We would like to provide a follow up from the well attended community meeting held on the 14th of July at The Church of Evangel. A smaller group of neighbors met on Wednesday evening to discuss the security and safety meeting, and develop a list of follow ups for the community. We established the following short term and medium/long term objectives: 

SHORT TERM

1) Improved communication and central email for the newly created PLG Safety Task Force. We have established an email where all suggestions and ideas can be sent, and the entire Task Force will be copied.

This new email address is safety@plgna.org.

If you would like to join the PLG Safety Task Force working on improving safety and security in PLG, please email safety@plgna.org. We are looking for members of this group to both lead and participate in committees to improve neighborhood safety and reduce crime in PLG. Additionally, PLGNA.org is a website that will have information about neighborhood safety and will be a central depository of safety related information. You should visit PLGNA.org regularly. 

2) Lighting Survey: We will be conducting a lighting survey over the next 6-8 weeks and will be presenting the results to the community board, local elected officials and the precinct. Mary Salig and Colleen Grant will be leading the effort. They will send a separate email asking for block associations and other neighbors to volunteer to participate in gathering this important information.

3) Set up a follow up planning session in early August to discuss next steps and prepare for a solid community showing at the Community Board 9 and 71st Police Precinct meetings in September. It is key for us to have a major showing at this meeting, with a defined set of goals and objectives. Martin will send around the next date and location of this planning session shortly. Please note that both Community Board 9 and the 71st police precinct do not meet in July or August.

SAVE THE DATE: Community Board 9 Meeting
Monthly Community Board Meeting 

Middle School 61
400 Empire Boulevard 
Brooklyn NY 11225

9/27/2011
7:00 pm 

Precinct Meetings: The 71 Precinct Community Council meetings are held every third Thursday of each month at MS 61, located at 400 Empire Boulevard at 7:30 p.m. 

Contact Information

Precinct: (718) 735-0511
Community Affairs: (718) 735-0527
Community Policing: (718) 735-0528
Crime Prevention: (718) 735-0528
Domestic Violence: (718) 735-5704
Youth Officer: (718) 735-0526
Auxiliary Coordinator: (718) 735-0521
Detective Squad: (718) 735-0500 

4) Civilian Observation Patrol (COP). The police precinct has a program which makes patrol cars available to the community for neighbors to drive and report activity to the precinct. Ben Edwards, President of the Lefferts Manor Association, attended the community safety meeting last week with a sign-up sheet for volunteers, and several neighbors signed up for the training program. If you would like to sign up for the COP program please email Ben atLMAbedwards@aol.com. You can also email safety@plgna.org. The goal is to have regular participation in this program.

5) Immediate community pressure on Problem Areas: Stop drug dealing at the Maple Street corner and stop the proposed 30 minute hotel on Parkside, and other specific situations as they arise (emailsafety@plgna.org). We can organize to collectively put pressure on the police, elected officials, landlords, the community board and the business community to eliminate unwanted and dangerous activity in our neighborhood. If you are interested in helping with this effort please email safety@plgna.org. 

MEDIUM-LONG TERM

1) Improve youth programing and address lack of facilities in the neighborhood.

2) Improve our relationship with the 71st police precinct, and communicate even more regularly with them. Nicole Fabri has already established this relationship and we look forward to building on this partnership with Vinnie Martinos and the police to effect change..

3) Get involved with the business community on Flatbush and Rogers to improve safety in the neighborhood.

Improving safety and reducing crime in PLG will be a collective ongoing effort in the neighborhood. How can you get involved? Lead a committee or join a committee, attend the planning session in August, make your voice heard at the precinct and community board meeting in September, email ideas and safety related concerns tosafety@plgna.org, and join the PLG Safety Task Force group by sending an email to safety@plgna.org. We plan on having many planning sessions and opportunities for community input and involvement. We look forward to your participation in helping to make PLG a safer place for everyone. Thank you.