CB7 criticizes DOT and opposes school at contaminated gas station site

Transportation Committee Chair Katie Walsh told the full board that the committee had sent a letter to the Department of Transportation expressing displeasure with proposed truck-route changes affecting Second Avenue and the lack of corresponding changes to Third Avenue within Community Board 7. The letter expressed “concerns about the addition of Second Avenue and the lack of anything on Third Avenue,” Walsh said. She noted that DOT had engaged with Bay Ridge’s Community Board 10 about the citywide plan but had not been responsive to CB7.

Julianna Diamond requested approval to co-name East Third Street between Greenwood and Vanderbilt avenues in Windsor Terrace after her brother, Robert Dwyer Caridi, who died in February. He grew up on the street and was a fixture in the neighborhood, Diamond said. She added that the co-naming would be important to his two sons, ages 7 and 9, who still live on the block. The Transportation Committee voted to approve Diamond’s request and another street co-naming. The proposed names are Robert Dwyer Caridi Way, on East Third Street between Greenwood and Vanderbilt avenues, and Thomas J. De Riso Way, on 50th Street between Third and Fourth avenues.

Diana Gonzalez, chair of the Land Use & Landmarks Committee, reported on a June 16 joint meeting with the Parks & Environment Committee concerning 4001 Fourth Ave., a former BP gas station site where a new facility for Brooklyn RISE Charter School is being constructed. The meeting focused on environmental remediation plans for the site. Representatives from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and New York State Department of Health attended virtually.

State documents identified four underground storage tanks before construction began, while Gonzalez reported that 24 additional tanks were discovered during excavation, bringing the total requiring removal to 28. “There seems to be severe gasoline contamination at the site,” Gonzalez said. Cleanup plans call for excavation as deep as 25 feet in some areas, she reported.

“Given the number of issues at this site already before the excavation work is fully underway, we do not believe that this site is appropriate as a location for a school,” Gonzalez said. The full board approved the committees’ letter to the New York State Board of Regents and Brooklyn RISE Charter School requesting that a school not be built at the location.

Jeremy Kaplan, vice chair of the Housing Committee, summarized the committee’s June 10 meeting with HELP USA regarding the proposed Quarterstone men’s shelter at 225 25th St. He said the facility could be ready to open by September. Kaplan said HELP USA described the proposed residents as 200 adult men considered employable who would undergo mental-health and substance-use screening. The men would live in a dormitory setting, with 10 people per room.

Kaplan said many community members at the June 10 meeting spoke about inconsistencies in the city’s Fair Share assessment. “It does obviously feel that this violates Fair Share,” Kaplan said. “There is definitely a high concentration of shelters in that area.” Kaplan also mentioned HELP USA’s request that CB7 help form a Community Advisory Board to address issues involving the shelter and its effects on the community.

Loretta Holmes, a 43rd Street resident, spoke about the official Puerto Rican Day Parade festival and subsequent celebrations spilling onto her residential block and continuing as an ongoing party. She complained that residents did not receive sufficient notice about temporary parking restrictions before the June 14 parade, resulting in some cars being towed. “It’s not about the parade,” Holmes said. “It’s about that we were never informed that our block would be turned into a block party.” Another 43rd Street resident suggested altering the parade route to avoid residential streets.

CB7 member Melissa del Valle Ortiz raised concerns about The Cookout Party, an event promoted by Slaps Events for July 4 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. in Sunset Park. She noted that the organizer’s Instagram account had approximately 24,000 followers and said she feared the event could draw more people than the park could accommodate. “We already know our park is hugely used and occupied by our community at large, and on the Fourth of July it is going to be at three times capacity,” del Valle Ortiz said.

During public comments, Anthony Caraballo spoke in support of a liquor-license application for Arcoiris Sports Bar, operated by 5002 Sports Bar Corp at 5002 Third Ave. Caraballo said the owner had made changes requested by the board to advance the application, including reducing the proposed hours, removing black curtains, eliminating outdoor seating, providing a food menu and addressing security concerns.

Cynthia Felix Jeffers, chair of the Public Safety Committee, said she was not satisfied with the applicant’s responses to the committee’s requests. Felix cited “significant public-safety and quality-of-life concerns that we had with this location” and “two fatal incidents that occurred at or near the premises.” She referred to a November 2025 fatal shooting inside 5002 Third Ave. and a May 2026 fatal stabbing at 50th Street and Sixth Avenue, incidents that occurred roughly six months apart. Felix also cited “quite a number of police and quality-of-life complaints associated with this location.” The Public Safety Committee voted against recommending approval of the liquor-license application.

The committee also discussed a liquor-license application for Los Tres Potrillos, located at 1004 Fourth Ave. Felix said there was confusion about who represented the establishment and questions concerning the physical premises. She said the committee needed the correct documentation before it could consider approving the application.

CB7 Chair Julio Peña III reported that the Department of City Planning expected to certify the rezoning application for the former St. Rocco’s site at 783 Fourth Ave. on or before July 13. CB7 will vote on the land-use item when the board returns from its summer recess in September, Peña said.

Peña’s service as CB7 chair is ending, and Cynthia Felix Jeffers will become chair effective July 1. Peña concluded the meeting with these words: “We are all volunteers, and just to remind you all, we should not attack each other, but attack the issues that we face together. ... It is critically important that we work together. No one in this room is our enemy. We are all allies together and stewards of this community.”