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E ditorialsWe're Missing the Bucu on Ferry ServiceIt was exactly one year ago this week when The Phoenix reported that seven different groups were interested in operating a ferry between Brooklyn and the WallStreet area. Exactly one year ago that we gave editorial support to the idea, and joinedwith countless others in welcoming this new form of transportation between boroughs.But with another summer behind us, and another blustery New York winter loomingon the horizon, Brooklyn-Manhattan transportation has been limited to private skiffsthat dart across the East River delivering patrons to restuarants. One year after thedrum-roll, we%u2019re still waiting for the parade. And we think its about time the ferry service between boroughs had a champion.It was only a year ago that Borough President Howard Golden and CouncilmemberAbe Gerges led those who stepped off the ferry Wayfarer III in South Street Seaport tomake a gift of the flag of the Borough of Brooklyn to the people on the other side of theriver. We urge them to again take up the colors and create a climate where ferry service will be expedited because their constituents proved during a trial run a year agothat they wanted and would use the service.While we understand the City must approve hundreds of contracts yearly %u2014 manyseemingly more important than a bi-borough ferry service %u2014 our local legislators mustmake the service a priority. The City claims its working on the proposals, has narrowed the choices down, and sent them on to yet someone else for approval. Five operatorsare left in the pool of applicants. Hundreds of Brooklynites want to take a ferry to workin the morning. Millions of dollars are being spent to entice workers to the FultonFerry area. It seems that everyone wants the ferry, yet as another lucrative summerfloats under the bridge, the City by its inactivity on the contract, has made us all missthe boat.%u00a7 ound O ff FEEDBACK FROM READERSLetter O f ThanksYou are commended for your very impressive article on Mr. Carl Fascio, Managerof Van Brunt Station, and on the overallthoroughness in presenting the facts aboutthe Postal Service. (Phoenix, Sept. 11, %u201cNewSlope Supervisor Hopes to Make MalignedPostal Service Letter Perfect.%u201d )The new administration at the CadmanPlaza Office is curing the ills that have crippled the delivery service in Brooklyn over theyears. This will take a little time, but it willhappen.Thank you for your support and efforts inpresenting this message to the community ina positive and encouraging manner. %u2014Dennis R. Draney, Field Director, Marketing andCommunications, United States Postal Service, Brooklyn, New York 11201-9998.Bravo To BA C ASept. 17 was a special day indeed! Acelebration of the highest order was inpreparation from 6-llpm at St. JamesPavillion. It was the 20th Anniversary of theBrooklyn Arts and Culture Association andits guiding light, Charlene Victor, was thesubject of worthy worship by a cheering andappreciative throng.Chuck Reichenthal who has directedBACA%u2019s public relations, was also an honoreeand his tux (instead of his usual BACA teeshirt) made him truly a combination of FredAstaire and Humphrey Bogart.An audience including our dashingBorough President Howard Golden and ourfirst lady, Aileeen Golden, (stunning in awhite Southern Belle outfit), led the tributes.$ I G N OF THE J b i E SAmong the many notables and quotables inthis crowd of %u201cgliterati%u201d were actors VincentGardenia, fresh from filming in Italy andTony Lo Bianco, who recently scored a success in Arthur Miller%u2019s %u201cA View from theBridge%u201d and also did a one man show on PBSas the great Fiorello LaGuardia. BrooklynPhilharmonic%u2019s Maurice Edwards and filmmaker (%u201cThe Stone Cutters%u201d ) Tony de Nonnowere also there to pay homage to Charleneand Chuck, our dynamic duo.The business community was there in forceand Alan Smith and Charles Inniss of B.U.G.and Bruce Wittmer of Con Ed alternated ashosts.But the evening belonged to Charlene, ourCinderella, with Chuck as Prince Charming.We all danced for joy and with abandon! OurBorough is blessed to have such soaringspirits. Greta Gunderson of Downtown BACAreceived an award as did some of BACA%u2019sloyal staff.We look forward to BACA%u2019s 25th and 50thwith Charlene and Chuck at the helm. A toastto the toast of our town. Bravo BACA %u2014 NinoPanianu, President Street.Article DisappointsBoth the editorial %u201cCB6 Should HaveListened To Its Constituents%u201d and the article%u201cSlope/South Brooklyn Board Refuses toDiscuss Sister City Project In Meeting%u201d appearing in the September 18,1986 issue of ThePhoenix were a disappointment to me.Over the years, I have come to appreciateThe Phoenix as one local newspaper whichcould be relied upon to reflect a sophisticatedunderstanding of a wide range of complexissues - from the mechanisms of city government to the intricacies of foreign policy.Given your exemplary background, I am baffled at the inaccurate reportage in the articleand your interpretation of our role (or %u201ctactics%u201d ) as expressed in the editorial.To begin to set the record straight on thisissue, let me state that I never pronouncedthe Sister City project to be inappropriate forthe Board to act upon. I did however advisemembers of a Corporation Counsel opinionindicating that a Board resolution in supportof this project could not involve expenditureof funds or use of staff time for implementation. (My quote, that the issue %u201cwas not anappropriate topic for the board to discuss%u201d istaken completely out of context and thus easily supports the article%u2019s slant that my position set the standards for the Board. If I hadremarked on the appropriateness of the issueit was in the context of being asked for an explanation on the Board%u2019s action after themeeting.)The Corporation Council%u2019s opinion clarifiesthat the Community Boards are charged byCity Charter with set responsibilities in theadministration of local government. Taking aposition on an issue of foreign policy, which isthe intent of the Sister City project, and acting upon it, is outside this purview. Though Iagree, in part, with The Phoenix that%u201cleaders are measured by what they do andsay - and how they lead, not on whether it%u2019stheir responsibility,%u201d I must point out thatleadership is also defined as the ability tounderstand the extent and purpose of one%u2019sinfluence and to leverage it where it canachieve greatest results. In the case of thevery limited powers of Community Boardsand their very specific charge to conduct %u201cinvestigations with respect to any matterrelating to the welfare of the district and %u2018itsresidents%u2019,%u201d (City Charter, Chapter 70 sec.2800), it is essential for members to be concerned about %u201cappropriateness.%u201d Despite in-->F lo w e r ven d o rs are s till a fa m ilia r sig ht in d o w n to w n B ro o klyn , even as fall n ip s at th e air. (P h o e n ix /K irk P h o to )terest in our community in the Sister Cityproject, only by a long stretch of the imagination can one construe it as a matter affectingour welfare within the scope of our jurisdiction as local government administrators inthe American political system. And whilemany of us remain sympathetic to the cause,we are confident that we have not compromised our courage and our influence bydeeming it %u201coutside of the CommunityBoard%u2019s responsibilities.%u201dWe are not a rude or cowardly collection ofpeople. If you had really observed us in ourconduct and accomplishments of the past,you would have known this. If you had takenthe time or offered the courtesy to questionus, you would have ascertained that we didnot deliberately make our guests wait hoursto present.%u201cCommunity Session%u201d was agreed upon asthe time for this issue to be entertained. Sincethe matter had not been acted upon in Committee and since the task at hand was to haveBoard members decide on the appropriateness of our consideration, there wasno other place for the issue to be presentedother than in %u201cCommunity Session.%u201dBased on our experience of our meetings,we judged 8:30pm to be the time the issuewould come up. (We shared this informationwith the Sister City project organizers.) As itturns out, it came up at 8:45pm. A fifteenminute wait is pretty fair and hardly constitutes a tactical move on our part!The Board listened and questioned on theSister City project. We did this with a genuinebelief that the community has a right to bringany concern to us for consideration. That wedecided not to offer an endorsement or sponsor a forum should indicate only that we areunwilling to take a position on something thatwe cannot really act upon. %u2014 Louise Finney,Chairperson, Community Board Six, 250Baltic Street.Sister Story Is SlantedThe article on Community Board Six andthe Sister City Project (Phoenix 9-18-86) hada decidedly slanted point of view completewith inflammatory headlines: %u201cCB6 DecidesNot To Be Sisterly ... Board Refuses toDiscuss Sister City Project.%u201d Writer RobTaylor gives the impression that the boardchose to ignore a significant segment of thecommunity and he neglected to discuss indepth the real question of the 90 minutedebate. That is: Should an appointed boardwhose mandate is 1. to review land use issues2. to participate in the city%u2019s budget and 3. tomonitor city services, take a position onforeign policy issues?I am one of many board members whovoted against taking a position. I am also oneof many board members who is sympatheticto the Sister-City Project and against U.S. involvement in Nicaragua. This may seem contradictory to some but I and others on theboard feel it is a valid opinion. Our decisiondid not come easily and it had nothing to dowith whether it would divide the board or not.The decision involved a lot of discussion andsoul searching. And despite the innuendos inboth the article and the editorial, I stillbelieve it was the rijht thing to do. I shouldadd that there were many community peopleat the meeting that night who felt likewise.First and foremost, as Louise Finney mentioned, there are other foreign policy issuescnai people reel very strongly aoout. curbcuts and variances pale when you think aboutApartheid in South Africa. Should or can aCommunity Board puts its limited energiesand resources in these directions? If theboard takes a position on one foreign policyContinued on Page 17P ag e 18, T H E P H O E N IX , S e p te m b e r 25, 1986