Here is your chance to meet and greet representatives from your city agencies.
Community Board 10 and the Waterbury-LaSalle Community Association are hosting another of their “Agency Meet & Greet Nights,” where representatives from different city agencies, as well as from local grassroots community organizations, will be setting up tables at P.S. 14 on Thursday, June 12 at 7 pm.
Representatives from the agencies will engage local residents, who sometimes may feel detached or even alienated from the large city bureaucracy that provides them with an array of necessary services.
“A lot of times people have problems that the local government can address, but they don’t really know where to go,” said WLCA board member Mary Jane Musano. “Sometimes they feel intimidated reaching out to agencies.”
Events like this bridge a gap, she said.
“The public gets to meet someone in the agency, they may get someone’s card, and they can have leave a table with a good feeling,” she said. “The agencies have an idea of what is on people’s minds and it helps them to do their jobs better.”
Community Board 10 district manager Kenneth Kearns said that the meet and greet – which doubles as WLCA’s June meeting – is a terrific opportunity to reach out to people in government who can help with some of their problems.
“This is a wonderful opportunity for neighborhood residents to visit one-on-one with the agencies, to have problems solved, and to better understand how New York City serves its population,” said Kearns.
CB 10 Constituent and Business Liaison Patrick Caruso and the board office provided invaluable help in getting numerous city agencies to say yes to the invitation, said Musano.
Among the city agencies attending are: Department of Environmental Protection, Fire Department, Human Resources Administration, Human Rights Commission, Sanitation Department, Department of Finance, Department of Education, Department of City Planning, Department of Buildings, Bronx District Attorney’s Office, Police Department Community Affairs Office, NYPD Crime Prevention, Parks Department, and New York City Public Library.
Among the community groups expected to take part are: the Throggs Neck Community Action Partnership, Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, 45th Precinct Explorers, Phipps Beacon After School Program, Bartow Pell Mansion, Friends of Ferry Point Park and Waterway, Bronx Animal Shelter Endeavor, East Bronx Coastal Working Group, and Ferry Point Community Advocates.
There will also be groups who can speak about community-supported agriculture, composting, as well as neighboring community associations.
