Gardeners are invited to attend an optional workday in the West 104 Garden this SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 19, starting at 10 a.m. We will be doing tasks designed to get the Garden ready for the winter. If you missed a previous mandatory workday, this is a chance to do make-up work.
The Steering Committee
Meeting and Potluck Brunch
This Sunday, Nov. 13
1-3 PM
Schneider Houses
West 102 St., btwn CPW and Manhattan Ave.
This is THE time to see fellow gardeners before winter sets in. Bring a favorite dish or beverage to share or plates, cups, napkins and utensils. (We’re in desperate need for a restock on paper goods!)
We’ll have applications for the 2012 season. Bring cash or check and sign up now to avoid stamp and mailing. Think about your committee choices and whether you would like to try out a new committee next year, or become a committee head. This is a great opportunity to put your inspiration to work.
As always, we will have a brief wrap-up meeting after the brunch. Thanks to all who helped to make the season shine.
Hope to see you there,
The Steering Committee
PS: WINTER CLEAN UP. There will be one additional, optional workday scheduled on a Saturday before Thanksgiving. It’s a good opportunity for anyone who needs a makeup task.
Be sure to come out for the Sept 10 workday, from 10am to noon. With all the rain we have been having, it is a jungle out there, and we expect to have a lot of weeds to pull and perhaps some surprising harvests. Remember to log in your reapings to the Farming Concrete notebook.
Also, if you missed the August workday and need to schedule a makeup, please contact Noreen Whysel at nwhysel@gmail.com.
A note from Larry Scott Blackmon, Deputy Commissioner for Community Outreach. Since our garden is governed by NYC Park rules, the no smoking rule also applies to all areas within our garden.
Dear Friends,
Today is the day that the law banning smoking within New York City’s parks, beaches, and pedestrian plazas goes into effect and smoking is now prohibited on Park’s property.
It is very important that our partners and friends take the lead and set an example for New Yorkers by following this new law and refraining from smoking on Parks property.
You’ll note that smoking will still be allowed on sidewalks outside parks, including the sidewalks that form the perimeter of parks and in the parking lots of all Parks properties. We expect that the new law will be enforced mostly by New Yorkers themselves, who will ask people to follow the law and stop smoking. However, those who violate the new law could receive a $50 ticket.
We have posted signs throughout our properties and provided information on how to quit smoking to those who need it. We encourage anyone who wants to quit smoking to call 311 or 866-NYQUITS, or visit nysmokefree.com.
We work hard to ensure that tens of millions of people—New Yorkers and visitors alike—enjoy our public parks year round, and we hope this new law ensures an even healthier and cleaner experience at our parks and beaches.
Please help us spread the word by sharing this information with your neighbors. Should you have any further questions, please feel free to call my office at (212) 360-3484.
Sincerely,
Larry Scott Blackmon
Deputy Commissioner for Community Outreach
Upper West Side Recycling Center/Columbus-Amsterdam BID*
Sunday, May 22nd, 2011 from 12 noon to 5 p.m. (rain or shine)
Where: Amsterdam Avenue & 110th Street (south side)
The following items will be accepted:
* Working and non-working computers (laptops & desktops)
* Peripherals: monitors, printers, keyboards, mice, cables, etc.
* TVs, stereo equipment, VCRs, DVD players, cable receivers, etc.
* Cell and wall phones
* Compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) – no long bulbs, please
* Flashlight-type batteries (AA, D, etc.) – please tape the ends
* Textiles (clothing, shoes, blankets, sheets, towels, etc.)
Items not accepted:
Other electronic items including appliances (such as microwaves, toasters, etc.), air conditioners, white goods, carpeting
While electronic devices are safe to use in the home or office, they do pose an environmental risk when improperly discarded. Computers, monitors, and printers have cathode ray tubes, circuit boards, and other electronic components that contain toxic pollutants such as lead, mercury, and cadmium. These electronic items are the fastest growing portion of our waste stream. Although e-waste currently makes up a small percentage of our household garbage, it accounts for about 40% of the toxins in that waste. Recycling helps keep it out of landfills, incinerators and the environment. All collected computers and electronics will go to an EPA-licensed recycler.
For more information please contact:
Columbus-Amsterdam BID: 212-666-9774 or
Upper West Side Recycling: jtwine@synerjy.com
Made possible by We Recycle
* This May 22nd E-Waste Recycling event is part of the 2nd annual Manhattan Valley
Family Days, sponsored by the Columbus-Amsterdam BID. (A second family day will be held on May 15th, from 11 AM to 5 PM.) On these two Sundays, Amsterdam Avenue will be closed to traffic between 106th and 110th Streets for family entertainment and activities for all ages, as well as demonstrations, lessons and games.
Received today from Larry Scott Blackmon, Deputy Commissioner for Community Outreach:
Hello Gardeners, and Happy Spring!
In the year that I have been at Parks, I have had the opportunity to get to know many of you and listened to your concerns. One thing I heard frequently was that you wanted your contributions recognized as an integral part of Mayor Bloomberg’s PlaNYC initiative.
On Thursday, April 21, Mayor Bloomberg presented an update to PlaNYC: A Greener, Greater New York. At this launch, facilitating urban agriculture opportunities and community gardening were listed among its top three initiatives going forward. Specific milestones to be completed by 2013 include:
This important commitment to community gardens and other forms of urban agriculture by the administration is a testament to your hard work and dedication. Thank you for all you do to improve our communities.
Please log onto the PlaNYC website or click here to download a copy of the updated plan.
Sincerely,
Larry Scott Blackmon,
Deputy Commissioner for Community Outreach
Hi Folks,
Kindly make you’re final entries to the farming concrete journal by this Sunday, October 31st. The loose leaf and scale can be found in the gazebo. If you wish to estimate harvest amounts after that date, kindly mark it as such on your sheet. The October 31st date was chosen by Farming Concrete. FC has also forwarded a packet with questionnaires for each of us to complete. I’ll leave these in the inside flap of the folder for you to pick up if you have a chance between now and Monday. If you can’t swing by this weekend to pick up the FC questionnaire, I’ll drop it in the mail to you.
Best wishes,
Janice Vrana
Dear Gardeners,
Thanks to everyone who made the Wednesday night Work Evening so productive. If you did not attend, please contact Alan Tenney (alan.tenney@gmail.com) for a make-up work assignment.
Lou Ludyny, our Green Thumb Representative, spoke at the meeting about the Proposed Rules for community gardens that will replace the 2002 Memorandum of Agreement between the New York State Attorney General and the Bloomberg Administration that has been protecting community gardens for the past 8 years and will expire in Sept 2010. The New York City Community Garden Coalition (NYCCGC) is in firm opposition to these Proposed Rules because they threaten community gardens with development and do not offer the same protections as the 2002 Community Gardens Agreement.
A public hearing for comments on the Proposed Rules on community gardens under Parks and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) will be held on
Tuesday, Aug 10, 2010
11AM
Chelsea Recreation Center
430 W 25th St (between 9th and 10th)
Please attend if you can and give your support for community gardens. For more information about the Proposed Changes, how to register to give testimony, what/who to bring and how to have your voice heard is available at
http://www.nyccgc.org/ or contact Lou Ludyny (louludyny@aol.com)
Hello Garden Members,
Here’s a reminder that the garden meeting is on for this Thursday, June 17th, from 6-8 pm. Foremost on the agenda is whether the garden should adopt a budget. So please attend, since this is an important issue that bears on the organization of the garden in the future.
On an entirely different note, please, please, please REMOVE potted plants from the aisles of the garden. As long term members know, pots-in-the-aisles present a hazard to everyone’s circulation.
If the weather prevents our gathering, I’ll send out a cancellation by 4pm. Let’s hope we get our chance.
Sincerely,
Janice Vrana
SC Member