The civic-minded activists of Boerum Hill have done it again; after identifying a neglected park that had the potential of becoming a community asset, they formed a committee, acquired non-profit status, and advocated for change. This month they got it; the Friends of Douglass/Greene Park, Inc., has announced that $800,000 in capital funds has been allocated for renovating Thomas Greene Park. The park abuts a popular swimming pool, the Double D Pool, an amenity lauded by bloggers as one of Brooklyn’s best-kept secrets. The pool at Third Avenue is called the Double D because it is between Douglass and DeGraw streets.

“We are very grateful to Council Members Yassky, de Blasio, and Gonzales and Brooklyn Borough President Marty Moskowitz for supporting the communities’ efforts to upgrade this park,� said Sue Wolfe, Friends president. “Thomas Greene Park is profoundly underutilized and has not been upgraded in decades,� continued Wolfe, who is also the president of the Boerum Hill Association. “The communities surrounding it are in great need of green space.�

The communities that will be served by the renovated park have a well-documented lack of green space, according to a study by Phillips Preiss Shapiro at the request of the Boerum Hill Association and made possible by a grant from the JM Kaplan.

Although all are welcome to the Double D Pool and will be welcome to the new park, the immediate areas that will be served are Boerum Hill, Carroll Gardens, Park Slope and Gowanus, including the Wyckoff Gardens and the Gowanus and Warren Street Houses. The project’s community-based partners include Gowanus Canal Conservancy, The Fifth Avenue Committee, and South Brooklyn Industrial Development Corporation.

The newly elected board of the Cobble Hill Association is already making waves; it has scheduled a date for the revival of a community favorite — the Annual Dinner in Cobble Hill Park. Residents who have been around for a while will recall the tables laden with homemade goodies and the yearly opportunity to catch up with old friends and make new ones while chowing down.

The date and time have been set — Wednesday, September 10, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., but a big event such as this doesn’t happen magically and volunteers are needed to help make it a success. Volunteer opportunities come in many forms, from lending strong backs for carrying tables to whipping up a batch of Aunt Myrtle’s decadent brownies. To lend a hand in helping bring back a Cobble Hill tradition, contact Susan Dowling at dowlingct@gmail.com.

Faithful Hills & Gardens readers know that I have been following the progress of a law intended to limit the paper pollution caused by unwanted circulars, menus, and advertisements left on our stoops and slipped through our mail slots. This occurs, in many cases, despite signage on our homes asking leafleteers to go away. After passage by the state assembly and senate of what has come to be known as the Lawn Litter Law, Mayor Bloomberg designated the Department of Sanitation as its lead enforcement agency. Offenders of the Lawn Litter Law may be hit with hefty fines (not less than $250 and no more than $1,000 for each violation), but the burden of proof here is on the property owner.

Here’s how it works: You have posted a sign that states in one-inch letters “Do Not Place Unsolicited Advertising Materials On This Property.� Your sign is at least five inches tall and seven inches wide and is in a conspicuous location. In spite of the signage, you find circulars on your property. You then obtain a property owner complaint affidavit form through the Department of Sanitation website, www.nyc,gov/html/dsny/ or by calling 311. Once you receive your form — and here’s the kicker — it must be “duly notarized before a notary public and submitted with the unsolicited advertisements left on the property.� Wait, here’s more: “Anyone submitting a property owner complain affidavit that results in a department’s issuance of a notice of violation may be called upon to appear at a hearing by the environmental control board for the city to testify in the matter."

I consider this rigmarole an onerous chore. How about a few undercover sanitation inspectors who have been alerted to the shenanigans of the scofflaws? How about fattening the city’s shrinking coffers with those fines? Knowing New Yorkers, I am sure that there will be those who put themselves through the paces in order to stop the mess, and my hat goes off to them. Meanwhile, we lesser mortals will continue to dutifully unwrap the unwanted flyers from their wasteful plastic envelopes and throw them in our recycling bins.

Homeowners may obtain signs that will be accepted by the Department of Sanitation at the office of Assemblywoman Joan Millman.

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Just a reminder, though -- It’s not considered polite to paste the entire story on your blog. Most blogs post a summary or the first paragraph,( 40 words) then post a link to the rest of the story. That helps increase click-throughs for everyone, and minimizes copyright issues. So please keep posting, but not the entire article. arturc at att.net

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