Needful Things
Yard and Sidewalk Sales on Lefferts Place
James Perry

Mrs. Stokes and two of her legendary chocolate cakes.

The LPCA held three successful yard sales in 1999: “Needful Things I” on Saturday May 15; “Needful Things II” on Saturday, July 31—the day of our Block Party—and a “Back to School Needful Things” on Saturday September 18.

Items for sale included delicious baked goods, down home barbecue, clothing, household articles, books, records & CDs, small appliances, art objects, etc.

Two vendors joined us from outside the block along with our well known neighbors: Aminisha Black, Ron Brown, Dave Conrad, Earl Green, Darryl McCray, Andrew McMillan, Lenore Morris, Kwele Murray, Michael Murray, Nyesha Noldon, James & Vickie Perry, Mary Stokes, Melvin Ward, and others.

Vendors donated $5 or $10 to the LPCA to participate in each sale. Special mention is given to Mr. & Mrs. Evelyn, who donated clothing and costume jewelry for sale, Felicita Smith for her delicious cooking, and Reggie Mack and Henry Smith, who made monetary contributions to the Association.

To all who participated, The LPCA extends its thanks for your support. We look forward to your participation as a vendor and/or guest at our future “Needful Things” Yard and Sidewalk Sales, and hope you’ll invite a friend or two as well.

Please let us know if you took part in any of the events above but were not mentioned, so we can acknowledge you in our next issue.

Census 2000 – Facts You Should Know

• Federal law prohibits the sharing of Census information with government agencies such as police, welfare and immigration.

• The two districts covering our area were the 2nd and 7th most undercounted in the country in the 1990 Census!

• Census numbers are used to determine the money our community gets for Head Start, Free School Lunch, Job training, Child Care and Senior Citizen grants. They are the basis for government decisions on hiring teachers and police officers, building schools, medical and social service facilities, and other publicly funded programs.

• The 2000 Census will be used to distribute $180 billion in public funds, so if we don’t participate, our community stands to lose millions of dollars to which we’re entitled by law!

• The Census is used to determine the number of elected officials who represent us in the City Council, State Legislature and U.S. House of Representatives, so if we don’t participate, we lose our political voice!

Come to the LPCA general meeting on Monday, March 6 at 7:00 pm to learn more about the 2000 Census.

Corner of Classon Ave & Fulton Street
Margaret Noldon

For as long as I can remember the corner of Classon Ave and Fulton Street has been the spot for a variety of illegal ventures, such as the sale of heroin, marijuana, cocaine/crack, methadone and God knows what else. It has been this way for so long that we residents have come to ignore it.

Aren’t you tired of crossing the street, pretending that you can’t see what you know you see? Or do you believe that we must continue to live among this activity?

Do you worry about our children’s safety, passing this corner daily?

We have once again given up Crispus Attucks park that we fought to get back for our children to drug dealers and their customers. Did you know that a needle exchange program (for the purpose of helping slow the spread of AIDS) uses the corner to give out needles, and users of those needles shoot up in the park?

Are you tired of legitimate businesses closing because corner entrepreneurs use their space to conduct illegal commerce?

Many of the individuals loitering on that corner are methadone patients at one of the three clinics in our community, whose locations are approved by the Community Board. Clinics are required to enforce a No Loitering rule, but this is clearly not being done in our area.

What can we do about this situation?

1. Attend the monthly LPCA meetings.
2. Pressure the 79th and the 88th precincts to establish and enforce drug free schools zones.
3. Write letters to your elected officials, (Community Board members, City Council members, State Assembly and Senate)—and don’t forget the Mayor and the Borough President.
4. Call and complain to the methadone programs, ARTC, St Mary’s and Inter-Faith.
5. Complain to the police and Transit Authority about loitering on the street and in bus stops.

Our community has been changing. Real estate prices are increasing, new businesses have opened, police respond quicker to our calls, restaurants are now making home deliveries, and crime in the area is down. The Washington Ave C train entrance on the uptown side has reopened (metrocard use only) and we have a brand new Franklin Ave Shuttle station. Now is the time to reclaim Classon Ave and Fulton Street.

Good And Welfare
Catherine Taylor

Congratulations to 1999 Graduates!!!
Nyesha Noldon of 112 Lefferts Place graduated on July 16, 1999 from Grambling State University with a Bachelor’s of Art in Mass Communication.

Lorena Jenkins of 130 Lefferts Place, student at Bishop Laughlin (MHS), won a bronze medal NAACP award for rendition of “Angel of Mine” Lorena will be in a Scholarship Program participating in USA-AFS Cultural Program Community Service Program as a college freshman for six months in Paraguay, South America.

On Dec. 30, Jermaine Perry of 123 Lefferts Place was awarded a certificate for participation in the Youth Skills Certificate Program sponsored by Pepsi Cola and offered at the Bedford Stuyvesant YMCA. This award, including a special mention of his perfect attendance, was presented at a dinner attended by his parents, James and Vickie.

New Arrivals
Mr. and Mrs. Major of 89 Lefferts Place are the proud grandparents of Tré-Von Flores, born November 23, 1999 to their daughter Simia.

The 4th generation of the Morris family.

Mrs. Lenore Morris of 119 Lefferts Place is proud to announce the newest Morris, Alexis Brianna, born December 26, 1999 to Omar and Glenda Morris. She’s beautiful!

Expressions of Sympathy were sent to our
neighbors on the loss of their loved ones:

Richard Milner -wife (#89)
Family of Jesse Kirkland (#130)
Catherine Taylor -mother (#130)
Family of Gloria Faison (#130)
Family of Dora Brown (#130)
Aminisha Black - son (#83)
Laura Major -Mother(#89)
Alice Leake - husband (#130)
Diane Brown - husband (#130)
Family of Herman Lord (#121)
Mrs Smith - mother (#79)
William Parros - mother (#89)
Rosalind Baughman - mother (#130)
Clarice Tillman -niece (#105)

Please notify C. Taylor at 130 Lefferts Place, #3N (718-857-4764) of births, graduations, marriages, anniversaries, as well as illnesses and deaths.

published by the
Lefferts Place Civic Association
Box 473547
Brooklyn, New York 11247
Editor/Designer: David Conrad
Contributors: Margaret Noldon, Catherine Taylor, James Perry