Mulchfest 2011: Recycle Those Trees!

Posted on 2011-01-02 by admin

The giant tree shredder in action at last year’s Mulchfest at Park Circle in Prospect Park.

It’s tree recycling season in New York City. Residents can have their trees recycled into mulch for the City’s parks and gardens. Note that, although recycling pickup is still suspended after the post-Christmas blizzard, you can leave trees curbside for recycling pickup.

Remove all lights, ornaments, tinsel and tree-stands from your tree.
Leave your tree unwrapped. Don’t put it in a plastic bag.
Leave trees curbside starting Monday, January 3 for recycling pickup, OR
Bring your tree 10am-2pm Saturday, January 8th or Sunday, January 9th to one of 70 locations citywide.

Residents can also pick up free mulch at designated chipping locations.

Brooklyn Locations

This year’s Mulchfest locations for Brooklyn are almost the same as last year’s. Those marked with an asterisk (*) are on-site chipping locations.

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Location	Address
The Amazing Garden*	Columbia Street at Carroll Street	Chipping
Cobble Hill Park*	Verandah Place & Clinton Street	Chipping
Coffey Park	Dwight Street & Verona Street	Drop-off only
Fort Greene Park*	Washington Pk. & Willoughby Avenue	Chipping
Green-Wood Cemetery	25th Street & 4th Avenue	Drop-off only
Hattie Carthan Garden*	Across from Von King Park: Lafayette Avenue & Clifton Place	Chipping
Lincoln Terrace Park	Buffalo Avenue between East New York Avenue & Eastern Parkway	Drop-off only
Maria Hernandez Park	Knickerbocker Avenue & Suydam Street	Drop-off only
Marine Park*	Avenue U & East 33rd Street	Chipping
McCarren Park*	Driggs Avenue & Lorimer Street	Chipping
McGolrick Park	Monitor Street & Driggs Avenue	Drop-off only
Owl’s Head Park*	Colonial Road & 68th Street	Chipping
Prospect Heights Community Garden	252-256 St. Marks Avenue	Drop-off only
Prospect Park*	Third Street at Prospect Park West	Chipping
Prospect Park Circle*	Parkside Avenue & Prospect Park Southwest	Chipping
Sunset Park	44th Street & 6th Avenue	Drop-off only

Map

View Brooklyn MulchFest 2011 in a larger map

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Links

Mulchfest, NYC Department of Parks and Recreation
MillionTreesNYC
Partnerships for Parks
Prospect Park Alliance

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

Daffodil Project 2010

Posted on 2010-09-21 by admin

Update 2010-10-22: Manhattan distribution date changed.
Updated 2010-10-09: Bronx distribution date and location changed.
Updated 2010-09-23: Added distribution dates and sites.

Daffodil bulbs just planted in place in a tree bed on Cortelyou Road in November 2007.

Today and tomorrow are the last two days to request Daffodil bulbs from New Yorkers for Parks for this year’s Daffodil Project. Bulbs will be distributed in October. In Brooklyn, bulbs will be available for pick up on Saturday, October 23, from 8am-11am, at Grand Army Plaza at the Greenmarket Manager’s tent near the white flagpole.

For nearly a decade the Daffodil Project, a living memorial to 9/11, has been a citywide effort to beautify every neighborhood by planting daffodils. Led by New Yorkers for Parks in cooperation with the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, this annual volunteer effort serves as a living memorial for the victims, a symbol of remembrance, and an act of rebirth that involves citizens in the revitalization of their communities.

Each fall, New Yorkers for Parks distributes hundreds of thousands of daffodil bulbs to New Yorkers in all five boroughs. The bulbs are free to anyone who commits to planting them in a park or public space.

Dutch bulb supplier Hans van Waardenburg of B&K Flowerbulbs has pledged to donate 500,000 daffodil bulbs to the project each year as long as there are volunteers willing to plant them. Over 20,000 New Yorkers have responded to this challenge, making the Daffodil Project one of the largest citywide volunteer efforts.

Since the project’s inception, nearly 4 million daffodils have been planted throughout New York City.
– The Daffodil Project, New Yorkers for Parks

Distribution Dates and Sites

Thank you to all the community groups who signed up for bulbs for partnering with us to make this living 9/11 memorial possible. Bulbs will be distributed to those who registered at the five sites across the city (one in each borough). Please try to arrive earlier rather than later.

Staten Island, Silver Lake Tennis House: Sunday, October 17th, 10am-12pm
On the Forest Avenue side of Silver Lake Park near the intersection of Hart Boulevard and Forest Avenue.

Brooklyn, Grand Army Plaza Greenmarket: Saturday, October 23rd, 8am-11am
At the manager’s tent near the white flag pole.

Manhattan – Date changed – Union Square Greenmarket: Sunday, October 24th, 10am-1pm
At the manager’s tent near the corner of East 15th Street and Union Square West.

The Bronx – Date and location changed – Bronx Borough Hall Greenmarket: Tuesday, October 26, 10am-12pm
at the manager’s tent, Grand Concourse between 161st and 162nd streets

Queens, The Overlook in Forest Park: Saturday, October 30th, 10am-1pm
At 80-30 Park Lane, Kew Gardens NY 11415. Enter through the service road.

We are asking groups who requested over 300 bulbs to bring their own bags or boxes to take the bulbs away on the day of the distribution. Tote bags will not be handed out this year. Thank you for your assistance with this!

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Links

The Daffodil Project, New Yorkers for Parks

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.

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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

Proposed NYC Rules Threaten Community Gardens

Posted on 2010-07-28 by admin

Update 2010-07-28:

Welcome, NY Times CityRoom readers.
Added links to information on the 2002 settlement agreement.

The Baltic Street Community Garden in Park Slope, as it appeared in July 2008. It was destroyed in 2009 by the NYC Department of Education.

The agreement that has largely protected New York City community gardens for nearly a decade expires this September. Community gardens fall under different jurisdictions, depending on whether they are in private hands, such as a land trust organization, or on land controlled by an Agency of the City. In advance of the expiration of the agreement, the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR, or simply “Parks”) and Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) have drafted revised rules for governing the gardens under their care. In short: gardens will have no protection.

Public comments are due in writing by August 10. To view the proposed rules, or to submit comments:

Visit Proposed Rules on the NYC.gov Web site.
For “Agency”, Select “DPR” or “HPD”.
Click [GO].
Click “Community Gardens” to view the Proposed Rule (PDF). Click “Comment” to submit your written comments online.

There is a community meeting tomorrow evening for gardeners and advocates of NYC’s community gardens to learn about the issues and what we can do in response.

Gardener’s Information Session
Wednesday July 28 6-8pm
Brooklyn Botanic Garden Auditorium
1000 Washington Ave.
Subway: 2,3 to Eastern Pkwy, or B, Q to Prospect Park

Public Hearing
August 10 11am
Chelsea Recreation Center
430 W. 25th St (btwn 9 & 10)
Subway: C, E to 23rd Street, or A to 34th Street

The Campus Road Garden in South Midwood, as it appeared in August 2008. It was destroyed earlier this year by Brooklyn College.

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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)

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

Shufflin’ Off …

Posted on 2010-07-07 by admin

Today I’m driving from Syracuse to Buffalo, New York, to attend Garden Bloggers Buffa10, the third annual meetup of North American (U.S and Canada) garden bloggers. The first was two years ago in Austin, Texas. I attended last year’s Chicago Spring Fling and had a blast.

Buffa10 runs from tomorrow, Thursday, July 8 through Sunday, July 11, in the middle of Buffalo’s all-garden blowout, Garden Walk Buffalo, the largest garden tour in the U.S. With more than 350 gardens on display, we’ll only get to visit a handful in our four days.
I have my new business cards, made from my Flickr photos, in hand to give out to my gardening tweeps and bluggies. All but four of the images come from Brooklyn. I collected the set of 20 photos, so those of you getting one of my cards can identify the image.

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Links

Garden Bloggers Buffa10
The Garden Writers and Bloggers Are Coming!, Garden Walk Buffalo

NYC Wildflower Week, 5/1-5/9

Posted on 2010-04-29 by admin

The Native Flora Garden at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, May 2009. This was the first garden constructed after BBG was established on the site of a municipal ash dump 100 years ago, and the first public garden devoted to native plants. Next Wednesday’s tour of this garden with Uli Lorimer, curator of BBG’s Native Flora Garden and an instructor in their Certificate in Horticulture program, is one of over 45 FREE events in all – available during NYC Wildflower Week.

NYC Wildflower Week kicks off Saturday 5/1. This is the third year for the event, and it’s bigger and better than ever. There are events all over the city, including tours of locations otherwise closed to the public. I’m looking forward to visiting, for the first time, the Greenbelt Native Plant Center on Staten Island, “the only municipal native plant nursery in the country.”

You can get all the details at the official, extensive, NYCWW Web site, or at the Parks Department event page:

From Friday, May 1, to Saturday, May 9, we’re celebrating the hundreds of native flowers, trees, shrubs and grasses in the Big Apple. Take advantage of the spring weather, and come out for a week of environmental learning, with free activities, walks, and talks galore.

I’m proud that this year, for the first time, I’ve been invited to participate in an official capacity. This Saturday morning, May 1, I’ll be on-hand at the information booth at Union Square to help answer questions and provide information about native plants.

A male Agapostemon, Green Metallic Bee, on a native perennial Helianthus, Sunflower, in my backyard native plant garden. Native plants provide vital habitat – food, forage, and shelter – for this and the rest of the more than 250 of bees native to NYC.

What can you do to help preserve NYC’s native plants?

Take a walk.
Head outdoors with a field guide and a friend to learn about the botanical jewels in your neck of the woods. Preservation comes to those places that are loved by people.

Ride with the masses.
Whenever possible, take mass transit. Let your legislators know how you travel. New roadways promote sprawl and destroy and degrade habitat. If this money were instead used to bolster mass transit, we could conserve oil, preserve biodiversity and decrease sprawl.

No picking.
Removing native plants from the wild depletes natural populations. Never take plants from parks or other open spaces. An exemption – if a site were slated for development, then the plants should be rescued and moved to another site, but ONLY if you were absolutely certain that the plants would otherwise be destroyed.

Be civically active.
Development is the #1 cause of native plant destruction. Make note of open space slated for a strip mall or housing complex or active recreation area (because even settings like ball fields and golf courses eat up natural habitats). Attend community board meetings. Voice your dissent. Open space allows for passive recreation, like plant hunting, birding and hiking. Such activities nurture the naturalist in all of us.

Preserve open space.
Work to save our natural areas. Become a member of a local land trust or conservancy devoted to preserving open space and natural resources. If one doesn’t exist, consider starting your own.

Join a botanical society.
New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Connecticut all have native plant societies. These groups lead tours through local fields and forests and always welcome new plant people. See our Resources page to learn more.

Compost with care.
Most homeowners believe it is environmentally responsible to pile lawn refuse (grass clippings, leaves, twigs) in adjacent open areas. Don’t. By dumping garden waste in woods or at property edge, you may be inadvertently overwhelming critical habitat for plants and animals!

Lay off the herbicide.
Is it really that important to have a “weed free” yard? The struggle for pristine green carpet (aka lawn) is a struggle against nature itself. Herbicides kill the native plants on and around your property. Instead, keep turf to a minimum, and maximize color, richness and beauty with native plant gardens.

Legal protection for plants.
New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Connecticut all have something in common – none of these states have laws safeguarding native flora. Moreover, they have no legal protections for rare plants. An undeveloped lot chuck-full of uncommon and unique vegetation is not legally viewed as special. This site is just as likely to be built upon as a lot full of crummy weeds. This happens even at the Federal level, where most of the money from the Endangered Species Act goes towards animal protection. Let your legislators know that your flora should have rights. Flower power!

– Why Wildflowers?, NYC Wildflower Week

Cypripedium calceolus var. pubescens, BBG Native Flora Garden, May 2009

Brooklyn Locations

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Distribution Dates and Sites

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Monday, August 9

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The 2002 Settlement

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