OUTRAGE, EWVIDCO, and Council Member Diana Reyna convene with the City of New York for the first Illegal Truck Enforcement Task Force in North Brooklyn

Greetings Member, Friends, Neighbors of OUTRAGE,

I wanted to update OUTRAGE members and Brooklyn residents on the inaugural meeting of the Illegal Truck Enforcement Task Force held at Cooper Park Community Center and hosted by Council Member Diana Reyna. If you recall, OUTRAGE presented the idea of the Task Force to the Community Board 1 in late 2011 to address the need for streamlining truck traffic in the community. We recognize that commercial and waste trucks are here to stay, but that does not mean they have the freedom to avoid rules and laws meant to protect residential streets, public safety, small businesses, and air quality. More and more people are becoming aware of the burden that traffic is having on the community and the Task Force has convened to address these concerns.

The Task Force consists of the NY Department of Environmental Conservation, Department of Transportation, Department of Sanitation (DSNY), East Williamsburg Valley Industrial Development Corporation (EWVIDCO) and a number of small businesses, the 90 and 94th Precincts, Community Board 1 Transportation and Environmental Committees, and a number of stakeholders and community residents. Of course, the Task Force is not defined to these representatives and we will continue to seek out agencies, business, residents and organizations that want to support these efforts to enforce truck traffic and safety. What came out of this meeting was nothing short of productive as we were able to establish what sort of jurisdiction, City Agencies and Precincts have over enforcing traffic and the impacts of traffic on both residents and small business. We also developed next steps for making sure the Task Force achieves truck enforcement. Meetings will be held quartlerly with the next ones in early April, July, and October 2013.

In the meantime, we are developing ways to make it easier for the public to document illegal truck activity which will be forwarded to the Council Members office and presented to the Precincts, DEC, DOT, and DSNY. Today, OUTRAGE is asking community members to support this effort by documenting the illegal truck traffic you are witnessing and experiencing. Here is a link to the log-sheet that makes it easier for you to document and return to me by email or fax (718 388 8001) at your earliest convenience. Please take advantage of this opportunity to document this activity in your streets and neighborhood. Without your help this Task Force is not possible. Thank you and I look forward to working with you all!

Sincerely,
Courtney Renken
Crenken@stnicksalliance.org
(718) 388 2233 ext. 124