Happy Thanksgiving!

From your neighbors at the
West 12th Road Block Association

By the President of the United States of America.

A Proclamation.
October 3, 1863

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consiousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the Unites States the Eighty-eighth.

By the President: Abraham Lincoln

William H. Seward,

Secretary of State

WGI Testing at Bay End of West 12th Road

WGI moved its drilling barge to the bay end of West 12th Road on Monday, November 22, 2010, where it will complete a series of test borings that involved West 11th, 12th and 13th Roads.

26 Years Ago Today....

Twenty-Six Years ago today, Microsoft introduced introduced its Windows Version 1.01 to the world.
It took me quite some time to get the hang of the darned thing and it crashed more often than it ran but it was the harbinbger of a new digital era!  Looking back at its menu (above) I am reminded of just how far computer operating systems have cme.

WGI Barge Moves to West 13th Road

The WGI barge moved from West 11th Road to West 13th Road earlier this morning at 9:00 am

Moving Right Along....!

WG Inc. barge and equipment at the end of West 11th Road at 8:30 am, Thursday, 11/18/2010

Having completed their street work on West 11th, 12th and 13th Roads last week, the city (Warren George, Inc.) has commenced test borings in the bay itself this morning starting at the end of 11th Road.

Swans Meet MiniVan on West 12th Road!

High Tide Thursday 11/11/2010 (Photo by Amy Mahon)

RBA Group on West 12th Road

As initially reported back on November 5th, representatives from the RBA Group are presently on West 12th Road and will be requesting permission to enter your property to measure the distance from your canal bulkhead to the street.

This measurement is necessary to ensure that the appropriate data is available when a decision is made to raise the street to make sure that the higher street level does not result in water spillage onto your property.

Please extend every possible courtesy to these individuals.

Thank you.

West 12th Road Street Work

(Picture taken @ 8:30 am Tues 11/9/2010 by Peter Mahon)



There will be two (2) test drill borings, each approximately 80' in depth,  taken at the end of West 12th Road on opposite sides of the street for the purpose of determining how deep the sheathing for the seawall at the end of the block will have to be placed.  They are presently working the bore site on the south side of the street and the northside will be competed tomorrow.  I reminded the workers that there was an 11 am high tide scheduled (6.1') which would result in minor street flooding at the end of the block, exactly where they are working!

The test borings are being conducted by Warren George, Inc. of New Jersey, who are drilling specialists.

The equipment and truck will remain parked in front of my driveway at 55 West 12th overnight and their work on West 12th Road should be completed tomorrow.

Test Borings on West 12th Road

(Photo by Peter J. Mahon -  Mon. 11/8/2010)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

As we reported last week, things are moving along at at quick pace regarding the flood mitigation project for West 12th Road. 

Delayed by tidal street flooding last week, workcrews set up at the end of the block earlier today to conduct test borings of the street to obtain data regarding the composition of the sub-strata in order to provide the RBA Group information to determine how best to proceed with raising our street, installation of sub-street storm water chambers, etc.

Test borings are scheduled to be conducted on W11th, W12th and W13th Roads. 

N.Y.C. Marathon Today!

The first New York City Marathon was held in 1970, organized by New York Road Runners Club president Fred Lebow, with 127 competitors running several loops around the Park Drive of Central Park. Only about one-hundred spectators watched Gary Muhrcke win the race in 2:31:38. In fact, a total of only 55 runners crossed the finish line. Over the years, the marathon grew larger and larger. In order to accommodate the growing number of participants, co-founder Fred Lebow redrew the course in 1976 to incorporate all five boroughs of New York City.  Close to 40,000 runner are expected to compete in today's event!

Tidal Street Flooding a way of life for West 12th Road Children



Miss Louise DiVrgilio had to wear her father's waders in order to walk through the tidal street flooding Friday morning to go to school!  (Photo by Mary Ann Nellan)



Don't Forget!

Article in WAVE (FrIday 11/5/2010)

Tidal Flooding Update

The end of West 12th Road at 8:25 am, Friday 11/5/2010

A special note of thanks to all the residents of West 12th Road who took the time to attend the Broad Channel Civic Association meeting last week.

Your presence at this meeting sent a clear message to our elected officials and city agency representatives that the issue of tidal street flooding on West 12th Road remains a priority with all of us!

The RBA Group, which has being retained by the city as a design consultant for this project, has started their work in this regard and has:

1. reviewed the completed surveys for West 12th Road, and,
2. Using the street survey data, overlaid existing data from 2010 NOAA Tide Tables to establish annual tidal street flooding information for our block.

The RBA Group presented an initial conceptual solution to street flooding on West 12th Road consisting of the raising of our street with the accompanying installation of temporary stormwater storage chambers and the construction of a seawall at the end of the block.

The RBA Group also discussed, at length, the potential impact of a raised street on all West 12th Road properties (sidewalks, driveways, decks, entrance steps, etc.)

The RBA Group also indicated that they would be requesting access to the backyards of West 12th Road properties to survey grade differences to ensure that street modifications (raising the street) does not place our homes and property in a “hole.”

The good news is that from all appearances, the RBA Group has not been constrained by the city in their efforts to design a viable solution to the problem of tidal street flooding on our block, They appear to be seriously examining this issue from all angles in an effort to arrive at a resolution that will not require the city to “revisit” this project after it is competed to “fix” unforeseen problems.

The city started the process of drilling bore holes on West 11th, 12th and 13th Roads to ascertain the individual sreet substructure's composition.  Drilling was scheduled to start on West 12th Road yesterday but had to be cancelled because of, you guessed it, severe tidal street flooding. They will try again Monday!

Our association’s Flood Mitigation Task Force Committee will be meeting with the city, probably in December, to follow up on this and if things keep moving along at this pace, we may realize a construction start date of the summer of 2011 after all!

Ruby's Opening this Saturday to Protest Eviction!

Ruby's will not be going quietly into that good night! 

This past weekend Ruby's Bar and Grill closed for the season. But on Monday, the owners learned that after more than 70 years on the Coney Island boardwalk, their lease would not be renewed, along with eight other businesses that don't conform to Zamperla/CAI's vague vision of a generic, year-round restaurant sports bar megacomplex.

After all, who can resist Coney Island in February?

There's been a bitter outcry over the evictions, and so this Saturday, starting at 12:30 p.m., Ruby's will reopen for one day for a protest to "tell Zamperla, Markowitz, Recchia, and Bloomberg we won't go quietly."

The End of an Era!



1934 - 2010
R.I.P.

Even though Coney Island’s West 12th Street is named Ruby Jacobs Way, the long-endangered dive and beach-grub spot that bears his name will finally have to close after 76 years in business later this month to make room for a sit-down restaurant with an ocean view, open 365 days a year, able to serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  There will also be a very large sports bar.

Oh, and by the way, the wooden planks of the famous Coney Island Boardwalk are also scheduled to  disappear as they are ripped out and replaced with concrete.

Today is Election Day