South Brooklyn Neighborhood Alliance is Offiical

The South Brooklyn Neighborhood Alliance--whose formation we noted in an exclusive report here on March 5 and whose name and status we updated last Thursday--has officially announced itself. It involves groups from Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, Boerum Hill and Red Hook's Columbia Waterfront District. A press release from SoBNA went out last night and it has a temporary website here. The release says it has been:

created to introduce community-based planning. The primary goal of the SoBNA is to build sound neighborhoods through community-based planning that engages the residents, small businesses, elected officials, city government and developers. We are committed to supporting the unique character of each of our neighborhoods, enhancing the quality of life for our residents through cooperative planning for much needed mixed-use development. It is our goal to advocate for our communities through civic involvement, education and community building.

Groups that a members of SoBNA are: Baltic & Warren Neighbors, Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association, Inc., Cobble Hill Association, Columbia Waterfront Neighborhood Association, Committee for the Historic Integrity of Cobble Hill, CORD, South Brooklyn Local Development Corporation, Union Sackett Block Association and Warren Street Block Association. Two Gowanus groups--Friends and Residents of Greater Gowanus and Friends of Bond--are absent from list. A local activist we spoke with on Saturday told us the new Alliance intends to be politically active and wants to make it presence felt in the 2009 local elections. The group may be particularly active in rezoning issues. It will be interesting to watch, as some of the groups have been involved in community activism about some of the most controversial developments and issues in neighborhoods such as Carroll Gardens and Gowanus and do not always see eye-to-eye on them.