WE NEED A LOT OF CHRISTMAS NOW

With all the tensions around us and within us, this is the perfect time to take that breath. This is THE season that grants unconditional permission to enjoy and embrace and celebrate our existence. It’s that time when we realize (again) that Christmas is not a reason for discount sales but for hope that things will be better; that people will regard each other in friendship and sharing of good will.

Even with the tide of emotional forces threatening to swamp us in enmity and violence, it is within each of us to stop it. To paraphrase a famous starship captain, all it takes is to say: TODAY, I will  not be a hater. TODAY I will respect others. TODAY I will find another way to right a wrong.  It’s Christmas – when is there a better time? It’s not just  saying Merry Christmas, it’s feeling that spirit of hope and yearning for peace and wanting to share it with all around us.

                        SPREAD THE PEACE 

We need a LOT of Christmas right now. Let’s bring it!

For we need a little music, Need a little laughter

Need a little singing Ringing through the rafter

And we need a little snappy “Happy ever after!”

We need a little Christmas now!

MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND A PEACEFUL 

NEW YEAR TO ALL

Lyrics for  “We Need  a Little Christmas Now” from  MAME.  Paraphrase from Star Trek, the TV series: A Taste of Armageddon. Kirk: “We can admit that we’re killers, but we’re not going to kill today. That’s all it takes. Today, we’re not going to be killers.“

DOT Comes Through for Harlem’s Dorrance Brooks Square Park

After several years of enduring ever-increasing collisions at the intersection of W. 136^th Street and Edgecombe Avenue, the Department of Transportation (DOT) installed a traffic turn signal on St. Nicholas Avenue. Following up with the DOT’s Comm. Margaret Forgione’s visit with the Dorrance Brooks Property Owners and Residents Association (DBPORA) in April, the turn signal aims to deter the inclination of drivers to ignore or miss the stop light when turning left onto eastbound W. 136^th Street.  A car coming north on Edgecombe Avenue on a green light is often struck by car drivers who do not see the red signal when they turn left onto W. 136^th Street.  Accidents have occurred at all hours from early mornings when nearby Percy Sutton Educational Complex is opening, all the way to late evening hours.  Thus far no fatalities have been noted but block association members feared that was only a matter of time. At least one resident ‘s parked car was totaled in one of the accidents, and the construction overhang has been shored up at least twice since it was put up two years ago.

 

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DBPORA is pleased that the DOT took their concerns seriously and has acted so quickly after the meeting. Thanks to the careful, persistent photo documentation from Dr. Keith Taylor, president of the DBPORA and the Hon. JoLinda Ruth Cogen, association secretary, the DOT has been updated on each incident. It is understood that traffic flow on St. Nicholas Avenue will be affected by this; however the alternative is to stand by while accidents happen frequently. The DOT’s timely response is an indicator that Mayor de Blasio’s ‘Vision Zero’ is receptive to community concerns without waiting for a fatality.

It is also an example of the community’s responsibility to advise their agencies of their concerns and keeping the pressure on when the need is clear.

Read http://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/301-14/mayor-de-blasio-signs-package-life-saving-traffic-safety-bills#/0