Tompkinsville Neighborhood Watch

Dear Friends,

Happy end of summer! Hope you all had a safe, quiet and enjoyable summer here in Tompkinsville.

It came to my attention that many of you were not receiving the Tompkinsville Neighborhood Watch (TNW) emailed updates, so I retyped our entire email list and I hope everyone who we met back in March 2009 and over the last many months are now receiving our emails.

Just a recap on what we’ve been doing, and what more we have in the works:

- Noise violation reductions on Van Duzer Street

Thanks to the Community Affairs division of the 120 Precinct, and undercover work by the NYPD borough enforcement division, we have heard a substantial reduction in noise violations on evenings and weekends this summer. What was once the imminent noise, drinking and gang activity expected on Thursday through Sunday nights from April to September, is now a mostly quiet and safe evening experience on Van Duzer and surrounding blocks. Thanks to all who supplied annecdotal stories, called 311, and provided video surveillance of the area. And a special thank you to Officer Santinello for taking time out to talk to our neighbors, landlords and local businesses about noise and litter issues!

- Honoring our fallen on Memorial Day

Thank you to John and Nancy Biggs for organizing a well-attended Memorial Day wreath laying at our GreenStreet at the intersection of St Pauls Ave and Van Duzer Street. Not only did over 20 local neighbors attend, we had Chris Bauer from Assembly Member Titone’s office attend, the Pledge of Allegiance led by our Boy Scout leader Danny, as well as media coverage by NY1.

- Canine waste enforcement on St. Pauls Avenue and surrounding streets

We have posted signs along St Pauls Avenue provided by the Department of Sanitation that warn dog owners of the rules on removing dog waste. We laminated and secured those signs to wooden posts, and they have helped to mitigate canine waste violations in the neighborhood. If you or your neighbors would like a PDF version of the Sanitation sign, let us know and we’ll email you a copy. Just laminate them, post them in your neighborhood and remind all dog owners that canine waste violations are not only unsanitary, but now come with a $250 ticket for each infraction.

- PS 65 parking and litter

We have been in talks since early Spring 2009 with Principal Scamardella of PS 65 to alert her to the litter and parking issues in the surrounding area, during the school year. Thank you to Principal Scamardella and her team for working to reinforce proper parking and litter etiquette amongst her staff and faculty, and working to secure additional litter baskets from Council Member Mitchell’s office. Additionally, DOT has confirmed that they have worked to maximize the number of available parking spots in the surrounding area. Should you encounter issues with parking and litter during the school year, please let us know by documenting the license plate and make and model of the car, the time of the infraction and location of the car, and we will pass along the message to the principal. If you see a need for more litter baskets, let us know that too so we can secure more baskets.

- Traffic assessment of the interestion of Victory Boulevard at Van Duzer and St Pauls Ave

Thank you to DOT for replacing and correcting street signage at the intersection of Victory Boulevard at Van Duzer and St Pauls. For a few years now, we have seen signs stolen, bent and incorrect in their directional orientation. DOT was nice enought to look at the signage and correct all those issues. If you know of other signage issues, let us know so DOT can address them as quickly as possible.

- Tree planting and greening in Tompkinsville

If you had a empty spot in front of your home where a street tree could be planted, chances are you have seen a new tree planted in that space in the last two years. Thanks to John Kilcullen of NYC Parks for being an amazing leader on this effort. Thanks to Mayor Bloomberg’s MillionTreesNYC program, the North Shore has seen a restocking of street trees on every block. If you know of an empty tree pit, or a stump that needs to be removed, we can have a tree planted in that location. Email us the address of the location. And, if you have street trees that aren’t growing well, or need some attention, please let us know and John and his team will be there to provide necessary TLC for these trees. Lastly, if you’d like to be a tree steward or learn more about street trees, let us know and we can provide you with information.

- We’ve done a lot, but more needs to be done…

Admittedly, while we’ve seen much success over the last half year in terms of major quality of life issues in the area, there are many more issues to address and deal with in the coming months. Considering we have no money in our budget but just sweat equity and time to give to solving these issues, we will do our best to address continuing issues like (1) the maintenance in and around vacant lots, (2) proper grooming and maintenance around local businesses, and (3) continuing issues with traffic, parking and speeding. These are just a few of the issues to attend to and we hope to report back on more successes in the future.

The only way we can help you is when you let us know what’s going on in the neighborhood. Keep in touch 24/7 with TNW… email us at TompkinsvilleNeighborhoodWatch@gmail.com or leave us a voicemail at 309-415-7823. We’re here to help.

Have a great end of summer and a happy fall season too. Keep in touch!

Mike

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Tompkinsville Neighborhood Watch
http://tompkinsville.weebly.com

TompkinsvilleNeighborhoodWatch@gmail.com
voicemail 309-415-7823