Howdy Boats People,

We’re moving our membership meeting up one week in order to make ourselves available to support the fledgling effort by the North Brooklyn Boat Club (NBBC) to get themselves going on building a presence at the bottom of Manhattan Avenue at the top of North Brooklyn on the waterfront where the Newtown Creek meets the East River.

They scored a victory with getting substantial funding to begin the project of bulkhead/boathouse/launch site on the creek, but much work lies ahead.  This Wednesday, April 20, 2011, is the final public hearing before the go-ahead for the project.  It’s important to show our support.

Their fate is tied to ours in that they are our human-powered boating partners just a little south of our own Anabel Basin on the Queens West waterfront.  We plan plenty of collaboration and good times with NBBC, and we’d like our commitment to start at the start.

Some of our members have been to some of their meetings, held at the Rod & Gun Club on Kent Avenue between N10th and N11th in Greenpoint, and have come away with reports of an exciting new beginning.  They are looking for alliance and partnering and we have common interests.

In consideration of our common interests, I am suggesting to anyone who set aside the time and was planning to attend a LICCB general membership meeting Wednesday April 20th, to please consider going a few blocks south, across the Pulaski Bridge to Greenpoint Avenue on the Newtown Creek and weigh in for the NBBC project at the Public Hearing to be held that night.

Find details of the meeting location here:

http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/html/environmental_education/newtown_visitors_center.shtml

Please show up at the Newtown Creek Visitor Center for a 7pm gathering to show your support for a new boathouse on the block!

See you there.

Victoria Olson, Beach Chair LICCB 2011