This photo by Flatbush Gardener illustrates how NOT to dispose of your unwanted electronics items!

Instead, bring them to the
First-Ever Flatbush Electronics Recycling Event
this weekend. Details below:

When:
Saturday June 30, 10am - 4pm
Sunday July 1, 10am - 4pm
Monday July 2, 4pm - 7pm

Where:
Cortelyou Road between Rugby and Argyle
Flatbush, Brooklyn (map here)
Subway: Q train to Cortelyou Road stop
Bus: B23, B103 stop at location; B68 and B41 stop nearby

Why:
Discarded computers and electronics are toxic hazardous waste!
Keep your unwanted electronics out of the landfill by bringing them
to this neighborhood e-waste recycling event.

What:
We will accept working and non-working:
• Computers (laptop and desktop) and Monitors
• Printers, Keyboards, Mice and Cables
• TVs and VCRs (no wooden console models, only plastic cases)
• Fax machines, Cell Phones, and Pagers

please note: we cannot accept small household appliances
such as microwaves and toasters

Sponsored by the Lower East Side Ecology Center
and Sustainable Flatbush.

Co-sponsored by Flatbush Development Corporation.

I for one will be eagerly following the Q&A taking place on the Times’ City Room blog with newly-appointed Department of Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan. Part one of six is up now, and I almost can’t believe what I’m reading… she is talking about the kind of transportation scenario in New York City that I have only dreamed of until now. Here are a couple of choice bits:

Q. What will you specifically do to change the institutional bias of DOT away from moving cars, and towards moving people?

A. Commissioner Sadik-Khan: PlaNYC explicitly makes mass transit, cycling and walking transportation priorities for the city, so the change in emphasis you and many other New Yorkers are looking for is in the works. My team at DOT — newcomers and veterans alike — are focused on bringing about congestion pricing and all the measures that complement it, including an expanded and better bicycle network, bus rapid transit lines, traffic calming and new public spaces.

(on Congestion Pricing)

Commissioner Sadik-Khan: All travel in the city and the region involves costs and choices. With congestion pricing, we are seeking to alter somewhat the calculation people use to make those choices.

The question isn’t whether we pay to get around our City, but how. The alternative to the Mayor’s plan is to continue to pay in the form of wasted time, costly deliveries and polluted air. Congestion pricing, by reducing traffic jams and allowing us to pay for long awaited mass transit improvements, will secure a greater and greener City for our children.

Expanded and better bicycle network! Traffic calming! Bus Rapid Transit lanes!! The revolution is on.

City Room’s complete Answers from the Transportation Commissioner Part 1 can be read here.

Obviously this post is a little late for most people to get to the rally (I just heard about it), but I wanted to give some visibility to the topic; I had no idea New York public schools were still using styrofoam trays, so perhaps some of you didn’t know either. Certainly there are more environmentally-friendly options available, and the school system is a huge market for them. Thanks to RecycleThis! NYC for the tip.

NY City Councilperson Bill De Blasio and Parents Rally to Tell NYC Department of Education (DOE) to Stop Using Styrofoam Trays in Our Public Schools

Did you know that each day, NYC public schools serve meals on Styrofoam trays?

It is estimated that 850,000 trays are used daily throughout the public schools– that’s 4,250,000 trays during one school week!

These trays are then thrown out, discarded, into our already overused landfills. These trays do not decompose. These trays, as they fall apart, prevent other trash from decomposing. These trays cannot be recycled. Additionally, studies suggest the possibility of chemical migration into the food our children eat each day.

When: Tuesday, June 26th at 1pm
Where: Steps of City Hall
Who: Public School Parents and Councilmember Bill de Blasio

Please call Jean Weinberg at 212-788-6969 or email deblasio@council.nyc.ny.us with any questions. We hope you can join us on Tuesday!

The NY Times editorial quoted below spells out the current stalemate on congestion pricing and consequences of NOT passing this much-needed piece of legislation (including a subway fare hike as high as 50%). I am thoroughly embarassed by the Democratic Party “leadership” that could cost our city $500 million in federal funds earmarked for public transit improvements because they are pandering to parking garage owners and the small minority of New Yorkers who commute by car. If you feel the same way, now is the time to let them know.

 

June 25, 2007

Editorial

Congestion Pricing Deadline

New Yorkers and anyone else who rides public transportation in and around the city should mark July 16 on their calendars. By that date, if state lawmakers do their jobs, they will have paved the way to ensuring billions of dollars of new cash to maintain and expand mass transit. If not, the current $2 fare for a bus or subway ride can be expected to increase at least 20 percent and maybe as much as 50 percent. The choice is that stark, and riders, who will pay the price if legislators fail, will know exactly where to direct their pique.

(more…)

Yesterday I attended the NYC Solar Summit 2007, sponsored by CUNY’s Center for Sustainable Energy. The event’s focus was on how to enable the growth of solar power as a renewable energy resource here in NYC, discussed from many angles. I will try to provide a more in-depth report later, but first I just HAD to post a photo of the lovely NOT plastic bag given to all participants, with no three-hour wait!

I was in Soho yesterday afternoon and passed by the shop that sold out of 800 of these bags in three hours. Hopefully this will result in 800 fewer black plastic bags hanging from trees and ending up in the landfill.

Here’s a surreal image from Soho this morning:

People are lined up for a city block waiting to purchase a limited-edition
tote bag emblazoned with the slogan “I Am Not a Plastic Bag”.

photo by Keka

Here is a blurb from the company’s website:

How can I buy I’m Not A Plastic Bag in the US?
After the huge excitement surrounding the launch of I’m Not A Plastic Bag in the UK we are pleased to announce that we will be launching a limited edition version of this bag with navy blue lettering in the US on June 20th.

The bag will be available from all US Anya Hindmarch stores, Ron Herman and Fred Segal Flair for just $15. Due to overwhelming demand purchases will be limited to two bags per customer.

The bag will also be available from Holt Renfrew in Canada for $18 (Canadian dollars).

From 18th July the bag will be available at selected Whole Foods Market stores.

I would like to know how many of the people who buy this bag will actually use it in place of a plastic bag, and for how long. Will they abandon it for the next “must-have” accessory when tout-le-monde is able to buy it at Whole Foods in July? Cynicism aside, is this kind of product generating an environmental discussion amongst people who wouldn’t be having one otherwise, and if so isn’t that a good thing?

These bins are in Borough Hall Plaza, by the farmers’ market. A peek inside revealed excellent recycling compliance. Go Brooklyn!

We had a full house for Friday’s lecture by Wilton Duckworth and Joan Ewing of Green Phoenix Permaculture.

Wilton provided some fascinating historical perspective on New York City’s infrastructure; I was particularly intrigued to learn of our transition from a city that was once able to sell its “night soil” (waste from outhouses) to farmers on Long Island for fertilizer, to our current garbage situation requiring massive daily truck caravans to cart our waste to faraway locations, at huge municipal expense. Joan also spoke eloquently of the city’s human resources – energy of youth, wisdom of elders, richness of cultural diversity, etc. – and the need to reclaim our time so we can better utilize them.

photo by Chris Kreussling aka Flatbush Gardener

Harvesting rainwater to mitigate Combined Sewer Overflow and promoting community composting to turn organic waste into nourishment for the city’s gardens and parks were just two of the ideas discussed on what Urban Permaculture might look like; both exemplify perfectly the Permaculture philosophy of turning problems into solutions. It is worth noting that these activities make sense financially as well as environmentally (homeowners, checked your water bill lately?) and are relatively simple to implement.

Sustainable Flatbush would like to give big big thanks to Joan and Wilton for coming back to the neighborhood to share their knowledge and experience with us!!

more photos from Event #3 can be seen at Flatbush Gardener’s Flickr gallery.

Event #3 also provided a special treat for the late-nighters who stayed to hear Cacau Arcoverde and Ileana Santamaria perform music and dance from Pernambuco, Brazil! We even had a roda de capoeira going for a minute (thanks to Samir).

DJ Drummerman (Jeff Duneman) and I helped out on percussion too.

photos by Chris Kreussling aka Flatbush Gardener