Live Blog: Community Board 8 Meeting

Welcome to the live blog of tonight's Community Board 8 meeting.  

7:43 p.m.: Quite a few Prospect Heighters have been appointed to the board: residents Wayne Bailey, Bay Brown and Phu Duong as well as Burrito Bar/Carlton Park owner Greg Yerman (who lives across Flatbush, a block into Park Slope).

In addition, Tarves Lord, of Weeksville, also joins the board.

Congratulations!

8:00 p.m.: Board voted to approve the DOT's safety plan for the streets around two Eastern Parkway schools, one near New York Avenue and one near Kingston. 

8:07 p.m.: The board voted to support a beer and wine license for Rosco's Pizzeria, which will open on 685 Franklin Avenue bet. Prospect Place and St. Marks Avenue. The owners also own Dram Shop and Angry Wades.

8:09 p.m.: The owners of are asking for a full liquor license at 780 Washington Avenue at the Corner of Sterling Place (across the street from Tom's). 

The Economic Development Committee voted earlier this week to only support a beer and wine license, but owners Alexander Hall and Sabrina Godfrey said before the meeting that the main focus of the restaurant will be cocktails so a beer and wine license won't cut it. Alexander also said that a restaurant's highest profit margin comes from liquor and that he wouldn't be able to make ends meet without it because the space is large and the rent high. 

Right now there is hot debate at the board about the full liquor license because it is across the street from a church. 

Second Vice Chair Robert Witherwax makes the point that the storefront has been empty and a blight on the community for four years or longer. "It has no investment in it and it is on one of our prime commercial strips," he said.

Those against the liquor license argue that it would be disrespectful to the community to make an exception and allow a bar to open across from a church.

Hall notes that both he and Godfrey have lived in the community for years and have owned Milk Bar for three years. They are members of the community, he said. Before the meeting, Hall also noted that he's a member of two merchants associations and donates to and is a annual speaker at area schools.

Rebeca Ramirez of the Washington Avenue Prospect Heights Association said there are 26 vacancies on Washington Avenue and four vacancies on that block.

The Board is voting only on beer and wine, not on a liquor license. Hall and Godfrey can still apply to the State Liquor License for a full liquor license, but they will have less of a chance without board support. 

The beer and wine license passes. 29  in favor, 12 oppoised, 3 abstentions. 

Hall said after the vote that he still plans to ask for a full liquor license from the SLA, and that he believes CB8's support for a beer and wine license will help. 

He added that he's been told that the building is a mixed use building, not only a church. If this is the case, than the rule against opening within 200-feet of a house of worship won't apply.  

8:32 p.m.: CB8 supported the request to use its backyard patio. The owner agreed to close the backyard patio at 10 p.m. on weeknights and 11 p.m. on weekends and not to play music outdoors. 

8:35 p.m.: The board voted to allow to put tables outside. There will be 12 seats along Carlton Avenue (at 6 tables) and 12 along Park Place. Owner (and now CB8 member) Greg Yerman has agree to close the outdoor portion at 10 p.m. on weekdays and 11 p.m. on weekends. 

8:45 p.m.: CB8 voted not to support the application of Basil Pizzeria, 268 Kingston Ave. at Lincoln Place, to get a full liquor license because it is across the street from Arista Preparatory School, violating the 200 foot rule. Currently they have a beer and wine license. (Note, this item was corrected on 6/16.)

8:48 p.m.: The board is discussing the . Barclays is not in CB8 (because Sixth Avenue is the dividing line between CB6 and CB8) so they didn't get to vote on it.

But the Dean Street Block Association has asked CB8 to draft a letter to the State Liquor Authority supporting an earlier alcohol cut-off time for Barclays.

The board voted 38 in favor 1 abstention to draft the letter. The board's executive committee will determine the content of the letter and whether a specific cut-off time will be requested.

8:59 p.m. The board voted to approve a smaller courtyard than generally required for 816 Washington Avenue at the corner of St. Johns Place. This is the site where . They are requesting an inner courtyard of 730 square feet instead of the required 1,200 square feet.

The building will be a 100 percent affordable housing building that will be five stories tall with an elevator and commercial spaces on the ground floor. It will have four three-bedroom apartments and four four-bedroom apartments. The apartments will rent for $1,500 for the three bedroom apartments and $1,700 for the four bedroom apartments. (Comparable three-bedroom apartments have average market rents of $2,725.)

9:11 p.m. The board votes to allow energy efficient windows, rear-wall insulation and a solar energy system in a three-story, four-unit Renaissance Revival-style row house designed by architect Bejamin Driesler and built around 1906 at 154 Underhill Ave. in the Prospect Heights Historic District. The building is being converted into a 'passive house,' which is so well insulated that it is primarily heated by the sun and the people and electrical appliances inside. 

9:15 p.m.: The board voted not to support an application to add a second story to the rear addition already in place at 307 Sterling Place in the Prospect Heights Historic District. The owner, Michael Hirschhorn, said he needs more bedrooms for the one-family townhouse.

CB8's housing committee had recommended not supporting the application because 1) It's actually a third floor addition and 2) it would add "visual clutter" to the rear yard landscape.

9:23 p.m. Committee Reports:

Education Committee: There is talk about Brooklyn East Collegiate Charter School, which is , becoming a high school. The committee is going to look into it.  

Environment and Sanitation: The committee needs more volunteers.

Parks: At the last meeting the committee went on a tour of CB8's eight parks it was useful. Work has begun on the new bathrooms coming to Dean Street Playground.

Police and Public Safety: The next committee will discuss the NYPD's stop and frisk policy. 

Side note: Call 718-797-8800 or go to vote.nyc.ny.us to make sure you are still on the voter rolls. People are removed after eight? years of not voting. 

Transportation: Come to Brower Park 10-6 on Father's Day where committee chair Fred Munderson will be giving out hot dogs. Come by, he says. 

9:41 p.m. Announcements from elected officials:

Jim Vogel from state Sen. Velmanette Montgomery's office: There is a Silent March Against Stop and Frisk on Sunday at 3 p.m. Meet at 110th St. West of Fifth Avenue. 

Charles Jackson of Rep. Yvette Clarke's office: Sorry didn't catch his announcement, but he was here.

Someone from Councilman Al Vann's Office: The city is no longer going to provide health insurance for employees of senior centers. The city will still provide the same amount of funding for the insurance, but the senior centers will have to purchase it indivdually. The city invites the centers to come to them for help with this.

A representative from the planning committee for Day Star Community Charter School, which is looking to open at District 17 in Sept. 2013. There's no location yet. 

A representative from the proposed Lamad Academy Charter Schoolannounced that the school is looking to open also came to the board. They're looking for community feedback in the planning process. 

9:54 p.m. The meeting adjourns.