The meeting took place at the Castle Village Community Room, 110 Cabrini Blvd., and got under way at about 7:25.m. In attendance were the following individuals: Mike Augenblick, Janice K. Bryant, Marcella Calabi, Gail Chern-Thompson, Howard Dillon, Mary Kim, Gwen Kingsberry, Tina Molinari, Sarah Morgridge, and Peggy Morrissey.  The following member buildings had residents present: 255 Cabrini Condominium, Cabrini Terrace Owners Corp., Castle Village Owners Corp., Chittenden House, Inc., Hudson View Gardens, Overlook Towers Corp., and Pinehurst Owners Corp. The following Community Associate Members (CAMs) and other neighborhood groups were represented: Hudson Cliffs Theatre Arts Program. The following elected official had a representative present:  Councilman Robert Jackson.

HHOC business: 

• The Draft Summary of the March meeting was accepted without changes.

• Welcome to new member of the coalition 25 Chittenden.

Co-op Roundtable topics:

• Whether and how co-ops pass real estate tax rebates on to shareholders

• House rules concerning review of construction plans by a Board-appointed architect

• Whose responsibility is sidewalk repair in certain public areas

Announcements and discussion of events upcoming in June:

• Uptown Arts Stroll kickoff will be on 6/14 at Highbridge Park. The Stroll will be even bigger and more comprehensive than last year’s. For those who don’t know about it, restaurants and other public spaces in our neighborhood will host gallery showings on the weekend of 6/18-19 – about fifty of them this year. Throughout the days and evenings from the opening reception up to and through the weekend there will be performances (poetry readings, concerts etc.) Watch The Manhattan Times for info.

• The local office (152nd and Amsterdam) of the American Red Cross will host an informational meeting about Disaster Preparedness in June. Watch for announcements specifying date and time. Sarah suggested that HHOC assist in getting the word out about this event and in bringing the ARC’s information to member co-ops and the neighborhood.

• Con Edison's Annual Energy Conference will be held June 10, 8 a.m. to 12 noon at Con Edison at 4 Irving Place. Advertised as an opportunity to exchange and acquire the tools to help manage energy needs.  For more info, call 212 460 4384

• The NY Building Show will be held June 21 and 22, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. at the Javitz. See http://www.buildingsny.com. It will offer a great deal of information about all building-related matters ranging from managing agents to roofing material to security systems etc.

Announcements concerning events that are past, as of this posting:

• Congratulations to the Parks Department for a charming Children’s Festival, "Try On Ft. Tryon"

• "Drums Along the Hudson"/Shad Festival, May 1 in Inwood Hill Park

• Book Sale at Collegiate Church, Tues-Sat 10-6 to benefit Boy Scout Troop 729.

The book sale brought up the topic of Boy Scout Troop 729, and Sarah told us about this special organization: that it is one of the oldest if not the oldest troop in the nation, with a charter predating the national organization; that it broke off from the national organization when that body adopted discriminatory policies; that its coed Venture Crew takes a trip every year of a sort that expands the kids’ horizons in impressive ways, and that requires immense preparation and resourcefulness on the part of troop leader Scott Simpson. It was agreed that HHOC should support this troop with a $200 donation, and check that our donation to Lisa Heelin’s Girl Scout Troop is commensurate.

Follow-up to last month’s information about the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council segued into a discussion of traffic issues in the neighborhood, which ultimately focused on dangerous conditions and potential solutions on Cabrini Boulevard: speeding; cars turning right off Alex Rose Place into the Castle Village Garage ramp; pedestrians crossing from between parked cars at Castle Village Lane; the lack of visible crosswalks at Alex Rose Place, and the fact that the construction scaffolding hides the No Standing sign near the entrance to the Garage ramp. Marcella will pass along the following suggestions to CV Management:  to reveal the No Standing sign; to petition the City for crosswalk paint at Alex Rose and possibly to create an additional crosswalk and/or signage at Castle Village Lane; and to consider an additional entrance to the garage ramp near where the stairs are now so that cars could approach legally from Chittenden/Alex Rose. Also the Police Department needs to be reminded of PO Trinidad’s idea to survey speeds on Cabrini to determine whether the problem is that the posted speed is too high or is being exceeded.

Later in the meeting two other traffic and QoL issues came up. One was loud partying behind the Cloisters and frustration on the part of Riverside Drive residents at their inability to get the police to respond effectively. We need both the City and The Met Museum Security to take a more active role in managing this situation. HHOC will write to the Community Board noting that the situation was bad last summer, and better the year before, and the difference was that the year before the park was physically closed at the entrance from the Parkway. This year it has already been a problem on the two warm weekends we have had so far.

The other topic was drag racing on the Parkway, which has also gotten under way again with the warm weather. Drag racing may turn out to be a topic that NYMTC’s Institute for Transportation Systems could help us with. Mary Kim to follow up with contact information. On both topics, residents should call 311 to log complaints and should bring them up at Councilman Jackson’s town meeting which will be held at the end of May or beginning or June (watch for announcements). Also residents who are unhappy with police responsiveness should make use of the precinct Community Council meetings.

Next meeting:  Monday May 23, 7:15 p.m. hosted by Bleu Evolution, 808 West 187th Street.