Tuesday, September 29, 2009

SIAdvance, Alzheimer's and Dining

I hope you had a chance to catch the article in last Sunday’s SI Advance about Anne Finnerty, her late husband Bill and her bus driver friend. Ann is currently a member of Community Board #2 and the former President of the New Dorp Central Civic Association. Make sure you check it out.

There will be an Alzheimer’s Walk this weekend on Sunday October 4 at Pouch Camp at 1465 Manor Road at 0930 am (the rain date is Oct 11). For more information call the Alzheimer Foundation at 718-667-7110.

We have set up our next Dining Through New Dorp event. As you recall, we started this program over fifteen years ago in May 1994 as a way of supporting the restaurants in our neighborhood while providing our members and their family and friends an opportunity to get together socially for food and good conversation. Over those years we have purchased over 1300 meals and spent over $32 thousand on our restaurants. So plan now on joining us.

We will be eating at Restaurant On the Plaza at 50 New Dorp Plaza on Wednesday November 11 at 7pm. What will we be eating?
• assorted hot appetizers
• antipasto salad
• an assortment of pizzas
• soda, coffee, tea and desert…
• all for $23 per person.
Mark your calendars and plan now on joining us. Call Linda at 718-351-3714 to make your reservation.

Heard anything new? Give us a call at 718-979-6011 or drop us a line at newdorpcentralcivic@yahoo.com

See you around the neighborhood.

> Joe Markowski

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Alas! Summer Moves On!

Then summer came to an end. Maybe not technically ended – that will happen on the 22nd. But we all know that once school resumes in September the end of summer cannot be far behind. And a strange summer it was - filled with rain at the start and nice days at the end.

As we begin our 33rd year as a Civic Association there is much to ponder.

What has been happening in our neighborhood? I can remember when I was associated with the 122 Pct Community Council. I said that I would welcome the day when we had a meeting and no one came because there were no issues to discuss.

Can the same thing be said about a neighborhood? Perhaps not because good things can also be happening in a neighborhood and a neighborhood such as ours is in a constant state of change.

• Shall we talk about the PS41 schoolyard?
• Or the new Sports Bar on New Dorp Lane across from Miller Field?
• Or the new car service also on New Dorp Lane across from Miller Field?
• Perhaps you noticed the new tennis courts being installed at S.I. Technical High School?
• Or the closing of Ocean3 and its new paint job? And a new restaurant?
• Could you be thinking about New Dorp Beach and the nice spread in the SI Advance about the history of that area… something that we experienced firsthand at our May meeting?
• Or the recent story (also in the SI Advance) about Cedar Grove and its unique status in Staten Island?
• And then there was the return of Pathmark.
• And a comedy club coming to the old Lane Theatre.

A lot is happening in our neighborhood – even in the best of times

Then there is the whole issue of membership in an organization such as ours. We face enormous challenges. We need to find better ways of spreading the word and involving our citizens.

• How do we reach the parents of our schoolkids who have such a large vested interest in our community?
• How do we squeeze ourselves into their busy schedule? They are already involved in their kids’ sports programs and music programs and who knows what else.
• How do we ask them to give us a night a month when there are no extra nights? How do we reach them?
• As our membership ages, how do we get those younger community members involved? That is a major challenge of this and every organization.
• Whenever a major challenge or threat surfaces, everyone comes out of their house to protest and fight the beast! But once the beast is met, everyone returns to their regular life. Can that behavior be changed?
• How do we involve everyone in the neighborhood when there is no common information source for the neighborhood? Newspapers once filled that role but we have seen their use decline.
• How much can we depend on the new electronic outlets? Websites? Blogs (such as ours)? And what will come next? How do we link all these people together and support the needs of this neighborhood?

I am going to ask you for three things:
1. Renew your membership in our organization. At $18 per year that is a little less than 5 cents per day.
2. Let me know what you think. What ideas do you have for this organization? Leave a voicemail at 718-979-6011… or send a note to… NDCCA, PO Box 060245, SI, NY 10306… or send an email to newdorpcentralcivic@yahoo.com. Speak up! Share your thoughts and suggestions.
3. Pass the enclosed membership application to someone in the New Dorp area and encourage them to join.

Thank you for your interest in our neighborhood. You live here. You know why it is a respected and desirable community. Be proud of it.

See you around the neighborhood…

Joe Markowski