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Local Community Boards Set Budget PrioritiesHigh School Reconstruction Tops List In CB2 For Eighth Year RunningBY LIZ KOCHIn a three-hour meeting at the New York Telephone Company on oct. 8, downtown%u2019s Community Board Two adopted its priorities for the upcoming City Capital Budget and Expense and Community Development Budgets for fiscal year 1988. Both sets of budget priorities were approved nearly unanimously and represented little change in request for funding over last year%u2019s requests, with only two new requests for funding in the Capital Budget.By a vote of 25-0-1, the full board approved the FY 1988 capital budget requests, including several items that have been on the list for many years. The board%u2019s number one priority item for eight years, the construction of an enclosed walkway at Sarah J. Hale High School, tops the Ust again this year. Other top ten priority items in the Capital Budget also remain identical, including the rehabilitation of Crispus Attucks Park House, the rehabilitation of P.S. 67, construction of a new 88th Precinct station house, improvement of lighting in Fort Greene Park, rehabilitation of Fort Greene Park, rehabilitation of Cadman Plaza Memorial Park and construction of an auditorium at Lewis H. Latimer School.Two new budget items were added to thebudget this year. Funding was requested for the Atlantic Avenue Historic Railway Museum and money was requested for pedestrian street lighting on Atlantic Avenue from Flatbush to the river. These requests were put forth by the Atlantic Avenue Local Development Corporation (ALDC). The funding for the lighting was given a priority number of 14 out of 40 Capital Budget requests. The Atlantic Avenue Tunnel money, an amount that would come to $2.5 million, would be allocated to the ALDC to oversee the financing of the project and was designated 39 on the priority list.For the expense and community development budget, a resolution proposed by board member Ann King slightly changed the order of priorities established by the Budget committee.In order of priority, the FY 1988 budget calls for funding of the Thelma Hill Performing Arts Center, the Alonzo Players Inc., the Jazz Heritage Society, to continue funding for the Young People%u2019s Cadet Corp., to fund Atlantic Avenue commercial revitalization from Flatbush to Court Street, to continue funding for Pratt Area Community Council housing office, fund commercial revitalization of Fulton Street from Clermont to Classon Avenue, to implement the beautification of Flatbush Ave. Extension from the Manhattan Bridge to Atlantic Ave., to fund the Islamic Community School and Family Services and to provide funds for an increase to the community board.Little discussion surrounded the actual content of the budget at the meeting that night, but board member Howard Zimmerman questioned the low number of new requests that year and proposed that the board do more outreach in upcoming years to gain community input in the budgetary process.%u201cIn the 12-month period it is hard to believe there were no other requests,%u201d he said. %u201cI think the board should do more to guarantee participation,%u201d he added.In other business during this regular monthly meeting of the board, its members also approved a resolution proposing a change in the route description for Metro Apple Express, a company that applied for a franchise to provide express bus service between Borough Park, Dyker Heights, New Utrecht and the Manhattan central business district and between Bay Ridge and Sunset Park and Downtown Brooklyn. The transportation committee proposal suggested that bus be staged at Cadman Plaza East across from the Post Office, rather than in front of the Borough President%u2019s office where the company had initially proposed. The committee also recommended that turn signals be retimed to reduce the traffic problem potentially caused by the bus. The resolution also stated that in the event that the company would stray from the certified route, the Bureau of Franchise should suspend the application. Transportation chair Roy Vanasco pointed out that the restriction would hopefully discourage buses from using alternate routes.Board chair Jerry Renzini also announced that night that board member Carolyn Hubbard would be leaving the board because she was moving to Germany. Member Sixta Ponce will now chair the board%u2019s Education Committee and Francis Perry will chair the Health and Social Services Committee. Renzini also announced the formation of a nominating committee to nominate potential chairpersons for each committee for the coming new year.Board members who were not in attendance at the October 8 monthly meeting included: Leslie Agard-Jones, Edward Carter, Robert Evans, Earl Johnson, Tom Massotti, Albert Parham, Vivian Patterson, Francis Perry, Ethel Purnell, Elijah Smith, I^eonard Walit, Mort Starobin, Maureen Mcl^eod, Maria Lemons, and Steve Bartley.Red Hook Development Tops List Of Needs For The CB6 Area BudgetBY ROB TAYLORWith one abstention from Raphael Martinez, Slope/South Brooklyn Community Board Six adopted a list of preliminary requests it has set as priority for its district in the upcoming City of New York budget.The Capital and Expense Budget requests for the 1988 Fiscal Year include a number of on-going projects and items that have been included in previous years%u2019 budgets and by the time the list was finalized for the board to vote there was virtually no discussion on any additional requests. The action was taken at the board%u2019s regular monthly meeting Oct. 8.Topping off the list is a request for funds to reconstruct the Red Hook Track, Stadium and Ballfields. Last year%u2019s list gave top priority to the project as well. Otherfamiliar capital expense requests included: funds for the reconstruction of Sackett St.; funds for the spruce up of the playground at Lorraine and Clinton Sts.; and funds for the spruce up of the playground at Smith, Nelson and Luquer Sts.Three commercial street revitalization projects in the CB6 area were again the major priorities on the expense budget list. Last year, funds for the revitalization of Smith St., Seventh Ave. South and Fifth Ave. were ranked one, two and three and were again given this designation this year.A fourth commercial street revitalization project on Red Hook%u2019s Van Brunt St. was eliminated this year. During last year%u2019s meetings, a request was added at the last minute for a study of a revitalization project in the neighborhood, but at the CB6 budgetcommittee meeting, Oct. 1, the Van Brunt Merchants Association failed to send a representative to explain why the organization did not properly follow through with their request. Dianne O%u2019Donnell, the merchant group%u2019s chairperson, has also resigned from the community board.Other items on this year%u2019s Expense Budget Request that were on the list last year include: funds for the city housing projects collection team; funds for additional housing police in CB6 housing projects; and funds to continue the Target Home Improvement Program to the CB6 area.Martinez said he abstained from supporting the requests because he was told by merchants on Fifth Ave. that they were not aware of the reconstruction plans for the street and were worried about how the work would disrupt their businesses. However, Boardmember Peggy Buffalano pointed out that the Transportation Committee has held extensive meetings about the project and that many merchants attend the meetings.The list was compiled by CB6 District Manager Bob Acito and the Budget Committee reviewed items on the list that they felt needed special consideration. Board members were asked to notify the committee and Acito with any requests that they wanted to have included on the list.Some of the items are continuing projects that die board has consistently supported and in all likelihood will be included in some of the agency budgets that are already being prepared. Other projects will need to be included by a heavy lobbying effort when theCity Council begins budget preparations in January.The budget requests will be forwarded to the City%u2019s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Oct. 31 and copies will be sent to the City Council members. In November and January, the agencies will then begin their departmental request and will report back to OMB what CB6 items were included.Acito said it will then be left up to elected officials to lobby the agencies. %u201cThen we push and pull our councilmembers to see what they can do on budget items that weren%u2019t included as agency priorities,%u201d he says.Membership And Attendance Are Continuing Problems In Slope/South Brooklyn BoardMembership was the primary topic of discussion at the monthly Community Board Six meeting October 8, when the Slope/So. Brooklyn board accepted the resignation of long time board insurgent, James Malone. Malone and several other members have often accused the board %u2014 and the politicians who recommend members %u2014 as not representing the ethnic or population breakdown of the CB6 area.Malone%u2019s resignation, coupled with four other members who have resigned or been removed, has left the 50-member ranks of CB6 severely depleted. In previous meetings both membership and attendance issues have repeatedly sparked heated arguments between the various populations of the board,although all factions agree that a problem exists.%u201cI think it%u2019s a problem that many community boards have and we have tried to deal with it this year,%u201d says CB6 Chairperson, Louise Finney. %u201cClearly we have been looking for people who represent the community as well as come from a diverse ethnic background, geographic background and have been very active in their neighborhoods.%u201dEarlier in the year, Finney had appointed a committee to review member recruitment policies for CB6 with rookie member Dawn Cardi as chairperson. Cardi reported back to the board about her committee%u2019s meetings and presented a number of suggestions to generate a more diverse body.In addition to Cardi, Selma Abramowitz, Joan Geitz, Sybil Henderson, A1 Cabbad and Raphael Martinez were also member of the committee. Martinez has often voiced concern that the board membership did not accurately reflect the ethnic mix of the neighborhoods that comprise CB6, which he says is heavily Black and Hispanic.This year, two minority board members, Ephner Green and Michael Carbajal who was appointed in Feb., were both removed from CB6 for failure to attend meetings. Members must miss five meetings without an excuse before removal procedures can begin. At last week%u2019s meeting, the board members agreed to begin the procedures to remove another minority representative only recently appointed, Ramone Vasquez. Two C o n tin u e d on Pane 10It%u2019s Happy Trails Again At Prospect Park, Thanks To These City KidsP rospect Park A d m in is tra to r T u p p er T h o m a s (left) w a tc h e s as R a n g e r R ick G arcia sn ip sthe ribbon on th e n ew ly re fu rb is h e d P ro s p e c t Park b rid le path. F o llo w in g th e ribbon c u tting cerem ony, th e kids, w ho g u ssied up th e path th at c irle s th e park, got to try out th e irh an d yw o rk w ith a ride led by th e people at th e C u lm it S ta b le s , w h o u se th e park for trailrides. A b arb eq u e fo llo w e d th e ride. (P h o e n ix /C h e e c h P h o to s)O cto ber 16, 1986, TH E P H O E N IX . Page 5