The
Red Hook StarªRevue
THRU FEB. 20, 2014
SOUTH BROOKLYN’S COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER
V A L E D N A T Y I N 8 page special love E section begins on page 11 S
RED HOOK MEETS BASIC AT CIVIC ASSOCIATION MEETING by George Fiala
The Amendolas and their friends are a fixture at every Red Hook Civic Association meeting. (photo by George Fiala)
J
ohn McGettrick has headed Red Hook’s own Civic Association for a number of years. He has tackled issues such as transportation, pollution and land use. The latest meeting was a spirited one with a full agenda, and met at PS 15 on Wednesday, January 29. The first speaker was Jessica Colon, of the Red Hook Community Justice Center. She spoke of a new basketball program at the Miccio Center, as well as their newest program - Red Hook First Responders. For more information, contact Jessica at (718) 923-8200. Lydia Bellahcene, president of the PS 15 PTA, spoke next. She announced PS 15’s acceptance as a magnet school to much applause. She explained that PS 15 is a STEAM magnet school. Most others are STEM, standing for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. PS 15 has added Arts, hence the STEAM designation. She encouraged awareness of Red Hook’s Participatory Budgeting program, which allows voters to held decide on how City Council funding is spent. An election will be held this spring and there will be some Red Hook specific projects to decide on. The PS 15 Spring Flea will be held May 3rd, and Lydia told everyone to keep an eye on the red doors of PS 15 for announcements about the Flea and other events.
This was the scene in Sunset Park last Sunday during the celebration of the Lunar New Year (photo by George Fiala)
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Finally, Bellahcene explained that continuing degradation from the effects of
Sandy’s waters have made the replacement of much of the school’s electrical wiring a necessity. The work will take place weekends and over the summer in order to inconvenience the school as little as possible. A representative from Project Hope announced that they will be finishing their work in Red Hook shortly. Project Hope has helped residents deal with mental issues related to Sandy. Their work was appreciated.
LICH must be saved Maribel Agosto, a nurse at LICH and for the past year an outspoken advocate of the hospital spoke next. She exhorted all Red Hookers to engage in the process of saving the hospital. Earlier that day there was a press conference at the hospital with many elected officials demanding a new RFP process to find a viable operator to replace SUNY. There will be more rallies - they are generally tweeted with the hashtag #savelich. Two others spoke of the importance of saving LICH, including Lee Wellington of Carlos Menchaca’s office. The next presentation was made despite the incompatability of the laptop computer with the projection system in the auditorium, hence it was made sans PowerPoint. Gita Nandan, co-chair of Red Hook Rising, spoke of the group’s progress in choosing a $3 million project chosen to alleviate the effects of any future hurricane or flooding. State funds were designated for this, and the group (please turn to page 5)