Monday, March 12, 2012

Meeting Thursday March 15 at 8pm

Greetings ... Ok, you win. I am not going to allude to Winter any more because it looks like we will not be having one this year. I cannot remember ever experiencing a Winter this gentle. No complaints mind you. But it just doesn’t feel right. … But so it goes.

This month we will resume our look at the future of New Dorp and what it should / could look like. We will welcome Len Garcia-Duran the Director of the Staten Island Office of City Planning. He will share with us the possibilities for our neighborhood based on what is allowable by our zoning.

Then in April we will be joined by Robert Englert from the Borough President’s office who will share with us the insights and expectations from Borough Hall.

Last month we recapped and reviewed various issues in our neighborhood – Kohl’s, the CVS on Hylan Blvd., the new ball field at the foot of New Dorp Lane, Cedar Grove Beach, the NYPD Police cameras by the train station, the impact of the muni-meters on the Lane and Plaza, slow zone streets and other issues.

As part of our New Dorp 2020/25 Project, we had a visit from Frank DiTommaso of DiTomasso Realty who spoke to us about New Dorp today ... that our neighborhood remains a desirable location. Then we had a visit from Jay Anderson, Director of Projects for the Staten Island Economic Development Corporation, who shared the insight of the SIEDC into Staten Island and the future. We heard him talk of the possibilities that exist in the retail and service industries for our community.

Next to visit with us will be some architects and builders for their views of where we are, where we are going and where we need to be going. So look for those over the upcoming months.

To repeat, I am not saying that we need to go in any specific direction. I am saying that we need to start thinking about these things and talking about these things and inviting speakers in who will help us understand the pluses and minuses of the various options we have.

Lastly, as I’ve mentioned and will continue to mention, I need you to sing aloud the need for civic involvement and invite your neighbors to join. The more voices the smoother and richer the sound. 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