Lively and Crowded KG Civic Association Annual Meeting

Last night was the annual Kew Gardens Civic Association meeting. In attendance were many citizens, most of the candidates running for the district 29 city council seat, mayoral candidate Tony Avella and our congressman Anthony Weiner. The meeting started with the politicians who were alloted 50, oops I mean 5, tsk tsk candidates, minutes each to present their case. Lynn Schulman, Joe Nocerino, Michael Cohen, Heidi Chain and Mel Gagarin all spoke, Koslowitz was in attendance for the reception but had a fundraiser and did not stay to speak. Overall I liked what each had to say although I would have liked to hear a bit more on the details of what they want to do (what, why, how, when)  rather than what they have done in the past and who their connections are. I was also looking for energy and excitement from the city council candidates but just did not get it. Although nothing but energy and excitement came from both Tony Avella and Anthony Weiner. Avella is running for mayor and his platform seems to be based on an anti-Bloomberg framework citing educational shortcomings and his successful push for allowance to run for a third term. Weiner, who has not yet announced if he will be running for Mayor and stated he is still researching and listening to make a decision, was very up-beat and receptive to the many audience questions and talked vibrantly for a good 20 minutes to an audience who was very excited to see and talk with him. Ultimately I was surprised to see so many people at this meeting who were participating and seemed really interested and vested in the advancement of our community and I applaud the Civic Association on their work and efforts. At the same time, some of the communities most pertinent issues and problems were not addressed, at least while I was there, I had to leave at 10:00 pm. When the captain of the 102nd precinct, Charles McEvoy, spoke he had addressed some identity theft and car theft issues and inferred that Kew Gardens does not have any serious crime problems. Yet, our public park has been taken over as a meeting place for men to participate in sexual activity, at all times of the day and night, degrading the environmental integrity and public safety of the park while participating in illegal activity. I was hoping to hear a plan of action on this problem but did not. Hopefully some of our city council candidates will see the pertinency and seriousness of it as an opportunity to show the community how dedicated they are and try to work with the community and the NYPD on combatting this disgrace. Any takers?? 

To voice your opinion on any crime related issues to the precinct: 

Meetings: The 102nd Precinct Community Council meets the third Tuesday of every month at 8:00 p.m. at The Moose Lodge at 87-25 118th St., Richmond Hill, New York. 

Precinct Phone Number: (718) 805-3200

Website - http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/html/precincts/precinct_102.shtml