CB1 to Act on Community Center This month Community Board 1 is expected to choose between the 92nd Street Y and the YMCA of Greater New York to be its partner in a Downtown community and cultural center. CB1’s Executive Committee will discuss and vote on the issue on Dec. 12 and the full board will take it up on Dec. 17 (see Community Calendar). In October, after receiving proposals and hearing presentations from both organizations, the committee appeared to be leaning toward the 92nd Street Y for its strength in cultural programming. But committee members said they feared the 92nd Street Y was not fully committed to coming Downtown. The YMCA said it definitely wants to create a Downtown branch, which it had been exploring before CB1 requested proposals last summer. The committee delayed a vote, asking the 92nd Street Y for a “stronger commitment” to the project and asking the YMCA if it would commit to hiring a “world-class” coordinator for cultural programming. The groups were to respond by this month. CB1 may choose to collaborate with both organizations, to create either one jointly managed center or two separate sites, one for cultural programs run by the 92nd Street Y and another for youth and community activities run by the YMCA. Little League Sign-Up In-person sign-up for the Downtown Little League’s 2003 season, the first on the new fields, takes place on two Saturdays, Dec. 7 and 14, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at P.S. 234, at Chambers and Greenwich streets. Bring proof of age and residence, plus two self-addressed envelopes, even for children who have played in the league before. Fees are $75 for one child, $125 for two, $150 for three. For information call Ken Tannenbaum, 925-5924. Street Work Relief The city’s holiday embargo on street and sidewalk construction work began on Nov. 18 and continues through Jan. 2, offering relief for Downtown residents and shoppers. Only emergency work and ongoing building construction may be conducted. Most work on four Downtown street construction projects will cease, but will resume in January. At a community meeting last month, officials from the city’s Dept. of Transportation and the Dept. of Design and Construction said that residents with complaints or concerns about the work should call the project’s community construction liaison. For the reconstruction of Rector and Greenwich streets, the liaisons are Michael Tresser and Sal Scannapieco, at 232-0295. The liaisons for the Wall Street area water main project are Audrey Biase for daytime work, and Nancy Smollen for nighttime work, at 791-8170. For the Canal Street water main project, the liaisons are Debbie Ng during the day and David Hui at night, at 966-3781. Small Business Insurance Meeting The Tribeca Organization, a group of small businesses created after Sept. 11, will discuss post-Sept. 11 insurance issues with Gregory Serio, superintendent of the New York State Department of Insurance, on Tuesday, Dec. 10, at No. Moore Bar, 234 W. Broadway, at 8:30 a.m. To attend, contact Sharon Decker, 966-0063, or go to info@tribeca.org. Information is at www.tribeca.org. Public Hearings on Future of School Boards The future of community school boards and alternatives for parent involvement in local schools will be discussed at two hearings on Dec. 10 in the auditorium of the U.S. Customs House, One Bowling Green. The Task Force on Community School District Governance Reform, established by the state legislature to make recommendations for the replacement of New York’s community school boards with a new model for parent and community participation in New York City’s school system, will host thehearings, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and from 6 to 9 p.m. Community school boards will be eliminated on June 30. “The public, community groups and parents in particular have an opportunity by way of this public hearing process to give input that will affect what structure will be in place to give them a role in participating in local school matters and advising the Chancellor and the new citywide Board of Education,”said Assemblyman Steve Sanders, co-chair of the task force and chair of the Assembly’s Education Committee. Anyone who wants to testify shouild contact Ann Magnarelli, at 518-455-4881. Oral testimony will be limited to five minutes. Written testimony may also be submitted by mail to the Task Force on Community School Governance Reform, 250 Broadway, Room 2212, New York, NY 10007, or by fax to 212-312-1479. For information on a schedule of hearing in other boroughs, call 312-1465. Coat and Toy Drives The 14th annual New York Cares coat drive is collecting gently used adult and children’s coats through the end of December. New York Cares hopes to collect more than 70,000 coats to distribute at homeless shelters, soup kitchens and community organizations. In Lower Manhattan, you can drop off coats at the First Precinct, 16 Ericsson Place or the Janovic Plaza store, 136 Church Street. For information call 598-5800. Also, through Dec. 18 the New York City Police Museum, at 100 Old Slip (between Water and South streets) is collecting new, unwrapped toys for the Toys for Tots program. “The Guys” For Free To mark the holiday season and the one-year anniversary of “The Guys,” the Flea Theater, at 41 White St., will offer free tickets to the Dec. 18 performance of the play, which will close on Dec. 20. Tickets for the free performance can be obtained at the box office beginning at 6 p.m. for the 7 p.m. performance. There is a limit of two tickets per person, first come, first served. The play, commissioned by the Flea in response to Sept. 11 and written by Anne Nelson, is a dialogue between a fire captain who lost most of his men in the terrorist attack and an editor who helps him write the eulogies as she struggles to come to terms with the event. CD Sale The ARChive of Contemporary Music, at 54 White St., holds its annual winter record & CD sale Saturday, Dec. 7, through Sunday, Dec. 15, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is free. Over 15,000 new and used items will be for sale, ranging in price from 25¢ to $10. Items include pop and rock, Broadway recordings, classical, African music, vintage punk, holiday music, rarities, signed LP’s, music books and psychedelic posters. The ARChive collects, preserves and provides information on popular music of all cultures from 1950 to the present.