Page 227 - Demo

Bid Approvedfor RepavingCourt St.-WillIt Happen?March 28,1974 PHOENIX Page 3Officials mark instaliation of new, modern traffic light at Montague and HenryStreet intersection this week. Turning on new light for the first time is DemocraticDistrict leader James V. Mangano. To right is Councilman Fred Richmond. Newlight is part of signal modernization along Henry Street, replacing old single signalswhich were d iffic u lt to see by m otorists. (DeAngelis Photo)Azadian Out as Beame Redesigns City Task ForceThe on-again-off-again repaving of Court Street may or may not begin shortly, depending on who or what you wantto believe. The original contract, which called for the work to begin by the end of March 1974, to be done within 180 days, by the Frank Mascali Construction Co. of Flushing was canceled after the contractor withdrew his winning bid in January. Now, after new bidding, the low bidder is the same contractor, but -no contract has yet been awarded says the construction company, so no timetable is set for the work.The original contract called for the repaving of Court Street from Remsen St. in Brooklyn Heights, to Hamilton Avenue beneath the Gowanus Expressway, at a cost of $792,220. The roadbed was to be completely torn up and replaced with a new concrete base, topped with asphalt. Sidewalks the entire length of the street were to be replaced. In the Cobble Hill Historic District, new sidewalks were to be bluestone, and newtraffic signals and trees were to be installed.However, Frank LoCurto of the Mascali Company said that his company had originally defaulted because the City had refused to immediately issue the contract after his bid had been made. %u201cIn the meantime the price of asphalt rose from $27 a ton to $59 a ton. This escalation in prices meant we could no longer afford to do the job at the price we had originally bid. %u201d After what he called %u201crepeated failure%u201d to award the contract, Mascali defaulted in January by withdrawing its bid.After a new round of bidding, Michael Barro, engineering manager for the Brooklyn office of the Highways Department, told the PHOENIX that the contract had been re-bid and the low bidder was again the Mascali Construction Company. Barro said that the work is tentatively scheduled to start in May, but the schedule is awaiting a supply of steel curbs, which he said were %u201chard to get these days.%u201dAccording to Barro, the amount of the new contract is $792,220%u2014the same amount as the old one. NYC Transportation Adm inistration spokesman Werner Swartz, said that he had been %u201cattempting to find out about this matter but I haven%u2019t been able to turn up any information.%u201dLoCurto, however, disputed the city engineer%u2019s figure, saying that he didn%u2019t have the exact figure, but that he is certain it is \$50,000 higher than the previous one. He said that at the moment there is no contract for the Court Street work, and pointed out that the City Charter calls for contracts to be awarded within a 45 day period after the low bidder is chosen. %u201cWe%u2019ve waited 30 days already,%u201d he said, and %u201call this means money,%u201d hinting at another possible withdrawn bid.Meanwhile, Anthony Gambale, president of the Carroll Gardens Association, has been joined by Borough President Sebastian Leone in a plea to the City%u2019s Parks Department for a major tree planting program along Court Street to coincide with the repaving work. The original contract with Mascali Construction called for the planting of 24 new trees.the summer months at theSouth Street Ferry Pier. Ticketswill be available at the door.Reservations can also be madeby calling Ina Feuerstein at 643-1609.The Committee is alsoplanning a Bake Sale forSaturday, May 18th.\to the city%u2019sassistance, our project nowlooks much more viable,%u201d Ms.Bernbach said, \foundations we contacted werewaiting for others to fund usfirst. We're now recontactingthese foundations.%u201d She furthersaid that the Committee is indebted to Councilman FredRichmond, Councilman ThomasCuite. James Mangano. andBorough President . SebastianLeone for their support andhelp.The future Sam Azadian, for seven years a major force in community service work in the Heights-Slope-South Brooklyn area through his chairmanship of the Mayor%u2019s Urban Action Task F%u2019orce, is most likely to be as a private citizen, rather than public servant, despite the pleas of many area community workers and civic leaders, aimed at Mayor Beame during the days since his termination was announced.Azadian, who had recently served as Deputy Commissioner of Water Supply, was notified in early March that his city job would be terminated, thus ending his role as chairman of the local Task Force, which maintains offices at 46 Fourth Avenue. The Task Force, an official arm of the Mayor%u2019s Office of Neighborhood Government, appears to be headed for the same fate as Azadian, according to city officials.John Carty, the new director of the Office of Neighborhood Government, told the PHOENIX on Monday that the administration of Mayor Abe Beame %u201c intends to replace and expand the operations of the Task Forces. At present the proposals are still in the planning stage, and so I can%u2019t release any information,%u201d he said.Carty added, however, that he expects the local Task Force office will be kept open, but did not explain how and under whose leadership. In addition to Azadian, who has spent time on Task Force problems in addition to his city duties, the office is manned by a college student Kenny Arbeeny, who is there on an Urban Fellowship through June 1974. The office averages 50 telephone calls a day for information and assistance in dealing with various city agencies and individual and community problems.One plan being discussed by the Office of Neighborhood Governmerit for rep^2 r%u2018nrnon* TocirForce structure calls for the creation of 50 District Service Cabinets throughout the city with afull-time paid staff of five, including a chairman, two deputies and two community aides. This proposal is a product of the Mayor's Office of Prospect Management and the Deputy Mayor%u2019s Office. Azadian has not been consulted on this or ary plan, he says.The function of these operations,Continued on Page 14Hails Budget for School ConstructionBorough President Sebastian Leone hailed the adoption of almost $8-million in the 1974-75 Capital Budget for school construction as %u201c Continued recognition of Brooklyn%u2019s educational needs and a response to the social, health and recreational needs of our people.%u201d%u201c In Brooklyn,\%u201cthe amendments made by the Board of E stim ate and City Council have added funds that will enable the Board of Education to make a start on the construction of two additional public schools, including P.S. 322 at Baltic Street and 4th Avenue and I.S. 280 at the same site. It will also provide for the extensive rehabilitation of four other schools.%u201cWe are also providing design money for the upgrading, and renovation of six high schools that had not been included in the Capital Budget as originally submitted,\continued. These include: Automotive; Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, Maxwell,East New York and Fort Hamilton High Schools.The budget was also amended to include $2-million for m odernization bv the Transit Authority of the Hoyt-Schermerhorn IND subway station and $300,000 for improvements at the 1RT Nevins Street Station, Leone saidParklets' & PavingFor Flatbush Ave.The long-awaited repaving of Flatbush Avenue from Fourth Avenue to the Grand Army Plaza is scheduled to begin this week, and community leaders have high hopes that the program will do much to augment the renewal of this section of Brooklyn%u2019s major thoroughfare.The paving program will take at least five months to complete and will include the installation of new curbing, the planting of nearly 50 trees, and the construction of two new triangle parks. It is hoped that merchants along the avenue will use this time to refurbish the sidewalks in front of their stores.The two new triangle parks are slated for the intersection at Eighth Avenue, where lights, trees and benches will be installed, and a smaller one at the intersection at Carlton Avenue. These new triiangle parklets will be the first ones completely funded by the city.As Bob Votava from the Office of Downtown Brooklyn Development explained, these spaces were m eant to function as traffic islands. %u201cThe city always meant to curb and pave these to channelize traffic,%u201d he reported, %u201cBut due to community interest and effort, < they decided to follow their lead and build triangle parks instead.%u201diiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHiiiimiimiiPierrepont Playground Awarded Fijnds:Group Plans Benefits4o Raise Other $ NeededComing on the heels of theannouncement by the BrooklynHeights Playground Committeethat the city will provide$100,000 toward the newPierrepont Street Playground,the Committee announced thisweek two benefit activitiesscheduled for this Spring toraise the remaining $40,000.%u201c The $100,000 from the city iscontingent upon our ability toraise the additional $50,000from private sources,%u201d reportedCommittee member TeresaBernbach. She added that theCommittee is already $10,000on the way to their goal.The design for the newplayground is currently undergoing revision, but shouldsoon be available to the community. %u201cWe plan to hold acommunity meeting when theplans are approved by the ParksDepartment in order to getadditional input,\said. The Committee does notforesee any difficulty with ParksDepartment approval so long asthe plan meets the department'ssafety regulations. Theplayground design is beingsupervised by Committeemember and architect, SonjaLocke.The first benefit activity isscheduled for Saturday, April20th, when the Off-CenterTheater will present \Beauty and the Beast\Institute. The performance willbegin at 2 p.m. The Off-CenterTheater is famouse for thechildrens' plays it presents inHiinnmtiiimmmHniniiiifitiwiiiitiminiiiMimiHtiinHniiiiMuiuiihiniiiiiiiiiirnunaiXMHM Tit? mm*155 AtlcnfKi AvenueBrooklyn, Now York 11?0 puN'SrPressA dvor a%u00bbo f dorhoons%u2022%u2022in k a n o nPosfagp Ra TO M a a tiMiiHmiiiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiimimiminiiiiiiimii:iiii!iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiim:iiimiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!iii