole.

“I am pleased that this important stretch of road will be repaired as soon as possible to eliminate this dangerous condition. I share the concerns of local drivers about the damage this sinkhole was causing to vehicles, and the fact that many drivers were swerving to avoid it. One of my top priorities is ensuring that our local infrastructure is regularly maintained and immediately repaired when necessary, so getting these repairs completed is a major focus of mine,” Greenfield said.

This glorious old film surfaced on YouTube yesterday, showing the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge under construction.

Workers are seen dangling from the bridge’s towering pillars, and working – sans safety harnesses! – to complete what would become the longest suspension bridge in the world, completed in 1964.

The cameraman gets right up there with the workers, and shows some of the stellar views of Brooklyn and Staten Island, and even peers down on a then-20-year-old Belt Parkway – which, of course, had not yet had any of the ramps leading up to the span.

And, no, there’s no mention of the legendary story of the construction worker who fell into one of the cement stanchions and remains buried inside the steel-and-concrete landmark. That’s probably because it’s not true.

But it’s still a nifty little video of one of most famous elements of the Brooklyn skyline.