Fifth Ave. residents seek Community Board 10’s help to get security camera

Neighbors complain of gunshots, fistfights on sidewalk

March 6, 2018 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Community Board 10 officials said residents have requested the board’s help in getting an NYPD security camera installed at this corner, Fifth Avenue and 81st Street, in Bay Ridge. Eagle photos by Paula Katinas

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A Bay Ridge block is coming under scrutiny from Community Board 10 after residents complained to local officials about large crowds of loud, drunken people regularly getting into fistfights on the sidewalk late at night, disturbing neighbors and leaving everyone in fear for their lives.

The trouble spot is located on Fifth Avenue between 80th and 81st streets. The block, located Bay Ridge’s busy Fifth Avenue shopping strip, is a mixture of commercial and residential use with stores, a bar, a diner and apartment buildings.

Residents have reached out to Community Board 10 for help, according to Josephine Beckmann, the community board’s district manager, who said the situation is showing signs of getting worse.

On Feb. 26, neighbors reported hearing gunshots, Beckmann said.

An NYPD spokesperson confirmed that a call came into 911 reporting gunshots fired at 3:15 a.m. on Feb. 26.

While the spokesperson did not describe the block as a problem location, NYPD records show that there have been five 911 calls from the block since Jan. 1.

In an effort to increase safety, residents have asked for the community board’s help in getting NYPD to install a security camera on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 81st Street.

“This morning we came into the office to learn that there were shots fired in the early morning hours in front 8015 Fifth Ave. Many residents are very shaken up by this as they have reported several fights that have spilled along Fifth Avenue nearby in recent months,” Beckmann told the board at its monthly meeting, which took place on the night of Feb. 26.

While the community board is sympathetic to the residents, Beckmann said neighbors can help their cause by contacting local elected officials.

“We encourage residents to reach out to their local elected officials as Argus Cameras are funded via allocations from elected officials for use within their districts,” she said. “The NYPD will attempt to accommodate specific location requests whenever funding is provided but reserves the right to place cameras as appropriate due to current crime trends and operational needs.”

Also at the Feb. 26 meeting, Beckmann delivered her monthly district manager’s report in which she reported on several local issues. Community Board 10 covers Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights.

Beckmann said a safety-related issue is causing a great deal of concern on 67th Street between Seventh and Eighth avenues, adjacent to Leif Ericson Park. Residents there contacted the community board back in January to report that the streetlights on the block do not work.

“DOT and Con Edison must coordinate and the community board office strives to stay on top of the back and forth between the two entities. It is very frustrating and residents are very upset that they have been in darkness for several weeks,” Beckmann said.

In another community-related development, Beckmann said pre-construction work is currently taking place at 9114 Fifth Ave. in preparation for the construction of a 63-unit hotel at that site.

The hotel will be built across the street from P.S./I.S. 104, located at 9115 Fifth Ave.

The contractor is currently digging test pits at the hotel site. “The test pits were being done on behalf what we were told will be a 63-unit hotel complex directly across the street from PS/IS 104,” said Beckmann, who added that city zoning at that location allows a 70-foot-tall hotel to be built there.

It’s pothole season and Beckmann urged residents to report all potholes on the streets of Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights, the two neighborhoods Community Board 10 covers. The Department of Transportation (DOT) is the agency responsible for filling potholes.

“This is pothole season. Potholes arise from the use of salt, rain and snow. DOT has been working on filling pothole complaints made to 311. Reporting is done very easily through 311. It is also available online or by using 311 app,” Beckmann said.

Community Board 10 has seen more potholes this year, according to Beckmann, who said that in January and February, there were 145 calls coming into 311 as compared to 114 for the same time period in 2017.

Beckmann also urged residents to call 311 as quickly as possible to ensure a timely response. “It is important that calls are made to insure timely repair of street conditions,” she said.

For more information, call Community Board 10 at 718-745-6827.