A great turnout last night at Grace Reformed for the annual PLGNA meeting. I was at the first "rejuvenation" meeting of this 40+ year old neighborhood collective three years ago, and I'm happy to say that it's beginning to feel like a real force for positive forward motion on issues that matter to us all. Any all-volunteer group is going to struggle from time to time with resources and person-power. But people are beginning to step up and take an active leadership role in shaping the next phase of progress for the nabe.
Shelley Kramer of one-year-old toy store PlayKids keeps showing up everywhere, and is committed to working to make life better for local youth. She was unanimously voted onto the PLGNA board last night, and we can continue to expect great things from her, as well as the Youth Committee of PLGNA and CB9, an exciting combination of resources from both organizations (CB9 covering a larger area that includes south Crown Heights and Wingate/Pigtown and parts of East Flatbush). With Deborah Mutnick, Amy Alberts, Hilary Papineau and others, count on the Youth Committee to follow through. It's a great cast with a great cause - giving kids activities and skills to succeed and stay out of street-life.
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| Kramer takes oath of office |
Brian Halloran held forth on the Arts Committee regarding its plans to make more arts education available to local kids. A rep from SUNY Downstate pleaded her case for the neighborhood to take a more active role in saving the venerable and unique complement to Kings County Hospital. Learn more
here. Folks from the USDA Food and Nutrition Service were there to talk turkey (and broccoli and carrots) about the new standards for school lunches. Read more about the nation's largest provider of food, save the military,
here. And on urging from the Q, reps from the 71st precinct were on hand to say absolutely nothing on helping our side of the precinct with a more visible presence on the streets. That's why I still urge you to
sign the petition, which I will personally deliver to Jack Lewis when I meet with him in the next couple of days. And I will report back on what he says, and hopefully on how best to make "beat cops" a reality around here. I've heard tell that the squeaky wheel gets the grease, and I'm hoping for a relaxing grease-bath sometime soon.
That is all. Back to work!
3 comments:
Sounds fabulous - congrats to all PLGNA board members for pulling together what sounds like a great meeting! I was unfortunately caught up in a work thing at the last minute, so I had to miss it.
Let's not forget the reps from the Flatbush Beacon center who took the time to make their first appearance. They have been working in the community for more than 20 years and have provided free afterschool and adult education classes in conjunction with Medgar Evers College for countless members of this community.
@10:33 -- Thanks for mentioning Beacon program.
@Q -- please post a roundup of 501c3 orgs in CB9 and PLG for those of us looking to donate some cash locally before year's end. That'd be a great service to add to all your great efforts already this year.
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