Emerald Ash Borer Discovered in Prospect Park

Posted on 2017-10-28 by admin

Terrible news.

Until this announcement, Agrilus planipennis, emerald ash borer, or EAB for short, had been found throughout New York state, but the locations closest to NYC were in Westchester County. This is quite a leap. One of the ways invasive forest pests get spread is through moving firewood. I wonder if that was the case here.

I live 1/2 mile south of Prospect Park. I am going to visit the ash trees in my neighborhood. They may not be here next year.

Press release from Prospect Park Alliance, 2017-10-27:

Today, the New York State Departments of Agriculture and Markets (DAM) and Environmental Conservation (DEC) confirmed the first-ever discovery of Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) in New York City in Prospect Park. Of an initial survey of 10 suspected trees in Prospect Park by Prospect Park Alliance—the non-profit that cares for the Park in partnership with the City, three were confirmed to be infested by this invasive pest by a Cornell University researcher.

Prospect Park Alliance has removed three trees to date that succumbed to this infestation, located along the Ocean Avenue perimeter of the Park, and additional affected trees in this area will be removed over the winter. NYC Parks, DEC, DAM and Prospect Park Alliance are taking immediate action to limit the spread of infestation and protect New York City’s more than 51,000 ash trees.

“The Emerald Ash Borer infestation was detected in Prospect Park thanks to vigilant monitoring of the tree population by Prospect Park Alliance arborists, a year-round tree crew committed to the protection and preservation of the Park’s 30,000 trees,” said John Jordan, Director of Landscape Management for Prospect Park Alliance. “The Alliance will continue to monitor ash trees in the Park, and will work closely with New York City Parks Department, USDA and DEC to continue tracking and responding to this infestation.”

EAB is a non-native species of beetle whose larvae kill trees by burrowing into the inner bark and thus interrupting the circulation of water and vital nutrients. EAB-infested trees are characterized by thin crowns, sprouts on the trunks of the trees, and the signature d-shaped exit holes adult beetles leave on trees’ bark. EAB only affects ash trees, which constitute roughly three percent of NYC’s street trees. EAB has been present in New York State since 2009.

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo recently awarded a $75,000 Urban Forestry Grant to the Prospect Park Alliance to conduct a tree inventory of Prospect Park. The inventory will include an estimated 12,000 to 15,000 trees in the landscaped areas of the park, representing about half of the total population. The tree inventory will include an invasive insect, pest, and disease detection survey by incorporating the USDA Forest Service early pest detection protocol (IPED).

Thank you to Jessica Katz who posted this to several NYC gardening groups, which is how I learned of it.

Exhibit on Agrilus planipennis, emerald ash borer, from the Onondaga County Cornell Cooperative Extension at the 2012 New York State Fair.

Links

Press release from Prospect Park Alliance, 2017-10-27

Map of ash trees planted as NYC street trees

NY State Department of Environmental Conservation:
Emerald Ash Borer
Look for and report EAB

Coccinella novemnotata, nine-spotted lady beetle, aka “C9”

Posted on 2016-06-25 by admin

New York State Gardeners: You can help re-introduce our state insect! See Links below.

A decade ago, shortly after I launched this blog, I wrote the following:

[Coccinella] novemnotata was once common. How did New York State get to have a once-native-but-no-longer-resident state insect?

Not just common; C. novemnotata, or C9 for short, was once the most common lady beetle in the eastern U.S.
In 1980, when the bill was first introduced to make C9 our state insect, it was still common. It suffered a rapid decline through the 1980s. By the time it was finally designated the state insect in 1989, it hadn’t been seen in the state for 7 years.

In 2006, then-assemblywoman Nancy Calhoun introduced a bill to change the state insect to one which hadn’t been extirpated from the state. In her words, “Why do we want to get something like this wrong?” I wrote:

Instead of introducing a bill to gloss over the extirpation of a species, let’s reintroduce and restore C. novemnotata to New York State. Then our state insect would be a symbol to aspire to, and not simply an “error.”

Well, it may finally be time to do so. In 2001, 29 years after its disappearance from the state, C9 was finally found again, on Long Island. After years of research, Dr. John Losey and his colleagues at Cornell University have successfully reared C9 in captivity. And now, through the Lost Ladybug Project, they are making C9 larvae available to New York state gardeners and others.

Here’s one of them, freshly released in my garden, exploring Heliopsis helianthoides in my front yard.

Gardening for Insects

Stop using pesticides in the garden. Not just insecticides, but herbicides, fungicides, etc.
Grow more native plants, and more varieties of them. Many insects feed on plants in their larval stages, e.g.: caterpillars, and can’t feed effectively on plants with which they haven’t co-evolved.
A variety of native plant species also provides more flowers to provide nectar and pollen for adult insects. Choose plants that have clusters of small flowers, which will attract a larger diversity of insects than big, blowsy flowers.
Leave piles of leaf litter, old logs and branches, standing dead stems of plants. These provide shelter for eggs, pupae, and adults.

Timeline

1970: Coccinella novemnotata (C9) is the most common lady beetle species in the northeastern U.S.
1980: Nominated as New York state insect.
1980s: Begins rapidly declining. Speculation as to causes includes competition with introduced species, but no definitive answers have yet been found.
1982: Last seen in New York state.
1989: Designated NY State Insect, despite being apparently absent for 7 years.
1992: Last seen in the eastern U.S.
2000: The Lost Ladybug Project initiated as a citizen science project.
2006-06-15: Bill 2005-A06247 passes the NY State Assembly to change the state insect from Coccinella novemnotata, extirpated from NY State, to Coleomegilla maculata.
October 2006: C9 re-discovered in Virginia, first time it’s seen on the East Coast since 1992, 14 years.
2011-07-30: C9 rediscovered on Long Island, first time seen in New York since 1982, 29 years.
2016: Lost Ladybug Project launches program to re-introduce captively bred C9

Links

Lost Ladybug Project

Ninespotted Ladybug Restoration
C. novemnotata in decline

Former BBG Herbarium property for sale

Posted on 2015-09-11 by admin

Want to build next to the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens? This might be your one and only chance.
– Development Site Adjacent to Brooklyn Botanic Gardens Hits Market, Terrance Cullen, Commercial Observer, 2015-09-10

More like building on the grave of BBG’s science and research mission. This is not just “walking distance from the Botanic Gardens;” it’s the former site of Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s Herbarium, known as BKL.

The 22,000-square-foot plot at 111 Montgomery Street in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn is hitting the market for a potential developer looking to likely build condominiums.

According to the NYC Department of Buildings, the property is 109-111 Montgomery Street. BBG quietly announced almost a year ago that they would be “disposing” of:

… BBG’s building at 109 Montgomery Street, which has foundation problems and is not cost effective to repair.

The disposition is expected to generate significant revenue …
– BBG Announces Disposition of Montgomery Street Building, 2014-10-24

Indeed. The Observer article gives “an asking price in the mid-$40 million.”

BBG’s October announcement made no mention of the herbarium. In their “Freedom is Slavery” double-speak, they claim the sale as “the first step in reintroducing a science research program at the Garden.” “Reintroducing” because BBG removed science from their mission in September 2013, with no announcement, just a month after firing their remaining science staff,

BBG planned to transfer the herbarium – again, without announcement – out of state, either to the Missouri Botanical Garden (MOBOT) or the Smithsonian. This would have been a disaster for the natural history and cultural heritage of New York state. It was only through last-minute, behind-the-scenes advocacy and intervention in March of this year that the New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) instead accepted the contents on loan. That move was completed in April.

In June of this year, BBG sold the property to the holding company, 109 Montgomery LLC, for $24.5 million.

According to the president of the brokerage handling the sale of the herbarium property, “There’s a real need for families moving into Brooklyn to buy apartments within the $1 to $2 million range.” But no room for science, at any price.

Brooklyn Botanic Garden removes science from its mission

Posted on 2014-01-20 by admin

After all their protests that eliminating their research staff in August 2013 was not “the end of science” at Brooklyn Botanic Garden, BBG’s Board of Trustees quietly voted at the end of September to change their mission. In contrast to their earlier spin machine, BBG has issued no press release, nor any Message from the President, Scot Medbury, to announce this.

“Our commitment to scientific research as a fundamental part of the Garden’s mission is unwavering.” – Medbury, Press Release, 2013-09-06
“Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s commitment to ensuring that scientific research remains a fundamental part of its mission is unwavering” – Medbury, Press Release, 2013-09-12
“Some of you may have seen news reports or petitions [such as the petition I and others started] suggesting that Brooklyn Botanic Garden has ended its commitment to plant science and research. I am writing today to assure you that this is not the case. Scientific research remains a fundamental part of Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s mission and programs.” – Medbury, “Message from the President” to BBG members, 2013-09-19
“If anything, this has catalyzed a greater commitment to making scientific research an enduring and fundamental part of our mission.” – Medbury, quoted in the NY Times, 2013-09-22, less than one week before BBG’s officially, and silently, changed its mission.

Turns out that all was, as so many of us have been saying for months, bullshit. Here is the new mission, now published on BBG’s Web site. Neither “Science,” nor even “Horticulture,” appear. The word “research” appears in the closing clause of the mission:

Brooklyn Botanic Garden is an urban botanic garden that connects people to the world of plants, fostering delight and curiosity while inspiring an appreciation and sense of stewardship of the natural world. Both in the Garden and well beyond, BBG inspires people of all ages through the conservation, display, and enjoyment of plants; with educational programs that emphasize learning by doing; and with research focused on understanding and conserving regional plants and plant communities. Approved by the Board of Trustees, September 28, 2013

For reference, here is the previous mission, approved by the Board in 1994, and no longer available on their Web site:

The mission of Brooklyn Botanic Garden is to serve all the people in its community and throughout the world by:

Displaying plants and practicing the high art of horticulture to provide a beautiful and hospitable setting for the delight and inspiration of the public.

Engaging in research in plant sciences to expand human knowledge of plants, and disseminating the results to science professionals and the general public.

Teaching children and adults about plants at a popular level, as well as making available instruction in the exacting skills required to grow plants and make beautiful gardens.

Reaching out to help the people of all our diverse urban neighborhoods to enhance the quality of their surroundings and their daily lives through the cultivation and enjoyment of plants.

Seeking actively to arouse public awareness of the fragility of our natural environment, both local and global, and providing information about ways to conserve and protect it.

Adopted October 29, 1994

At its founding a century ago, Dr. Stuart Charles Gager, first Directory of BBG, stated succinctly:

For the advancement of botany and the service of the city.

Neither “botany” nor “service” seem relevant any more.

A Personal Note

Prior to this last round of firings in August 2013, I had remained a supporter of BBG. I am no longer.

BBG had been the largest recipient of my charitable contributions. I have bought books, tools, seends, and gifts in their garden shops. I’ve bought plants at their annual plant sale.

I have supported BBG through social media, through this blog, Facebook, and Twitter. I administered the Flickr BBG Visitor’s Group, when its founder, another BBG supporter, could no longer do it. I organized a meetup of bloggers at BBG in 2008. And I organized a petition to restore science to BBG.

I thought I had been supporting science and botany at BBG. Instead, they diverted my money, my energy, my passion to the shiny baubles of their “Campaign for the Next Century.” They have made it clear they no longer need my support, even if they still want my money.

My passion remains. I’m just redirecting it to where it will not be betrayed.

Links

Reports:
Botanic Garden’s celebrated plant research center wilts under layoffs, NY Daily News, 2013-08-28
Brooklyn Botanic Garden Cuts Science Staff Weeks After Native Garden Debut, DNAInfo, 2013-08-23

Reactions:
Softball Practice: Part 1: When an Organization Undermines Its Own Mission, 2013-08-24; Part 2: Follow up to “When an Organization Undermines . . .”, 2013-08-29

BBG Purge, Backyard and Beyond, 2013-08-23
Brooklyn Botanic Garden suspends science program, Kent Holsinger, 2013-08-23

Background:
Brooklyn Botanic Garden Names New President, Press Release, published on BGCI Web site, 2005-08-15

Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Brooklyn Botanic Garden Announces Interim Herbarium Plans, 2013-09-12
BBG Announces Plan to Reenvision Research Program, 2013-09-06
Brooklyn Botanic Garden Announces Suspension of Research Program, 2013-08-28
Note: BBG PULLED this press release when they decided they were “re-envisioning,” not “suspending.”

Campaign for the Next Century
Herbarium
Herbarium Course at BBG, 2012-08-10
Herbarium Receives Historic Collection, 2012-05-31
New York Metropolitan Flora Project (NYMF)

BBG’s 2013-09-06 Press Release:

In late August, Brooklyn Botanic Garden announced plans to put its research program on hiatus while it grapples with an engineering problem in its science building and formulates a plan for a new research direction in plant conservation.

Garden president Scot Medbury said, “Our commitment to scientific research as a fundamental part of the Garden’s mission is unwavering. We will use this transition period to refine the focus of our research program and strengthen its base of financial support.”

During the hiatus, the Garden is taking proactive steps to protect its valuable herbarium from a failing building foundation and will limit herbarium access to qualified researchers while planning to relocate the collection.

“BBG has successfully reimagined its research programs several times in its hundred-year history, and this is another such juncture,” said Medbury.

BBG’s 2013-09-12 Press Release:

Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG) today announced a new collaboration offered by The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) during a period of planning and construction affecting access to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden Herbarium.

In late August, engineering problems affecting the foundation at Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s off-site science center led to a phased closure of that building and consequent access restrictions to its herbarium, the collection of 330,000 pressed, dried plant specimens housed there. While planning gets under way to relocate the BBG Herbarium (BKL), BBG will remain focused on the care of its herbarium collections, maintaining one part-time and two full-time staff members, including its director of collections, Tony Morosco, an eight-year veteran of the University of California’s Jepson Herbarium during a similar period of transition. As part of the new collaboration, science staff from NYBG’s William and Lynda Steere Herbarium will provide additional monitoring and support for the BKL during BBG’s planning phases. BBG’s important subcollection of herbarium type specimens will be temporarily moved to NYBG to facilitate researcher access. NYBG will also help process the return of loans made to other institutions from the BKL and assist with future loan requests. In addition, plans are in progress to transfer the BKL database to NYBG, where it will become a subunit of NYBG’s C.V. Starr Virtual Herbarium.

“Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s commitment to ensuring that scientific research remains a fundamental part of its mission is unwavering,” said Scot Medbury, president of BBG. “We are deeply grateful to The New York Botanical Garden for their generous technical support while we undergo a major transition.”

Sustainability Guidelines for NYC Parks

Posted on 2011-01-09 by admin

Panorama, Frozen Lullwater at Prospect Park at Sunset

The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation (Parks) recently released new sustainability guidelines for the design and maintenance of NYC’s green spaces, High Performance Landscape Guidelines: 21st Century Parks for NYC:

High Performance Landscape Guidelines is the first document of its kind in the nation: a comprehensive, municipal design primer for sustainable parks and open space. The product of a unique partnership between the Parks Department and the Design Trust, a nonprofit organization that helped create sustainable guidelines for NYC buildings, High Performance Landscape Guidelines covers every aspect of creating sustainable parks, from design to construction to maintenance, and feature many best practices for managing soil, water, and vegetation resources.
– Press Release, January 6, 2011

The Guidelines, running over 270 pages, cover site assessment; design, construction and maintenance; and soils, water and vegetation. the final section of the manual includes several case studies, including two of Brooklyn’s Parks: Calvert Vaux and Canarsie Parks.

Climate change is identified as a major factor, if not the single most important consideration, for the guidelines:

Climate change threatens the stability and longevity of New York City’s infrastructure, buildings, and parks; it also compromises the health and safety of the city’s population. Unless the growth of greenhouse gas emissions is curbed and reversed, experts predict that climate change will result in significant sea level rise, increased storm intensity and frequency, and increased temperatures.

Two factors will exacerbate the impacts of climate change in New York City: the urban heat island effect and the city’s overburdened stormwater infrastructure.

– Climate Change and 21st Century Parks, Part 1, Guidelines

[goog.gl]

Links

High Performance Landscape Guidelines: 21st Century Parks for NYC, available as PDF (273 pages)
Parks Press Release: A New Year Launches A New Era In Great Park Design, 2011-01-06

Community Gardens Town Hall Meeting, Saturday, 10/2

Posted on 2010-10-01 by admin

This event is also listed on Facebook and EventBrite.

When:
Saturday, October 2
12:00pm – 4:00pm

Where:
The New School – Wollman Hall
66 W. 12th St, 5th Floor
New York, NY

On October 2, 2010, the New York City Community Garden Coalition will convene a Town Hall Meeting to discuss the recently published “new rules” for community gardens on City land set to go into effect on October 13, 2010, as well as look to alternative legal strategies for long-term preservation.

While media reports have characterized the Coalition’s opinion of the rules as favorable, NYCCGC has officially held comment, …and has been meeting with Coalition members, conferring with other greening groups, and consulting with legal experts to fully assess the scope and impact of the recently updated rules.

“We held comment on the new rules for a reason,” says NYCCGC President Karen Washington. “The far-reaching impact of these rules is not something to be taken lightly, and needs to be analyzed thoroughly. While we appreciate that steps in the right direction have been made, there are still some serious concerns that need to be addressed before we claim total victory for the City’s community gardeners.”

While NYCCGC had originally been involved with the drafting of the new rules, negotiations eventually broke off, leaving the Coalition and its allies frustrated. On the morning of August 10, NYCCGC rallied supporters, helping fill Parks’ public hearing regarding the rules to overflow capacity. Over 300 garden devotees shared their passion as well as their consternation at the then-proposed rules, ultimately having a positive impact on the recently published rules.

One revelation that came to light at the hearing was from Christopher Amato, who served as lead attorney in the NY State Attorney General’s 2002 landmark lawsuit against the City, is that all 198 community gardens transferred to Parks (and more since then) were permanently protected by the 2002 “Community Gardens Agreement,” which he also helped author.

12:00pm – 2:00pm: The first half of the Town Hall meeting will include an introduction to the current state of community garden affairs, followed by analysis of the new rules governing community gardens on city-owned land by several experts in the field of environmental justice.

2:00pm – 4:00pm: The second half of the event will be devoted to looking above and beyond the new rules: the pervasive sentiment, shared by supporters including City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Parks and Recreation Committee Chair Melissa Mark-Viverito, and Christina Grace of the NYS Office of Community Gardens, is that true permanency for the gardens lies in legislation. Several legal strategies will be discussed; the Coalition is urging all elected local and state representatives with an interest in this important environmental justice issue to attend.

Both sessions will conclude with comments from invited greening groups, and an open question & answer period.

Links

Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG): Community Garden Alliance
New York City Community Garden Coalition

City Announces Revised Rules for Community Gardens

Posted on 2010-09-13 by admin

Updated 2010-09-14: Added links to news reports.

Note: The full press release claims that “there are more than 600 gardens across New York City.” This in incorrect. The latest census lists only 482 gardens, 20% fewer than claimed in Parks’ press release.

Parks Press Release

Monday, September 13, 2010

Parks Commissioner Announces Final Community Garden Rules Strengthening Protections For Gardens

Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe today announced the Parks Department has finalized its Community Garden Rules, which incorporate significant changes based on public comments made on the draft rules. The Notice of Adoption, including the full rules, will be published in the City Record on Monday, September 13, 2010 and take effect 30 days later.

Key changes to the proposed rules, led by Commissioner Benepe in concert with elected officials, community boards, and community garden organizations, were made in response to testimony from the community at a public hearing on August 10th, 2010 which was hosted by the Parks Department. They include:

Active gardens under the Parks Department’s jurisdiction are preserved as gardens as long as they are registered and licensed by the Department.
Licenses will be renewed as long as the garden satisfies the registration criteria.
Parks must attempt to identify successor gardening groups for failing gardens and has nine months from time of default to return the garden to active status.
New gardens may be created and will have the same protections as existing gardens.
A party licensed by the City to perform work that results in damage to a garden will be required to return the garden to its preexisting condition.
The Department will attempt to provide notices required under the Current Rules to gardeners in other languages.
The Statement of Basis and Purpose states that gardens will be preserved and explains that the transfer and development provisions apply to abandoned and persistently non-compliant gardens under the Department’s jurisdiction.

…

Links

Parks Press Release, 2010-09-13

Time’s Up! Statement on New Garden Rules, Time’s Up, 2010-09-14

Community Gardens Get More Protection, Brooklyn Eagle, 2010-09-13
Community-Garden Rules Receive a Mixed Reaction, Javier C. Hernandez, NY Times, 2010-09-13
City Adopts New Rules For Community Gardens, Erica Ferrari, NY1 News (Video)
NYC Adopts New Rules For Community Gardens, Monica Morales, WPIX (Video)

Support NYC’s Community Gardens

Posted on 2010-08-09 by admin

Garden supporters gathered on the steps of City Hall for last Wednesday’s press conference.

Today is the last day to register to speak at tomorrow’s hearings on proposed rules that will govern more than half of NYC’s community gardens. The New York City Community Gardeners Coalition (NYCCGC) has all the details on their Web site. The deadline for submitting written comments is tomorrow, coinciding with the public hearing.

Many other groups are also joining together for rallies and other events to show support for NYC’s community gardens. Even if you’re not inspired to speak or write, please come out to show your support.

Monday, August 9

Register to speak by calling (212) 360-1335 or email laura.lavelle@parks.nyc.gov. Spoken testimony will be limited to 3 minutes.

Tuesday, August 10

What: PEP RALLY
Time: 9am
Where: Elliot Chelsea Green Grounds
425 West 25th St (9th-10th Aves.), Manhattan

What: Public Hearing (you must register today to speak)
Time: 11am
Where: Chelsea Recreation Center
430 West 25^th Street, Manhattan

Links

Take Action: Parks’ Policy Change Threatens Community Gardens, NYC Community Garden Coalition (NYCCGC)

Coalition Seeks More Protection For Community Gardens, Raanan Geberer, Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 2010-08-06
Gardens of Fear: Community planters fret over new rules, Erin Durking, NY Daily News, 2010-08-11
NYRP Testifies on Behalf of NYC Community Gardens, New York Restoration Project, 2010-08-16

Community Gardeners at City Hall

Posted on 2010-08-05 by admin

Updated 2010-08-05: Added links to more reports on the press conference, variously reported also as a demonstration, protest, or rally.

Yesterday morning, I joined about 70 of my fellow community gardeners and community garden advocates and supporters on the steps of City Hall. The agreement that has largely protected community gardens in NYC since 2002 expires next month. The press conference was organized by the New York City Community Gardens Coalition (NYCCGC) to draw attention to issues with proposed new rules for NYC’s community gardens.

NYCCGC has all the details on their Web site. I urge everyone to weigh in with written comments, whether submitted through the NYC.gov Web site, or by email. You can also (gasp!) mail a letter. You can even call 311. The hearing is Tuesday, 8/10. If you want to speak, you must register by Monday, August 9. All comments are due on or by August 10, the date of the hearing.

Slideshow

Despite the heat, even at 9:30 in the morning, it was a lovely, energizing, and community-building event. The gardens were well-represented.

Links

Take Action: Parks’ Policy Change Threatens Community Gardens, NYC Community Garden Coalition (NYCCGC)

Community Garden Advocates Demand Parks Protections, Maria Eugenia Miranda, NBC New York, 2010-08-04Green groups fear new community garden rules, am New York (Newsday), 2010-08-04
Coming to the Defense of Community Gardens, City Room, NY Times, 2010-08-04
Demonstrators Disapprove Of Proposed NYC Park Rules, CBS New York/1010 WINS, 2010-08-04 (Text and Podcast)
Community Gardeners Rally in Front of City Hall to Push for Green Space Protections, DNAInfo, 2010-08-04
Defend Community Gardens, That Greenpoint Blog, 2010-08-05
Gardeners Root For City Patches, Melanie Grace West, Wall Street Journal, 2010-08-05
Community Garden Advocates Demand Permanent Protection for Their Gardens, Epoch Times, 2010-08-05
Benepe: There He Goes Again, Soiled Hands, 2010-08-05
New Yorkers Rally for Community Garden Protection, Ecocentric, 2010-08-19

Gardens Supporters Press Conference, 8/4, at City Hall

Posted on 2010-08-03 by admin

The East 4th Street/Windsor Terrace-Kensington Veterans Memorial Community Garden, one of over 100 NYC community gardens under Parks jurisdiction. The agreement that has largely protected community gardens in NYC since 2002 expires next month. Brooklyn has 42% (204/483) of NYC’s Community Gardens.

Several community gardening advocacy groups are holding a press conference on the steps of City Hall tomorrow, Wednesday, August 4, at 10:00am. They are inviting all supporters to join them.

The press conference is in response to the new community gardens rules proposed by the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation (Parks) and Housing Preservation and Development (HPD).

New York City Community Garden Coalition
RALLY & PRESS CONFERENCE WEDNESDAY AUGUST 4TH, 10:00AM
@ NEW YORK CITY HALL STEPS – BE THERE!
We are calling upon all community gardeners, of our members, supporters, and allies to join us this Wednesday, August 4, 2010 on the steps of City Hall
as we voice our concerns regarding the proposed new rules that govern many of our city’s community gardens.

Location: City Hall Steps, New York NY 10007
Date: Wednesday, August 4th, 2010
Time: 9:30am – 10:30am (Starting at 10:00am Sharp)
The Spencer Street Block Association Garden in Bed-Stuy is under the jurisdiction of HPD. In the eight years of the settlement agreement, HPD has destroyed nearly all of its gardens. Only about 20 remain across the city.

Enter the City Hall steps area by passing through metal detectors on the East or West entrance of City Hall inside City Hall Park.

We will meet at 9:30am
@ the East side of the steps
(closest to Brooklyn Bridge)
Bring your fellow gardeners, neighbors, kids, pictures, banners, flowers, vegetables….
Please confirm you are coming by calling us at (888) 311-3993 or emailing us at info@NYCCGC.org

Getting to City Hall by Subway:
4, 5, 6 to Brooklyn Bridge/City Hall
R, W to City Hall
2, 3 to Park Place
J, M, Z to Chambers Street
E to World Trade Center
A, C to Chambers Street

This press conference is in response to the Proposed Parks Rules and upcoming Public Hearing on Tuesday August 10th for more info go to http://www.nyccgc.org

Hellebores and Narcissus in March of 2007 in the Summit Street Community Garden in Red Hook/Columbia Waterfront neighborhood, another Parks garden that would be eligible to be sold to developers under Parks’ proposed new rules.

[goo.gl]

Links

Notice of Opportunity to Comment on Proposed Rule (PDFs) from Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) and Housing Preservation and Development

Take Action: Parks’ Policy Change Threatens Community Gardens, NYC Community Garden Coalition (NYCCGC)

Coming to the Defense of Community Gardens, City Room, NY Times, 2010-08-04

Community Gardens Need Your Help, Backyard and Beyond, 2010-08-03
Keeping New York City’s Community Gardens Green, NY Times Editorial opposing the proposed rules, 2010-08-02
New York’s Community Gardens Lose Protect Status, Threatened With Development Under New Rules, TreeHugger, 2010-07-27
Letter to Gardeners (PDF), NYCCGC, 2010-07-22
Protect our community gardens, EV Grieve, 2010-07-19

The 2002 Settlement

2002 Memorandum of Agreement (PDF), NYCCGC

Community Gardens Lawsuit Settles, The Municipal Arts Society of New York (MASNYC), 2004-02-09
Ending a Long Battle, New York Lets Housing and Gardens Grow, NY Times, 2002-09-19
Community Gardens in New York City: the Lower East Side of Manhattan offers a summarized timeline of community gardens in NYC from 1965-2002

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Monday, August 9

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The 2002 Settlement