Community Board 10 submitted its wish list for the upcoming city budget, which will be finalized in June.
The process, which includes a number of written recommendations and public hearings with board members and the community, is already underway with four major Fiscal Year 2015 recommendations made so far from CB 10, said district manager Kenneth Kearns.
According to Kearns, the four key requests, in no particular order, are: the dredging of Hammond Cove in Throggs Neck; acknowledgement that the elliptical buildings, the “pavilion” at Orchard Beach, could be turned into a year-round performing arts center; expediting of the Country Club/Waterbury Avenue sewer reconstruction project; and getting more police and law-enforcement vehicles for the 45th Precinct.
“We did not do very well last year, no board did,” said Kearns of CB 10 capital and expense budget requests for Fiscal Year 2014. But he held out hope that community boards might do better this year with the de Blasio administration in place.
“All the indications are the current administration is going to try to do things a little differently than they were done in the past,” he said. “It was elected with a different mandate, so we will see what they can do.”
Hammond Cove
Hammond Cove, near Locust Point, is not living up to its potential because it is silted up and needs to be dredged, said the district manager. It is the site of a city-owned marina, as well as a private one that serves as a rescue site for the FDNY boats, according to sources.
“There is a big boat-owning public in Community Board 10, and on top of that there are other waterborne sports that could be launched from that site, like kayaking or jet-skiing or canoeing,” said Kearns.
The district manager believes that the state Department of Environmental Conservation could also be helpful in moving the dredging projects.
Locust Point Yacht Club member Pat Devine concurred that DEC might be of help. He said that at low tide, many larger boats cannot get in or out of the channel, and this would include FDNY that sometimes dock at LPYC.
Orchard Beach Performance Arts
The elliptical buildings above the current stage at Orchard Beach, built by 20th Century public works honcho Robert Moses, said Kearns, also has more potential.
“We think that it can be winterized,” he said, adding “we think that they should work on that and make it a year-round event space.”
Sewer Project Change Order
A sewer replacement project in Country Club around Waterbury Avenue hit a snag when the contractor discovered a large boulder which changed the scope of the work, according to several sources.
The board is advocating for an expedited ‘change-order’, if possible. The process usually takes several months, said Kearns.
More Police at 45th Precinct
The board service area needs more police for a variety of reasons, including the newly opened malls, an increased population, and a drug-trade that is different than all other Bronx precincts, said Kearns.
“We just need more cops because it is one of the largest geographic regions that needs to be patrolled and we don’t have enough of them,” the district manager said.
