Museum Of The Moving Image: Exciting!

The MOMI upgrade is dazzling: beautiful, futuristic architecture including TWO screening rooms. Not only is there new space for incoming exhibits, but the old is fresh. Don't forget to check out the Star Wars memorabilia!!!

Petiton TO 30th Avenue Business Owners: Blocked Communal Easement

A CALL TO ACTION !
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Communal road access is being compromised
Residents want to stop cars from parking in community drives

Norwood Gardens homes share two communal thoroughfares, sometimes referred to as easements, right-of-ways, community drives or service alleys. These drives run between 35th - 36th and 36th - 37th Streets from 30th to 31st Avenues. The Norwood easements were built and intended as access roads for residents, Emergency Service Vehicles and sanitation trucks.

When built, the 30th Avenue business properties had garages in back of the buildings. Business owners could use their garages for personal parking. The majority of the buildings on the south side of 30th Avenue, between 35 and 36th Street, no longer have garages. The property owners maximized their usable space and converted garages into business space.

With out a garage for parking, one or two business owners began using communal drives as personal parking spots despite resident protest.

Not only were those parking in the drives causing inconvenience to many people on a daily basis but more critically, the parked cars are blocking Emergency Service Vehicles from entering the drives. Unfortunately the protests,concerns and inconvenience expressed by residents fell on deaf ears.

With the recent accumulations of ice and snow, getting past the parked cars became a huge problem for many people so Norwood residents have put out a CALL TO ACTION and are Petitioning to Stop Cars from Parking in Communal Drives.

Please help support your neighbors and the Norwood community by adding your name to the petition, please include your name and address. In 1 day 30 signatures have been collected. To add your name e-mail us:

norwood.astoria@gmail.com

Thank you!

Special Service Trash Pick Up Norwood Gardens !!

NYC has had a rough winter. For sanitation workers the challenge has been particularly difficult. The slick ice and mountains of snow mean sanitation trucks can't get to the trash in the Norwood Gardens service alleys! Due to the harsh winter conditions some households have not had trash removal since December 26th.

NNA contacted Department of Sanitation to help with the accumulated trash. There will be two special service pick-ups on 36th Street and 37th Streets between 30th Avenue and 31st Avenue

IN FRONT OF THE HOMES

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• Friday 2/5 (recycling) On Friday place bags in accessible place, expected pick-up over the weekend
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• Monday 2/7 (trash) On Monday place bags in accessible place (preferably in black plastic bags for visibility), pick-up scheduled for Tuesday.
  

If snow and ice continue additional special pick-ups will be arranged and posted to the Norwood Neighborhood Association community site. If you would like to subscribe to receive community bulletins and information, please e-mail norwood.astoria@gmail.com or follow NNA on Facebook.

Cool Vintage Shop on Broadway

Walking on Broadway you'll find the cutest vintage / curiosity shop.
Inside is full of wonderful treasures, perfect for holiday shopping:
vintage linen, fun vintage jewelry, old photos, wonderful hats and more!


Shelia (dressed in a deep rose velvet dress and a velvet hat)
runs Matilda's Vintage Curiosity Shoppe
at 41-14 Broadway in Astoria.
Hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday 12 - 7 PM
Worth a visit!

Get Ready For Spring 2011

It's hard to believe but spring is just around the corner!

Norwood Neighborhood Association is planning ahead and hoping to have another successful Spring Clean up on Saturday, April 30th, 2011. So please mark your calendars (rain day May 1, 2011). Let's show we can do it again**, come on out and help make our neighborhood look beautiful.

In an effort to do more in spring 2011, NNA has applied for a Love Your Block award to provide funds for basic materials: Steel fencing for 39 tree pits - to keep doggies off the newly planted trees provided by the city this past spring - as sadly not every pet owner picks up; 5 flats of 50 ivy plants for tree pits that have enough dirt for planting - plants help absorb excess water run off from heavy rains as well as provide greenery; non- latex gloves for our volunteers and lastly "Pick Up After Your Dog" signs for our community to encourage awareness and cleaning up with local pet owners. NYC Parks Department will provide mulch, sanitation will provide cleaning supplies and trash removal, and there's even the possibility the the city can provide graffiti removal to our crews.

Have a well maintained block will help encourage those visiting our community to respect our streets and not leave behind so much careless trash. A cared for street also encourages those who are not picking up after their pets to be more conscientious. Creating a more beautiful neighborhood will encourage others to help us sustain a more cared for and livable community.


So, keep your fingers crossed and send some magic, body English and let's hope NNA will be awarded a Love Your Block Award, because "We Love Our Blocks!"

** See last Year's (2010) successful clean up!

Dear Neighbors,

Identity theft can be the cause of major problems and a nightmare to fix. Document shredding is a headache too. Who has the time to sit and shred piles of sensitive papers? There are document shredding services but they usually start at about $80.

Costa Constantinides and Anne Marie Anzalone of the Powhatan Democratic Club and ProShred Security have generously invited the community to a free paper shredding and recycling event this weekend. Their invite with date, times and place are below.
This is a great opportunity to finally get rid of those mountains of documents you're too afraid to throw in the regular trash.

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Free Community Shredding This Weekend!

Saturday November 6
10 AM - 1PM
Powhatan Democratic Club
41-05 Newtown Road
Astoria, 11103

Join Democratic District Leaders Costa Constantinides and AnneMarie Anzalone along with the Powhatan Regular Democratic Club and Proshred Security for a FREE community shredding and recycling event to help combat identity theft and increase paper recycling.

Sponsored by Democratic District Leaders Costa Constantinides and AnneMarie Anzalone and Powhatan Democratic Club

The federal trade commission estimates that as many as 9 million Americans have their identities stolen each year. Almost 70 percent of those cases are from paper documents getting into the wrong hands.

Keeping important documents that contain personal information such as social security numbers, bank statements, and other financial forms may put you at risk of identity theft. Shredding your personal papers is an easy way to make sure you are not victimized and recycle this paper.

This provides you with a safe, environmental sound way to dispose of these papers.

For more information call 917-716-4540 or powhatan01@gmail.com

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Go Green!

Demapping 36th Street @ 35th Avenue

Astoria residents are very unhappy with the city's plan to close (demap) 36th Street between 34th Avenue and 35th Avenue for the benefit of private enterprise: Kaufman Astoria Studios. Loss of street parking and removing a main thoroughfare will cause additional problems for residents as well as for students attending nearby schools; congestion and more congestion. Then there's inconvenience and the certain quality of life impact on residents resulting from an even bigger, more active studio.

Bringing big business to Astoria is positive and optimistically will provide services benefiting the residents and community at large. As long the studio is a good neighbor and realizes people live near the studio and that late night spots for crews working around the clock and noise from production units would be unwelcome.

If NYC is leasing the street and sidewalks - essentially public easements - for an undisclosed amount until 2049, for the exclusive use and benefit of private enterprise then some of the revenue the city makes should benefit the residents of Astoria by giving back in ways that will improve quality of life. If public areas are taken away a beautiful public space could be provided.
If 40 street parking spots are removed perhaps above ground parking facility will help in a heavily congested area. How about studio tours for families? Currently Kaufman Astoria is not open to the public.

If the demapping is approved, residents hope the studio will be a considerate neighbor.