Page 469 - Demo

Librar\\/ Suffers %u25a0 wnimr m \Staff, Budget CutsLarry Brandwein, Deputy Director of the Brooklyn Public Library, says that the proposed 1974/75 expense budget for Brooklyn%u2019s library system %u201c mandates a decrease in library service to the people of Brooklyn.%u201dBrandwein explained that the figure allotted by the City%u2019s Bureau of the Budget usually contains a number of \says are positions the library must leave vacant. At some time during the fiscal year the library returns the salaries for these vacant positions to the City, which regards these monies as discretionary funds to be spent on various emergencies not covered by conventional budgeting because they can%u2019t be anticipated.He said this is standard policy for many city-funded agencies and institutions, but added that this year%u2019s budget is especially unrealistic because it has eliminated 18 positions within the library and has, in addition, raised the accruals figure by $100,000. It is obvious thenet effect must be a reduction of services.In a statement delivered at the 1974/75 expense budget public hearing on May 30, Brandwein asked that the accruals figure for the library not be increased; that the 18 positions eliminated in the budget be restored; that additional staff be hired for the reopening of the Boerum Hill-Park Slope Pacific Community Library, now housed temporarily in the Third Avenue YWCA; and that two clerks be assigned the Red Hook Community Library, which will replace a one-room storefront.Monitored by a security guard at the main entrance who clocks in each visitor and through a check of circulation figures, Brandwein says use of the Central Library at Grand Army Plaza has increased significantly over the last eleven months. He attributes this increase to the recently-completed renovation of the facility, but adds, %u201cwhatever the reason, we%u2019ve got to have adequate staff to maintain services.%u201dFt. Greene/ClintonHill School Gets $District 13%u2019s P.S. 20 in Fort Greene/Clinton Hill is one of 17 schools in the City%u2014and the only school in the downtown brownstone neighborhoods-to have been awarded funds by the Board of Education as an Optional Unzoned school.Under a $10,000 grant, P.S. 20%u2019s Open Corridor (described as a %u201c school without walls%u201d within the school) will be available to children from outside the mandated school area and from outside the district as well. Parents who worked on the optional unzoned school proposal feel that the Open Corridor%u2019s demonstrated success in raising reading and math scores substantially above grade levels was probably the main factor in the school%u2019s selection by the Central Board.Other gains won by the school%u2019s Open Education Committee working with the school P.T.A. include provision for a joint prep period for all open-ed teachers, and on going supervision by a trained coordinator.The Open Corridor at P.S. 20 is a self-contained unit occupying onehalf of the third floor of the school. It has classes from first through fifth grades; a sixth-grade class will be added next year, as well as an additional feeder first-grade class. Teachers working in the program have trained at the Bank Street College of Education, at Brooklyn Friends School, and at the Open Education Workshop.P.S. 20 is near several major bus lines and can be reached easily from any of the downtown neighborhoods. Visit Ms. Grace Schwartzman, Open Corridor coordinator, P.S. 20, 225 Adelphi Street (between DeKalb and Willoughby Avenues).r ------------------------ .%u2014 , --------, ------------------------------%u25a0 D esigns by Ita C ortale1* M argaret v ille, Now York1iiJbrthe benefit of Heights %u00a3 Hill Gouncil RUMMAGE SALEused articles of ail sorts} in goodcondition, are needed,.. also Volunteers to help a re needed.Jurie22nd, 1^74iO to^patI ' / # ! T | W I | | O V U l /Articies may be left atGrace Church, 254 Hicks St%u25a0for information can: (b2M1850SPONSORED BY THE WOMAN'S SERVICE CLUBBY ROSEMARYSCHARRENBROICHBergen St. Assn, is Ready toBegin WorkFor New Play-Park1ff111111111*111IILet Us Hear AboutLocal ParkProblemsThe 200 Bergen Street Block Association has just approved the final design for their vestpocket park to be located in the vacant lots on the block's south side between Bond and Nevins Streets. Approval of the plans coincided with the Association%u2019s acquisition of the second of the two adjacent 16 X 100 foot lots. The second lot was secured by the city from private ownership for non-payment of taxes and was leased to the Association for a 99-year term. The Association now leas: ! *jth lots from the city for two dollars per year.Success of the park venture, to date, has been due to the diligence and hardwork of the closely-knit resident body and to the fact that legal and design services were volunteered by block residents.Arnold Craig Levin, an interior designer and five-year resident of the block, submitted the plans and model at the last Association meeting, culminating for him what began as a senior-year student design project at Pratt Institute.%u201c It wasavery idealistic design then,\says, %u201c It would have meant that everyone in the Wyckoff-Bergen Streets quadrant would have had to give up part of their backyards for a commons.' %u2019Mr. Levin offered to redesign the park %u201c more realistically\two-year period, submitted several designs which attempted to incorporate residents%u2019 needs and requests.%u201c We submitted questionnaires to every household to find out what people wanted included in the park,%u201d he says. %u201c I think only five questionnaires were returned.\During the next three years while the Association went about acquiring the lots, the park proposal sometimes stirred heated debate revealing residents%u2019 doubts and fears.Some residents worried about excessive noise and others feared a park would only attract muggers, drunks and addicts to the block. Some Association members propounded a %u201c locked garden\to block residents. Several members urged a quick and inexpensive play lots solutions.%u201c Personally, I was against the play lots idea,\Mr. Levin says. %u201c It%u2019s a good temporary solution, but asphalt paving and high cyclone fences do not improve the visual or social quality of a residential area.\%u201c We also wanted to use more imaginative play equipment with continuing intrigue value for children. We wanted the park to be used.\Geared toward durability and low maintenance, the plan combines seating, planting, and play areas in a well-integrated and visually pleasing use of space.Enclosed on three sides by a 12-foot panel-brick wall, the park will be a two-level affair with the L-shaped play area below street level. The sunken play area will act as a natural confinement to play activity making it easier for parents to supervise young children.In the rear of the park, the play pit will be furnished with movable equipment so that it can double as a mini-amphitheater for block events. Low-rise steps will serve as seating.The entrance to the park will feature a trellis-type structure with plantings, lighting, and a recessed gate that will be locked at night. Brick pavers will be brought out to the street and with trees and a kiosk for posting neighborhood events, an inviting plaza-like quality will be achieved.The park will also have a fountain with a basin for toe-dipping, a feature that received unanimous vote from block residents.Acknowledging that the park will cost in the %u201c tens of thousands%u201d , Mr. Levin says that with monies raised from past block fairs and a Parks Council matching fund in the offing, there should be enough capital to begin clearing and gradinglor-Nz-4 f*i im m n r U %u2022 %u2022 V*i iw II oc* i i ii i iu i .The Association will be incorporated as a non-profit organization to encourage taxdeductible contributions for the park, which, while being maintained by block residents, will be open to everyone.June 6, 1974, PHOENIX, Page 13