N E I G H B O R S A S S O C I A T I O N ( L I N A )
r e s o u r c e s
Noise -- garbage -- crime -- vermin -- outrageous rents -- !! -- but instead of cursing New York and planning a move to the suburbs, you can try to solve some of these problems using the agencies and procedures described below. Some advice: describe your complaints clearly and precisely, and be patient but persistent.
Specific info on:
B I L L B O A R D S | ZONING & DEVELOPMENT | B I C Y C L E R A C K S
general sources of assistance Each Community Board employs a District Manager who, with the help of a paid staff, is charged with handling local problems and service complaints. The District Manager should, therefore, be one of the first people that local residents contact to register a complaint.
Manhattan Community Board 2 (CB2) represents Little Italy as well as several neighboring communities (it encloses the area from 14th Street to Canal Street, between the Hudson River and the Bowery/Fourth Avenue). CB2's chairman is Alan Jay Gerson and its District Manager is Arthur Strickler, who may be contacted at 3 Washington Square Village, New York, NY 10012-1899, tel (212)979-2272, fax (212) 254-5102. It usually holds meetings on the next to last Thursday of the month; its next meeting is at 7 pm on Thursday, December 17, at St. Vincent's Hospital (10th floor), 170 West 12th Street.
New York City Council Member Kathryn Freed (D) represents the city's first district, which includes most of Manhattan below 14th Street. She and her staff can be reached at: tel (212)788-7722, fax (212)788-7727, e-mail freed@council.nyc.ny.us. Her offices are located at 51 Chambers Street, Suite 429, New York, NY 10007. Peter F. Vallone, who represents District 22 in Queens, is the Speaker/ Majority Leader of the City Council. He and his staff can be reached at: tel (212) 788-6865, fax (212)233-3928, e-mail vallone@council.nyc.ny.us. Also, note that the City Council has established a number of issue-specific committees -- such as the Committee on Environmental Protection (i.e., garbage) and the Committee on Land Use -- one or more of which may be relevant to your problem.
L I N A members have had many discussions with Kathryn Freed and her staff regarding neighborhood issues, and we have written Speaker Vallone to urge him to pay close attention to the problems caused by a proliferation of noisy bars in New York neighborhoods such as our own.
Little Italy residents are represented in numerous political bodies, from the local to the national level. Depending on the nature of your problem, your political representatives may be able to provide some assistance in resolving it. At a minimum, it can be useful to send local politicians copies of any letters sent in reference to the problem. Repeated complaints from several sources on a given issue will suggest to them that the problem is chronic and that it merits their attention.
The most local-level bodies representing New York City residents are the city's fifty-nine Community Boards. Under the City Charter, Community Boards are supposed to assess the needs of the community and advise city officials and agencies about these needs. Among other things, Community Boards may be able to have an impact on the provision of municipal services, the city budget, land use and zoning. The boards, which consist of up to fifty nonsalaried community residents or businesspeople appointed by the Borough President, hold monthly meetings and public hearings on community issues, adopt non-binding but authoritative recommendations, and submit annual reports to the Mayor on community needs.
