Community Boards gear up for new year, new issues

It’s back to business after summer hiatus for the community boards and precinct community councils in the east Bronx.

Community Boards 10 and 11 will be taking up full slates of business for the final months of this year and into 2013.

Boards 10 and 11 will hold their first meetings on Thursday, September 20 at 7 p.m.

Community Board 10’s key issues include possible hearings on the new City Island bridge, traffic control for the three major malls planned for the area at Bay Plaza, Whitestone cinema and Brush Avenue, restoring the drug module for the 45th Precinct and dealing with overnight truck parking on local streets.

“All of them are major issues,” said district manager Kenneth Kearns. “We’re working to develop a traffic plan because when these three major malls go up, I-95 will be a parking lot in that area.

We are working on getting the drug module back because our drug sales have gone up and they are more sophisticated than in any other areas, and the overnight truck parking has become a major problem. Community Board 10 is being turned into a truck parking lot.”

Community Board 11 covering Morris Park and surrounding neighborhoods will see a major change in committee structure.

“We used to have geographical committees, now we have changed back to issues committees,” said district manager Jeremy Warneke, who believes the new structure could be more effective.

The new format will have committees based on neighborhood issues, such as parks, sanitation, public safety, and youth.

Some of the issues CB 11 will look into will be smoke-free housing in more apartment buildings and dealing with the Pelham Parkway reconstruction project.

“Since we are in a transitional period, we are really still having meetings to see what each committee wants to focus on and what their major concerns are,” Warneke said.

Meanwhile, the precinct community councils at the sprawling 45th Precinct running from Throggs Neck to Coop City, and the 49th in Morris Park/Allerton will be keeping watch on local crime and enforcement activity.

Robert Bieder, president of the 45th Precinct Community Council said their major concern this year will be reinstating the local drug module.

Joe Thompson, president of the 49th Precinct Community Council said they will be focusing on five main issues in the next couple of months.

The council hopes to enlarge the safe haven program, become more proactive in areas that concern police activity, continue to support civic organizations fighting against drugs use and gangs, collect more food for the needy during the holiday seasons and continue current crime prevention programming.

With additional reporting by Patrick Rocchio