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April 4,1974 PHOENIX P a g t 3District 15 Picks Doputy toBe New School Supt.BY DAN ICOLARIAlfred Melov, most recently District 15%u2019s deputy superintendent for curriculum and supervision of instruction, has been appointed superintendent of Community School District 15. He will serve in this capacity for a two-year term, ending June, 1976.According to Philip Kaplan, president of the community school board, the selection process involved a steady narrowing-down from an initial 75 applicants to 30, from 30 to 18, from 18 to 6, and from 6 to 1-Alfred Melov.Melov attended the University of Michigan and Teachers College of Columbia University (%u201c and many others,%u201d he says), has served as principal of P.S, 8 in the Heights (1957-62), P.S. 29 in Cobble Hill (1962-71), and was deputy superintendent from 1971 until his recent appointment.%u201c Until the advent of community school boards, many administrators never even considered the need for community input-theydidn%u2019t have to,%u201d said Melov, in an exclusive interview. %u201cTenured professionals simply rose automatically through the ranks of the central board.%u201d But as the new superintendent, Melov intends toM elovPlanners Tag CanalSite for Public UsesContinuedThis vote by the City Planning Commission is the first official action to be taken regarding the future of this site, culminating years of work by community activists who wanted the site put to various public uses, including a park, a recreation area, housing, or a new high school. All agreed, however, that the adjacent industrial area along the Gowanus Canal included much deserted land and vacant buildings, and that this site should be put to public use.This consensus, reached thru dozens of community meetings, and through the work of a community committee appointed by Mayor Lindsay early in 1973, appeared to have %u2019made the decision all but final untilearlier this year, when it was discovered that the site had been sold to a developer, Louis Rosenberg, last fall, for use as a shopping center site.The first public revelation of this plan came at the February public hearing of the Commission, where it was contended that the developer knew that condemnation of the land was a possibility. Rosenberg vigorously denied this allegation, and has publicly vowed to contest any official decision in court. He says that he has invested $1.5 million in purchase, plans and improvement of the site, and has estimated that the finished shopping mall would cost approximately $4 million, and would include a supermarket and parking space for 400 cars.be community-oriented and responsive. And though he admits the political aspect of the job can be a problem, he%u2019d rather have community input, whatever the attendant difficulties.He feels the relationship between school and home is continuously reinforced by the community school board; that when decisions on staff and policy can be arrived at jointly, the likelihood of success-an improvement in the quality of education-is greater.As the new superintendent, Melov has two immediate goals: animprovement of skills at the elementary level through a prescriptive, individualized approach; and the implementation of structural changes at the junior-high level, in order to humanize the learning environment.Melov points out that junior high schools tend to be so large and impersonal, they turn kids off. %u201c We%u2019ve seen a marked decline in skills and motivation when somekids enter junior high,\with the unanimous approval of its parents' association, District 15 is experimenting with the conversion of one school from a kindergarten through grade 5 enrollment to a kindergarten through grade 8 enrollment. It is felt this return to a more traditional arrangement will eliminate the need for adjustment to a new school setting at a difficult age (12 or 13), and will break down to a manageable size the mammothContinued on Page 16iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHitiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHeights Block Associationsto Form Federation toBetter Mobilize ResidentsBY DAN ICOLARIOn March 18. Al Tomei ofOrange Street sent out a mailingto presidents of Heights blockassociations in which he expressed his contention that \this era of Watergate, with thepublic%u2019s confidence in government at its lowest ebb, we mustdo something to insure a betterway of life for ourselves and ourneighbors.%u201dAt a meeting on April 1, thefeasibility of creating afederation of block associationswithin the Heights wasdiscussed representatives ofmost of the ten existingassociations attending as well asEd Rullman of the BrooklynHeights Association.At first it seemed the virginfederation%u2019s biggest problemmight be finding something to doin an area which already isextensively organized, bothpolitically and around specificissues, such as pollution.But as participants grew morevocal, a few interesting--andimportant-feelings surfaced:that many Heights apartmentdwellers feel utterly alienatedfrom their block associations.%u201c It%u2019s always been a question ofthe carriage trade versus therenters,\resident said. \tend to be more active.%u201dIn this connection, severalpeople expressed the opinionthat the Heights Associationrepresents the interests ofhomeowners and landlords overtenants. Not so, said Ed Rullman.outlining the Association's policyof dialogue with the blocks andwith block residents%u2014owners orrenters.A representative of theWillowtown Association, whichserves the area bounded byHicks Street, Joralemon Street.Columbia Place and StateStreet, expressed the need ofher Association for dialogue withand support from other Heightsblock associations.So it seems the proposedfederation is potentially morethan just another organizationthat holds regular meetings. Itmay serve as a vehicle fordialogue between residentsthroughout the Heights,whether they own or rent: itmay be able to assist individualblock associations in mobilizingsupport around local (block)issues; it can feed much-neededinformation to and establishdialogue with the BrooklynHeights Association; and it mayvery well become a force to bereckoned with at meetings ofCommunity Planning Board No6. serving the role of communityor block advocate. And that's apretty good start.The group meets again onApril 23. All block associations inthe Heights are invited to berepresented To learn more, callTomei at 624-3820.IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIlillllllimillllllllllllllilllllllllllijllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllillllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllligilllllHIIIHILICH 'Working Out' Bldg Plans;Locals Fear Non-Stop GrowthBy John BlackmoreJohn B. Wingate, Associate Administrator of Long Island College Hospital, further elaborated last week on the hospital%u2019s modernization plan submitted to the State Health Commission last January, particularly with reference to the impact of the plan on the community. In a memo circulated last week, Mr, Wingate hinted at a possible solution of the parking problem, and the eventual return tu iuc coin rfi unity Gi SO me Gi tile brownstones it currently uses for office space. He also offered rebuttle to the suggestion forwarded by certain Cobble Hill community leaders, that the new Extended Care Facility be permanently used to house acute care patients.Concerning parking, Wingate said that the hospital is current!v working on a %u201cnearly sure cure,%u201d which he hopes to be able to announce by the middle of May. Headded that detailing the solution now might jeapordize the plan. Two weeks ago Wingate reported that the hospital plans to create new parking space by the demolition of certain buildings on the corner of Henry and Pacific Streets.The hospital officeal also mentioned the possibility of selling off brownstones the institution currently used for hospital offices. He said, however, that this will only be possible when and if the iiGspiicu creates comparable office space at other locations. But this, he suggested, cannot be done %u201cunitl we have closed the mortgage on the modernization plan and this closing cannot possibly occur until mid-1975 or after.\Some community representatives, such as Alan Kone, President of the Pacific StreetR lork Ascnriatinn have snoopstpH . .. , - --- -------that the hospital could substantially cut down on the bulk of the proposed acute care center if itwould use part of the new ECF to house acute care patients. Wingate responded to this suggestion, saying that the hospital has been informed that such permanent use for acute care is illegal. He also termed such use for the facility, a %u201cmistake,%u201d saying that the 406 ECF beds as well as the 567 acute beds are needed. He added furtherSee Editorial Page 12Vv ingale Id le r Page 13that the ECF was not built to house acute care patients. The hospital is currently negotiating a proposal with the state to %u201cborrow%u201d the ECF beds for acute care use while construction and renovation of acute care facilities are going on elsewhere.One of the main issues that have%u2019 caused community concern over the hospital's modernization planis that it constitutes a significant, expansion of the hospital, and thus a significant incursion into the community. The main battle over expansion was won by the hospital with the building of the 406-bed Extended Care Facility last year. This constituted a doubling in size of the hospital. In the current modernization proposal. 160 beds from the hospital%u2019s Prospect Heights branch will be transferred to the Cobble Hill location.%u201cThe main argument in the community agaiuSt c-AjjaiL&um io that once you have a 1000+ bed facility, you won%u2019t be able to stop the growth of the hospital,\Sayegh comments. Sayegh,155 Atlantic Avenue Brooklyn, New York U201 le i 64j iuj;A w eekly c o m m u n ity new spaper published 50 tim es a year by Advocate Press Inc. serving the neighborhoodsPresident of the Cobble Hill CivicAction Group, added %u201cNobody disagrees that the hospital needs refurbishing, it%u2019s just the kind of hospital that will result.%u201dSayegh was one of the community leaders contacted by the Phoenix last week who received the hospital's formal proposal nearly two months after it had been released to the State Health Department. Although the concept of the new proposal was outlined atf * ! -------t - I J I . r , 11 , mui mc-ciuiga nciu iaai tan uiiulithe aegis of the City Comprehensive Health Planning Agency, none of the community people contacted by the PhoenixContinued on Page UiiwmwtmMiMHHMmftiHHHimw%u25a0 mwmisurrounding Downtown Brooklyn in cludmg Boerum Mill. Brooklyn He.ghts, Carroll Gardens. Cobble H ill, Fort Greene and Park Slope Subscript .on i$Apphca' on to M ail at Second Class Postage Rates is Pendinq a%u00bb Brooklyn,New York