The Patch Interview: Shawn Campbell and Alvin Berk of Community Board 14

DITMAS PARK and FLATBUSH, BROOKLYN — Collectively, Shawn Campbell and Alvin Berk have decades of experience working on the issues important to Brooklyn's Community Board 14, a vertical swath of territory stretching from Prospect Park in the north to Avenue P in the south.

Berk, a retired academic administrator, has been part of CB14 since 1981, and has chaired it since 1989, while Campbell spent years working for outgoing Assemblyman James Brennan and the Flatbush Family Network before becoming CB14's district manager in 2011.

Earlier this year, Patch sat down with Berk and Campbell, who shared some thoughts on the challenges and opportunities facing the Ditmas Park and Flatbush areas they serve. Here are a few highlights from the conversation:

Community maintenance: Campbell said that "any frustration" she has in her job relates to the fact that "our day-to-day bread-and-butter requests take a long time to get addressed" by the city. Pot holes, street lights, and stop sights are less of a priority in the city's eyes, she said, than are other projects that are more high-profile, such as bike-related infrastructure. However, she said that "street repaving has gotten better in the last year."

The neighborhoods have a higher number of old-growth trees than others, she said, which require significant trimming and maintenance. The city was on an 11-year trimming cycle, which is now down to seven years, but Campbell said it should really be every five years. The issue is serious, as "when we have a storm, the district gets walloped" with falling branches. She also referenced the tragic deaths of Ditmas Park residents Jessie Streich-Kest and Jacob Vogelman, both 24 when they were killed by a falling tree in the neighborhood during Hurricane Sandy.

Affordable housing: Campbell said a significant percentage of area residents spend half or more of their incomes on rent. About 24 percent of the district's housing stock is composed of single-family homes, she said. There is some larger-scale residential development going on — such as the redevelopment of the Caton Market, a rezoning that CB 14 approved just recently — but overall space for such projects is limited. The Caton Market project will bring affordable housing units into the neighborhood under the city's Mandatory Inclusionary Housing plan, but Berk said there's a lack of such projects in the area.

Regarding local residents, Berk said young people and families, including immigrants, have been moving in, searching for cheaper home prices. That development is creating a greater need for more school seats going forward, he said.

Youth employment: Berk said that providing jobs for young people remains a priority. For the last decade, the board has put together an annual youth conference that connects kids with job opportunities, he said, and it's grown in attendance, from around 300 per year to about 700 now.

The area does have a solid business community, Campbell said, with a growing restaurant and bar scene. She said she's seeing an increasing number of liquor license applications coming before the board from area bars and restaurants.

Other major economic developments have also taken place, such as the $95 million renovation of Kings Theater on Flatbush Avenue, which was returned to life in 2015. The effort was funded by the city's Economic Development Corporation.

Public safety: CB 14 falls largely under the umbrella of the NYPD's 70th Precinct, which is using the city's community policing model. Campbell praised the Neighborhood Coordination Officers working out of the 70th, saying they've proven "effective in all of our quality of life issues."

Staying in touch with the board: CB 14's office is located at 810 E. 16th St. You can visit the CB 14 website for updated information on its work, including its calendar of upcoming meetings. You can also reach out by phone at 718-859-6357, or by email at info@cb14brooklyn.com.

Pictured at top: Shawn Campbell, left, and Alvin Berk, right. Photo by John V. Santore