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Red Hook Firem an Clinches Top Union JobBY IRENE VAN SLYKE%u201c It's like the Mets winning the World Series%u201d says Thomas Gates, a Red Hook fireman, of his election to a position on the 10 member Executive Board of the Uniformed Firefighters Association.Admittedly it was a long shot for Gates, who never held a union position before in the 11,000 member organization but then he says, %u201d 1 identify with the firemen.%u201d Gates, after serving four years as a housing cop, joined the Fire Department and worked for nine years in Ladder Company 131 on Hamilton Avenue in Red Hook. This year Gates decided to run for the citywide position of %u201c Sergeant at Arms%u201d of his union because, he says, the incumbent leadership was %u201c not doing anything,%u201d adding indignantly that they %u201conly got a 3 percent pay raise,%u201d in the last union contract.Gates speaks with affection for the men he worked with before moving to his Broadway office in Manhattan. He obviously loves being a fireman but recently had to spend time in Long Island College Hospital with a herniated disc and was told that he could not return to a fireman%u2019s duties.%u201c I didn%u2019t want to get out,%u201d Gates emphatically says of his job at Ladder Co. 131, but running for theThomas Gates (in the suit) stands w ith the members ot Red Hook Ladder Company 131Sergeant at Arms position seemed an attractive alternative.Visiting firehouses he distributed flyers which said that hisonly qualification was that he was a firefighter. It was an uphill battle though in a race with three other candidates, one of them theincumbent Sergeant at Arms. But after the returns came in Gates came in second and forced a run off. The run off, in a surprise upset.produced a solid Gates victory.vjatcs describes his new job as \and %u201cchecking badges,%u201d to make sure only union members attend. He also enjoys the learning experience of attending committees discussing grievance procedures or pending legislation that affects firefighters.Even though he has just been elected. Gates, like all elected officials in a union, Albany or Washington, already is worried about how he will get reelected. %u201cThe only way I get reelected%u201d Gates sighs is %u201cto get a pay increase%u201d when in June, 1980 a new contract will be negotiated. Then, when he warms up for the fight to get higher pay raises, he says: %u201c We just want to be good Americans, we just want to be able to pay our bills.%u201dThe Mayor will be on the other side of the bargaining table and for him Gates has already some criticism ready. %u201c He is a bachelor having a good time,%u201d he says adding that the Mayor just got a pay raise making more than many a fireman. %u201c I have children,%u201d Gates says indignantly, %u201c They need clothes and everything and when the kids have a temperature 1 have to get them a doctor.%u201d %u201c We are not asking for a lot, but we just want to be able to pay the bills.%u201dFirebombs Touch Off Safety Forum In Wyckoff GardensBY LINUS GELBERResidents of the Wyckoff Gardens housing development in Boerum Hill banded together last week to talk about security, bringing together project residents and representatives from the Police and Fire Departments for a forum on safety. The sudden concern was spurred by the alarming discovery at the end of last month of an array of Molotov cocktails on the roof of one of the buildings in the six-building city-owned complex.On July 28, three policemen cruising from the 78th Precinct just, after midnight saw a flaming object sling off the roof of a 22-story 185 Nevins St. and crash to the street in a blaze of fire. When they reached the roof of the building, they came upon a cache of 18 abandonedMolotov cocktails constructed in a row of seven-ounce bottles, each filled with gasoline and topped with cloth wicks. The discovery has prompted a flare of concern about safety and crime awareness among the police and tenants of the project.Vivian McLauren, director of the Wyckoff Gardens Youth Program, and other tenant activists in the Wyckoff Gardens complex got together after the incident, held meetings and eventually organized a forum for residents of the project with representatives from the Fire Department, Housing Police and 78th Precinct as guests to discuss safety. %u201c We want to try and get the people involved in the security of the projects,\Ray Cajical of the 78th Precinct,Civil Court Candidates Booted From BallotAll four of the independent Democratic candidates for Civil Court Judge seats this year have been bumped from the September primary ballot, with three acquiescing to the news and the fourth, Leonard E. Ryan, of Brooklyn Heights, pursuing the issue through the courts.This leaves in the field only candidates affiliated with the Kings County Democratic Coalition (KCDC) reformers or the Democratic regular camp, headed by County Leader Meade Esposito.The Board of Elections reports that Hyman Klechter%u2019s 8,095 signatures, Herbert Feinsod%u2019s 7,247 signatures and Leonard Ryan%u2019s 6,636 names were all knocked below the qualifying 5,000 name mark after they were challenged by both of the other Democratic organizations. Ryan hopes to be placed back on the ballot before the primary on September 11, and has appealed the State Supreme Court decision. Tony Crisalli, from the Board, said that Ryan%u2019s name is being included on the ualloi printing. %u201c Wc%u2019rc getting too close to wait for the results of the case,%u201d Crisalli explained. %u201c If he doesn%u2019t get put back on, then we%u2019ll just black out his name, or stick asticker over it.%u201dThe fourth candidate. Saul Glassman, initially filed only 4,875 names, and was thus never placed on the ticket.Each of the KCDC candidates filed more than 19,000 names, with the regulars each submitting upwards of 66,000. Civil Court judges, appointed for ten-year terms, try landlord-tenant claims, consumer fraud cases, and small claims pleas under $10,000. %u2014LZGNavy Yard Co. Wins ContractThe Coastal Dry Dock and Repair Corporation, headquartered in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, has won a $39 million ship repair contract from the United States Navy, announced Congressman Fred Richmond. Five hundred new blue collar jobs arc expected to be created as a res.'It of this contract for overhauling the USS Seattle, a'I-yj foul long fast (.uiuuai suypuiiship. The overhaul is scheduled to begin in September and will take 11 months, during which time the 680 member crew will be staying at the Navy Yard facilities.who attended the meeting in an attempt to rouse residential spirit. %u201c Some residents, some of the workers there are afraid of walking around: they%u2019re afraid someone will throw an object out the window, and they%u2019re afraid that they%u2019ll get h it.%u201d Cajical%u2019s sentiments are echoed by Frank Martinez from the Fire Department, who stated that he wanted to %u201c try and get the kids together, to tell them the dangers of what%u2019s happening.%u201dAlthough more than 100 Wyckoff residents turned out to the meeting, held on August 16, McLauren secs the gathering as a disappointment. %u201c At least it%u2019s a start,%u201d she lamented. %u201c We were going to keep on holding meetings, so we can get more and more people aware of what%u2019s going on.%u201d We didn%u2019t get nearly as many people as we had hoped, but is is a beginning.She has higher hopes for future security, expecting a squad of 10-15 guards to become available on September 4 through the Federal Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) program. Previously, the guardshad been part of the full-time accouterment of police protection for the projects, but their contracts had terminated March 30 and were only recently renewed. Beyond that, she predicts, the tenants patrol will be %u201c beefed up%u201d and the Housing Police will take a stab at blanketing the area more thoroughly, despite their alreadystretched resources.%u201cThe Molotov cocktails are an isolated incident,%u201d McLauren concluded on a slimly optomistic note. %u201cThings aren%u2019t usually that bad here; this summer%u2019s been no worse than it%u2019s been here all along, with the pursesnatchings, muggings, and all we%u2019ve been living with day-to-day for years.%u201dHospitals Cited ForFailing Grant TermsBrooklyn hospitals are not faring at all well in paying up the responsibilities that came along with federal construction grants awarded them over the last 20 years, says a report issued by the State office of Health Systems Management and City Council President Carol Bellamy%u2019s office. Under the federal Hill-Burton Act of 1959, which exchanges government money for free medical care for the indigent, 26 New York City and 128 Upstate facilities haveTimes Plaza Restaurant To Open In FallA new restaurant is on its way in the Times Plaza kiosk, located at the juncture of Atlantic and Flatbush Aves. Most recently occupied by the now-defunct Triangle Trolley fast food franchise and hot dog stand, the site will next host a Ferguson%u2019s restaurant which should be open sometime this September.%u2018Tve always looked at the triangle as a black eye in the midst of a stretch of beautiful brownstoncs,%u201d said Angelo Valenti, the manager for the new eatery. %u201c My intention is that when you pass by next spring, the whole place will look like an oasis--busy and pretty, with flowers in the store and flowers on the street.\\\7 o D n f l / C L v n r t 4\\ \\ *%u2022 %u2019 ..... ~ *---8 years, plans to rcbrick patches of the sidewalk surrounding the kiosk as part of the move, which has already cost upwards of $100,000. On one end of the stand heenvisions an open fruit market, with a Fotomat concession on the other and gas lights ringing the complex. Right now, a small Ferguson's baked goods cart is parked outside the building to tide the area through interior renovations, and Valenti estimates that a take-out service should be opened %u201c in about a week.\He also noted that the renovation had been named a Brooklyn Union Gas Cinderella project, which means that the gas company will act as a partial consultant to the project, and probably help out with the promotional campaign as the restaurant nears opening.Although its hours aren%u2019t yet set, the Ferguson%u2019s will seat 40 when it finally onens its doors. %u201c Trv their brownies,%u201d confides Anne Faulkner of the Downtown Brooklyn D ev elo p m en t A ss o c ia tio n , %u201cthey%u2019re delicious.%u201d %u2014LZGbeen given a total of $167 million , since 1959 in bits and pieces ranging in size from $64,500 to $4 million at a time.To meet the conditions of the grants, hospitals must submit to a series of procedures, among which the report singles out several as being of prime importance. Participating facilities must allot a portion of their budgets for the free care required, post notifications of their participation in the program, keep distinct records on patients treated under the program, and set up, maintain and publicize rigorous qualifying standards for the free treatments.Locally, the Wyckoff Heights hospital in Bushwick was the only establishment to fulfill the chosen conditions; only one hospital in New York, in Glen Falls upstate, dovetailed with the letter of the requirements. The Brooklyn Hospital, the Brooklyn Jewish Hospital, Methodist Hospital, the St. Johns Episcopal Hospital, and the Lutheran Medical Center were all faulted ' ir not supplying sufficient information on the program in their admissions material and for not keeping separate records. Additionally, Methodist did not maintain clear enough program standards and St. John's neglected to post information stating that it was a participant in the program.%u201c Hospitals have received millions in federal constructionLoi-o nnt i-o/loomArl iKoirpromise to treat the needy,%u201d Bellamy commented, noting that compliance with the Hill Burton requirements %u201c is almost non-existant.\%u2014LZGAug. 30. 1979, The PHOENIX, Page 5