Our friend and neighbor Peg Brennan died on July 19 at the age of 89, having lived a thoroughly engaged and inspired life. She was a mother of three, a den mother of the Zen Den (her son’s boy scout troop bringing them on peace marches), civil rights and anti-war activist, feminist, NYC social worker, Senior Action Network member and Glide member as well as an entrepreneur having opened an anti-war coffeehouse in 1963 (MacDougal East), the NY Women’s Coffeehouse together with a collective at 57 Seventh Avenue South, a “head shop” of sorts (The Clean Machine) to ensure her teenagers had something constructive to do during the tumultuous sixties, and collectively restored an old Brooklyn brownstone in which she lived communally for 30 years. She obtained her BA at NYU in Latin American Studies in 1948. She was also a close friend of and owned a home with Flo Kennedy for those of you who may remember Flo.
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Future Development on Page Street Development
By Kevin Bayuk, HANC President
On Thursday July 11th HANC welcomed three presentations regarding three separate properties along Page Street that are involved in proposed changes or developments in the coming years.
First, Mark Salkind from the Urban School on Page Street presented a detailed preliminary plan for a new 26,000 sq. ft. gym and class room building constructed at the current parking lot site. Mr. Salkind described the impetus behind the proposed development, showed preliminary concept drawings and invited questions from the membership.
Following the Urban School presentation, Harold Love, Facilities Director for the Boys and Girls Club, presented details about the proposed new Boys and Girls Club building at Fulton Street and Gough. He did not share any information about the status of the current building on Page Street between Stanyan and Shrader until questioned by the membership in attendance. He claims to not have knowledge of the status of the current building other than that it will need to be sold to finance the new building on Fulton. When questioned further about the sale of the new building, Mr. Love commented that they have had discussions with interested parties including schools and commercial establishments (he named 24 Hour Fitness), but reiterated his disclaimer that he had no definitive knowledge about who the building would ultimately be sold to. He agreed, at the request of the membership, to more proactively engage with the neighborhood residents. HANC offered to even host a special meeting where the Boys and Girls Club leadership could inform and engage with the neighborhood. District 5 Supervisor London Breed was in attendance and suggested that she would lead an effort to request more comprehensive communication and planning between Boys and Girls Club and the neighborhood residents.
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