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Page 6 PHOENIX February 14,1974Special ZoneCould HelpWe like the sound of the idea for the special Atlantic Avenue zoning district we heard explained last week by the City%u2019s Office of Downtown Brooklyn Development. Atlantic Avenue is one of our area%u2019s very special resources, and some meaningful way to control its development without inhibiting meaningful change is a desirable goal indeed.The vision of what unregulated development can do sits at the corner of Atlantic and Nevins Street, where a private developer, thanks to city funds, has constructed what must rank as one of the most ugly new buildings constructed in our area. The reconstruction of three buildings on the south side of Atlantic between Hoyt and Bond is a more desirable alternative. Though we could have ended up with better, it certainly could have been worse.Now, we have the vision of a wide empty space to tempt the ambitious developer in the open former site of the Five Star Garage at Atlantic and Third. What happens here can and would be regulated by the new proposed zoning district. We hope it can be enacted quickly before we end up with another \worse yet, a gas station.Compromise!We were pleased to hear that a compromise may be in the works concerning the location of a floating restaurant in the East River at the foot of Fulton.Street (Cadman Plaza West). See story elsewhere in this issue. The controversy over the eventual location of the land-based portion of the facility seems to have been solved by simply requiring the concessionaire to move within a given time period. The only hitch remaining is the definition of the requirement. Brooklyn Heights Association President Ed Rullman is rightly skeptical over a vague, permissive clause that would require action by the local planning board. We believe that if everyone agrees, why not simply write the lease to require the move at a given time.One DistrictThe correspondence this week concerning the unification of the Boerum Hill neighborhood into one police precinct underscores pleas that have been made earlier and rejected by the Police Department. The neighborhood is currently divided into three precincts %u2014 the 84th, the 78th and the 76th. Councilman Fred Richmond last year started to do something to change this, supported by virtually everyone in the area. But, the Police Commissioner initially has said no. We hope the correspondence printed here, added to the study and pleas that have gone before, will help underscore the determination of local officials to see some results on this problem, and we hope the Police Commissioner will reconsider his hasty decision and find some way to solve the Boerum Hill problem.riu- 1%u2019IKIKMX is published SO times a year by Advocate l%u2019ress. Inc., 130 Clinton Street, Brooklyn. Newseription by mail in New York State, effective July 1,1073 is outside New York, $0.M ichael A. A rm strong, Publisher1 3 0 C lin to n S tre e t B ro o k ly n 11201T ~ I I Cl, l a ou o1 A O O I KJ kJ LWAY BACK WHEN DEPARTMENT: Sails were still one way tobeat the energy crisis in 1900 when this view of the BrooklynBridge and Manhattan from Brooklyn was taken. Fulton Ferry,where proposed new floating restaurant would be docked, is inforeground. Photo courtesy Long Island Historical Society.Hoist the Mainsail!teg***.! H%u25a0 * 1.. %u25a0%u201d >%u25a0%u25a0 \1 ui ^ I %u25a0 ! %u2022 1v 1On Limited Income?Social Security HasSpecial Income $Brooklyn Borough President Sebastian Leone today urged the estimated 70,000 elderly, blind and disabled Brooklyn residents on limited incomes to %u201c make certain that they apply for the monthly cash payments to which they are entitled under the Federal government%u2019s Supplemental Security Income program.\Speaking at a Borough Hall press conference, Leone praised the SSI ALERT project of the Community Council of Greater New York which is designed to make all eligible citizens aware of the benefits which the new program provides.%u201c As you know, the Federal government, on January 1st of this year, instituted its new Supplemental Security Income program which provides monthly cash payments for the elderly, blind and disabled who are now living on fixed and limited incomes,\\tms long-sougnt legislation represents a giant step forward in guaranteeing the most needy of our residents a decent standard of living, it is unfortunate that an estimated 200,000 eligible citizens are unaware that these benefits are now available.\pleased to join with the Community Council of Greater New York, through their SSI ALERT project, to urge the 70,000 Brooklynites who qualify for assistance to apply for their benefits at their local Social Security office.Leone explained the eligibility requirements and outlined the recipient benefits for the SSI system. %u201c Generally,%u201d he said, \he or she is 65 or older, or blind or disabled of any age, with a total monthly income of less than $227 or less than $292 if he or she is working. In the Borough of Brooklyn, more than 12,000 people have already applied for SSI%u2019s monthly cash payments. While we are gratified and encouraged by this initial response,%u201d he continued, \are still approximately 40,000 people in Brooklyn wjio are potentially eligible for SSI but who have not yet applied for it.\hci c m Brooklyn, lie explained, \soon be seven neighborhood-based SSI ALERT teams, located in the Williamsburg, Coney Island, Borough Hall, BedfordStuyvesant, Flatbush. East New York, and Kings Plaza sections.\receive as much as $2U6.88each month in SSI payments,\Leone added. %u201c But only an interviewer at the local Social Security office can determine the exact amount of each recipient's SSI check. All SSI recipients automatically receive Medicaid, and it is important to note that this is a Federal program, conducted by the Social Security Administration. The Boro Hall office may be reached by calling 596-4100.