The regular monthly Board Meeting of Community Board  #7 will be held on Wednesday, November 17, 2010 @ 6:30 P.M. at our Board Office, located at 4201 4^th Avenue (Entrance on 43^rd Street & 4^th Avenue).

Following is the proposed agenda:

1.       The Pledge of Allegiance

2.       Opening of the meeting

3.       Adoption of the agenda

4.       Adoption of the Minutes of the Board Meeting of October 20, 2010

5.       Presentation: Frank Laghezza, Executive Assistant District Attorney

6.       Committee Reports:  Economic Development Committee, Health & Mental Health Committee, Housing Committee, Membership & Attendance Committee, Parks  Committee, Youth Committee, Youth Committee

7.       Acknowledgment of Elected Officials & Elected Officials Representatives

8.       Chairperson’s Report/Executive Committee

9.       District Manager’s Report

10.   Old Business

11.   New Business

12.   Public Comment

13. Adjournment

IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO ATTEND THE BOARD MEETING, PLEASE CALL THE BOARD OFFICE AT (718) 854-0003 AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE.

I realized at some point when the password to this site became fuzzy that I had to make a choice: keep going, or bid adieu. Instead, I’m compromising.

For the next several months, the site will have weekly news updates. I’m also working on recruiting a few others to provide the occasional original story. Many, many apologies for email that went unanswered. I really appreciated the notes from people asking where I disappeared to (The answer? Grad school, mostly. Sad tale.). Keep an eye out this week for links, but here is a teaser: the NY Post reports on a recent settlement with the NYPD, City Limits looks at the state of Sunset Park as a Promise Neighborhood and Inhabitat offered a sunny take (along with renderings) of the Sims recycling plant that broke ground on the waterfront.

For those of you who sent notes, I’m going to do my best to write back. Is there a story you think should be covered? Send me a note. I’ll pass it on to the reporters I know out on the beat.

Lisa

*Cutbacks at the MTA are mixing up bus routes through Sunset Park—the B37 and B70 will diverge from their well-known paths, and many aren’t happy about it, the Brooklyn Eagle reports.

*The Eagle takes a look back at “Operation Blockbuster,” the big South Brooklyn crack bust of 2008

*Legit or scam? The diet product Herbalife has carved out a firm foothold among immigration groups. Feet in Two Worlds reports.

*Mayor Michael Bloomberg at the end of May announced a huge biotech facility will go into the Brooklyn Army Terminal in Sunset Park. The Wall Street Journal gives some additional background on the mayor’s startup projects.

*In case you haven’t found your spot yet, the Brooklyn Eagle has links to suggestions for the best spots to watch the World Cup.

Sunset Park peddles in hot tacos. Photo by Carnade, from Flickr

Annnnd, we’re back. After a long absence, there’s lots to catch up on. Here are some of the highlights:

Recent(ish)ly in the news:

*New York Mag did a long piece on domestic workers in New York City, many of whom live in Sunset Park. The piece on “nannies” (I’ve just never really liked that term) featured Domestic Workers United.

*The American Prospect also had a piece on the domestic workers’ legislation up in Albany.

*City Limits yesterday wrote on how churches are fighting on immigrants’ side, lending a hand in defense and immigration proceedings. An organization tied to Our Lady of Perpetual Help manages 3,000 cases at a time.

*And before we leave this topic, the Supreme Court just handed down a ruling that automatic deportation of those with drug charges was meant for traffickers, not petty possession. It’s still unclear how this will play out, but it could have a huge impact on a lot of lives.

*Dennis Holt puts in his two cents about the Future of Fourth Avenue plan at the Brooklyn Eagle.

*I love the “skate kid” shot at Sunset Park Stills. I was just wondering the other day what looks will define this era (which is one of my favorite pastimes in Sunset Park.) This is one for the look-book.

Those of you who have come across stinky tofu know it’s not for the faint of heart. The intrepid Sarah DiGregorio jumps in head first for the Village Voice.

More to come, so stay tuned…

photo by vee

*Tabula Raza gallery will on June 16 open “Rock Paper Scissors,” a show with a conceptual bent examining the shifting elements that go into each work of art (rock=physicality, paper=communication and scissors=tools).  The opening reception is Wednesday, June 16 at the gallery, 24 48th Street, Brooklyn, NY, 11220.

*Vee has been up and about, with typically lush images of Sunset Park. Stop by Sunset Park Stills and take a look.

*One of the most mouthwatering shots at Stills comes from the folks over at Buendia Productions. You can check out their Flickr page, or go strait to the (web)source.

*You should note that Buendia is having an exhibit (more here) on June 17 at Chashama’s space in the Brooklyn Army Terminal.

*It’s been a while since he visited Sunset Park, but sometime-neighborhood photographer Evan Sklar has been busy in New York and nearby states. Check out his blog…maybe we can woo him back for some summertime pics.

Know of art news that got left out? Drop a note to sunsetparkchron@gmail.com, or leave it in the comments…

We talked a while ago about Borough President Marty Markowitz’s vision for a better, brighter Fourth Avenue. This morning, you can get a preview of what that might look like. The collaboration with students from NYU’s Wagner School show green medians, bike racks and remarkably traffic-free streets. Some of those commenting on Curbed seemed skeptical. Thoughts?

*Police at the 72^nd Precinct think they may have caught the burglar who has been targeting and stealing from Chinese residents who live the 40s and 50s, and driving up the burglary rate, Inspector Jesus Raul Pintos said last week.

*The lack of Brooklyn-bound toll on the Verrazano has some people worked up, including local owners who have trouble parking in Sunset Park, the Eagle reported.

*The weekly park sweeps at Lets Clean Sunset Park! are back up and running. Want to join in? Check out the website to keep up to date.

*Thanks to the Brooklyn DA, Haitians in need of clothing after the earthquake will soon be sporting a load of designer knockoffs confiscated last year from a Sunset Park storage facility, according to the Post.

*Councilwoman Gonzalez held a leadership summit last week, the Eagle reports. She also brought together a group to talk about the somewhat contentious issue of legislation on vendors along Fifth Avenue. Details on that to come.

*Mayor Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Quinn last week announced the New York City Waterfront Vision and Enhancement Strategy (WAVES), “a citywide initiative that will create a new sustainable blueprint for the City’s 578 miles of shoreline.” Sunset Park obviously has a good bit of that waterfront. I haven’t had a chance to look through it carefully, but I’ll report back on the details of the plan.

*Picturing Sunset Park: Check out a kind of unusual shot I stumbled upon here, and good shot of Chinatown here.

*Frank of The Sunset Park Blog noted a couple of new Italian places in the neighborhood, and made a well-deserved plug for staying in (the neighborhood) when going out to eat.

*Things have been cooking, sprouting and…shopping…over at Sunset Parkour. Take a look out how her seedlings are progressing, and her note on Sunset Park’s recent meh ranking in NYMag’s list of “most livable” New York neighborhoods. Eh, they can keep Park Slope.

*Got any other news? Send it along…

*The Brooklyn Eagle ran a dance event today to celebrate Immigrant Heritage Week today.

*There was a dust-up about bikes ( and an aside about a gaff by Boro Prez Marty Markowitz) recently in the news, and the impending Brooklyn Greenway featured, as Sunset Park’s rep Nydia Velazquez.

*Questions have also been raised about what Mayor Bloomberg’s  announcement this week regarding a “citywide initiative that will create a new sustainable blueprint for the city’s 578 miles of shoreline” and what “sustainable development” means for the western edge of Sunset park.

*The Village Voice’s Running Scared blog has a shot and description of a yolked suspect who allegedly robbed On the Run Mobile convenience store at 875 4th Avenue. The police alert says he had a gun. It may be just me, but it looks like he was also mid-smoke? Odd. Anyway, take a look.

*The New York Times published an article yesterday about the people who make up the immigrant workforce—many of which are highly skilled workers. I thought it was an interesting piece, a look  at on ongoing conversation that obviously involves Sunset Park.

*There was some serious gossip going in the coffee/foodie circle this week when the employees at Gorilla Coffee in Park Slope walked out. The Brooklyn Paper reports despite the mini-scandal, the owners are still churning out beans at their roastery in Sunset Park.

*Speaking of churning, Sunset Park Stills continues to post beautiful photographs, including a moody shot of the basilica. Take a look.

This story has received a ton of coverage in the local papers, including Crazed ex-con shot dead by NYPD officer Tara Hayes pulled trigger to shoot her partner first: police in the Daily News and Pistol-packing Brooklyn thug tried shooting at police before hero cop shot him in the Post. As you can probably tell from the headlines, the dailies have dug into the story of the gun-wielding Michael Romero, an ex-con who yesterday threatened three plainclothes officers with a .357 pistol and was ultimately to death by NYPD Officer Tara Hayes on the edge of Green-Wood Cemetery in Sunset Park. Sunset Park Chronicled’s original coverage is below, but rather than try to update the story with all of the details appearing in local papers, I’ve linked to them. In addition to its print coverage, the Post has video of the scene, as does NY1 (interesting that one of the men interviewed by NY1 said their were multiple shots. The NYPD said Hayes’ shot was the only one fired).

Police shot and killed a man in Sunset Park after he approached a car of plainclothes officers and waved a gun, according to Inspector Jesus Raul Pintos of Brooklyn’s 72nd precinct.

The shooting happened April 1 around 2:15pm as three plainclothes officers from the Brooklyn Anti-Crime Unit patrolled the area near Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn looking for a suspect in a robbery investigation.

The officers were driving near 33rd and Fifth Avenue yesterday when they spotted a man who fit the description of a robbery suspect, police said. As they pulled the car over, the man, identified as Michael Romero,32 30, approached the driver’s side window with what was later discovered to be a loaded silver .357 Rossi pistol, according to police and the New York Times. When the male officer in the driver’s seat began to struggle with the man for the gun, the female officer in the passenger seat got out of the car and fired one shot, hitting the man in the shoulder, according to the Times.

The bullet traveled through his shoulder into his chest, according to the Daily News.

Romero was rushed to Lutheran hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Police say they recovered the pistol that sparked the struggle at the scene. The man was also in possession had a loadedHe had in his backpack a loaded .44 revolver and a gallon-sized of marijuana and “two wallets stuffed with cash,” according to the New York Post. police said, though it is still unclear if these were on his person when he was shot yesterday.

Police have not said if the man killed was the same who they had been seeking in connection with the robbery.