Bellevue South Park Reopens

Ribbon cutting with NYC Parks Manhattan Borough Commissioner Anthony Perez, CB6 Chair Kyle Athayde, Former NYC Council Member Rosie Mendez, NYC Council Member Carlina Rivera, NYC Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue, Ms. Wheelchair New York 2023 Khalia Hayslett, Deputy Manhattan Borough President Keisha Sutton-James, and others. Photo courtesy of CB6.

On Wednesday, June 21st, CB6 helped cut the ribbon to the newly renovated Bellevue South Park! This park went over two decades without a renovation and was in desperate need of changes that made it more accessible and in line with the needs of the community. CB6 worked hard to help make this happen, through holding three meetings on the park’s plan in January-March 2019, and giving a forum for both the community board and neighborhood stakeholders to express how the Parks Department’s plan could be improved.

From left to right: NYC Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue, CB6 Chair Kyle Athayde, Former NYC Council Member Rosie Mendez, Council Member Carlina Rivera. Photo courtesy of CB6.

Thankfully, through our hard work, and the hard work and contributions of sister agencies and elected officials (the Parks Department, Council Members Rosie Mendez and Carlina Rivera, Borough Presidents Gale Brewer and Mark Levine, and Mayors de Blasio and Adams), we now have a reopened Bellevue South Park to be proud of, in a district that values every bit of open space it can get! “CB6 helped the community shape the design of this wonderful project and has long advocated for the inclusion of an ADA-compliant dog run. We are happy to see our community’s vision made real in the completion of Bellevue South Park’s reconstruction,” remarked CB6 Chair Kyle Athayde.

Population Capacity Crisis at Animal Shelters: How You Can Help

Animal Care Centers of NYC (ACC), the city’s only open admission shelter, is facing crisis level population capacity in all their care centers. They have run out of space; they have animals in all nooks and crannies of each facility. Staff and Volunteers are doing all that they can to make each animal’s stay with us as best as possible, but they still need help.

This is how you can help:

1. ACC is kicking off a promotion to engage the community looking to open their homes to new pets! Their Summer 2023 – “No Vacancy” promo – adoption fees will be $5.00 for large dogs and adult cats. You can find ACC’s adoption app here: www.nycacc.app
2. Food Drive – One of the easiest ways to help ACC during this crisis time. They need more food and supplies than ever! These items are also necessary to help with surrender prevention, there is no better way to reduce population in the shelters than allowing folks the opportunity to keep their pets! You can assist by checking out their Cuddly Wish list which will have items sent directly to our Care Centers. If you have unopened, unexpired DRY dog and cat food, that can also be dropped off directly at any of our Care Centers.

• Manhattan Care Center – https://cuddly.com/pantry/4908079/acc-of-nyc-manhattan
• Brooklyn Care Center – https://cuddly.com/pantry/4908081/acc-of-nyc-brooklyn
• Staten Island Care Center – https://cuddly.com/pantry/4908082/acc-of-nyc-staten-island  

By taking quick action, you can help make a difference during this time of crisis and make a new 4-legged friend.

A constituent lost his phone upon getting out of a taxi cab. The constituent thankfully was able to figure out where it went to, but there was one issue: the phone was in a garbage can within MacArthur Playground in our district, probably because the taxi driver threw it out there.

Initially, the constituent contacted 311 about this issue, but 311 referred him to CB6. Then, when he contacted CB6, our office immediately called the Parks Department to help the constituent recover his phone. We were able to reach the Parks Department in the nick of time, because a garbage truck was about to pick up the garbage bag that contained the constituent’s phone. Parks Department staff worked with the constituent to recover his phone. This saved the constituent hundreds of dollars, a lot of time, and a lot of grief! While this is not the typical constituent case CB6 usually deals with, we’re glad we were able to be of assistance. Though always remember to have your belongings before exiting your cab!

CB6 is here to help. If you feel down in the dumps about a service request issue, please fill out our Get Help form, email help@cbsix.org, or call (212) 319-3750.

A New Addition to the CB6 Website: Accessibility Improvements

We at CB6 recognize that some constituents may have certain disabilities that make navigating websites a challenge. Yet, at the same time, it is important that everyone, regardless of disability, is able to get important information on our district, our upcoming meetings, and much more.

Because of that, we have added accessibility improvements to our website. All you need to do is click on the little human icon at the bottom right hand corner of our website (you’ll see the human icon in the image below, based on what you see when you visit our website’s front page), and there are options ranging from an ADHD-friendly version of the website to a website that enhances visuals for individuals who are vision-impaired.

We want a website that is accessible for all of our constituents, and this is a major step forward in that direction.

Updates on Proposed City of Yes Zoning Text Amendments

The Mayor’s City of Yes initiative seeks to amend zoning rules to help the City recover more quickly from the pandemic, to create a greener city, to support small business growth, and to incentivize the creation of housing, at all levels, in all New York City neighborhoods. There are three proposed zoning text amendments that would be part of this initiative:

Zoning for Carbon Neutrality aims to modernize the zoning regulations in support of the City’s climate goals. The changes would focus on supporting a renewable energy grid, making our buildings clean and efficient, support for electric vehicle charging and micro-mobility options, and reducing waste and storm water. The text amendment was formally presented to the New York City Planning Commission on April 24th (you can view the video here), and is now in the public review process. The matter was heard at the May 22nd meeting of the Land Use & Waterfront Committee. The committee decided to vote favorably on Zoning for Carbon Neutrality, and a corresponding resolution on this Text Amendment passed our June Full Board meeting. You can find the resolution here.

Zoning for Economic Opportunity is focused on providing small businesses with the flexibility needed for them to change and grow, especially as the city recovers from the pandemic. The proposals would remove certain limitations on small businesses and ensure that our storefronts are occupied, and our neighborhoods remain lively spaces. This proposal will hold a public information session on July 11th from 7 PM to 8:30 PM. You can register for the July 11th session here. There was also a public information session on June 13th that you can listen to a YouTube video for here.

Zoning for Housing Opportunity is a direct response to our City’s housing crisis. This text amendment seeks to ensure that every neighborhood does its part to help meet housing needs and provide equitable access to housing for all New Yorkers.

To learn more about City of Yes, visit the Department of City Planning’s website here. Flyers describing the proposals are directly available here.

Changes to City Services for Independence Day

The CB6 office will be closed tomorrow, July 4th for Independence Day.

Even though the CB6 office is closed tomorrow, 311 will still be available. Additionally, if you have a service request issue, you can still reach out to help@cbsix.org and we will follow up with you after our office reopens.

Alternate Side Parking will also be suspended on July 4th, and you do not need to feed the meter.

Due to the 4th of July fireworks, numerous streets will be closed. Please visit the NYPD’s Traffic Advisory for the long holiday weekend in order to see the full list of closures.

Please check the Department of Sanitation’s social media accounts (Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram), their press release page, or 311 for more information on trash and recycling collection as we get closer to Independence Day.

East River Esplanade Dog Run Survey

The New Wave Pier dog run opened on the East River Esplanade in December 2022. It’s been a resounding success! The Alliance for Kips Bay seeks to make the dog run even better and  is looking for ideas and feedback for improvements to the dog run. You can fill out a brief poll here. You can also find more details on the poll here.

Spotted in the District: New Smart Compost Bins

Photo of a new Smart Compost Bin. Photo courtesy of David Edelman.