sustainableflatbush.org

I’ve been watching the buildup all day on Streetsblog in anticipation of this exciting announcement:

Emulating similar experiments in Paris, London, and Bogotá, Colombia, New York City will close off to traffic a 6.9-mile route from the Brooklyn Bridge to East 72nd Street on three consecutive Saturdays, giving New Yorkers to a chance to explore and enjoy “car-free recreation corridors” — well, for six hours a stretch, at least. (NY Times)

“We anticipate that hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers and visitors will take advantage of streets temporarily opened for recreation,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “We hope the Summer Streets experiment will become as much a part of the New York experience as strolling the Coney Island boardwalk, participating in the 5-borough bike tour, or listening to the Philharmonic in the park.” (NYC press release, via Streetsblog)

(Photo: John Marshall Mantel for The New York Times

Yes, that’s David Byrne and Lance Armstrong bringing some celebrity power to the proceedings. The dates are August 9th, 16th and 23rd — can’t wait! For an idea of how fun this will be, check out the Bogota’s Ciclovia on Streetfilms. Next… BROOKLYN Summer Streets!!

News from Stacey McCarthy, director of the Cortelyou Greenmarket:

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Hello Flatbush Community -

New this Sunday at the Cortleyou Greenmarket will be eggs and chicken from Knoll Krest Farms in Hyde Park, NY. Jorge Carmona of Amantai Farms will be bringing asparagus and strawberries, plus his lettuce, spinach, greens, zucchini, honey and other items.

Curious about composting? Stop by the greenmarket table between 9am to 1pm and check out Bruni Torras’ worm composting demonstration. See the worms in action and a sample outdoor composting bin.

Farmers in June 8th:

* Hodgson’s, Walden, NY — plants, rose bushes, HERBS
* Red Jacket Orchard’s, Geneva, NY — apples, rhubarb, juices
* Knoll Crest Farm, Hyde Park, NY — Eggs and chickens
* Jorge Carmona, Breinigsville, PA — asparagus, strawberries, lettuce, spinach, greens, zucchini, honey
* Bread Alone, Boiceville, NY — bread, pies, muffins
* Meredith’s Bakery, Kingston, NY — bread, pies, muffins

Coming next week

* Muddy River Farm, New Hampton, NY — Vegetables
* El Mirador Farm, New Jersey — Vegetables

The market is located on Cortelyou Road between Argyle and Rugby Streets. We’re open from 8am to 4pm.

See you Sunday. Thanks so much, Stacey

Some months ago Sustainable Flatbush was approached by New York City Streets Renaissance to sponsor a Livable Streets Block Party here in the neighborhood (this request was likely inspired by our success with last year’s Park(ing) Day event). Two weeks from tomorrow, Saturday June 21st, the party is on! We will have live music and DJs all day long, courtesy of Make Music New York, plus traditional NYC Street games, and environmental activities and info. Our fantastic local co-sponsor is Flatbush Development Corporation.

Flier design by Keka

Here’s the concept:

Block Party NYC is a new program by the New York City Streets Renaissance which is helping neighborhoods around NYC come together and enjoy their street for a day, free from the usual hazards and distractions of automobiles. This summer alone, we’re providing mini-grants to over 30 block parties throughout the 5 boroughs. Each of these parties also gets the services of a professional urban planner for a day, who will help find community solutions to community problems like traffic, speeding, and noise and air pollution. They will also talk to residents about what they like and dislike about their street, what they want to preserve, and what needs to change.

Yes, we will discuss all of these serious issues with our neighbors, but we will also hang out and have a great time! Here are all the details:

Newkirk Avenue Block Party, a Livable Streets celebration co-sponsored by Flatbush Development Corporation, New York City Streets Renaissance, and Make Music New York, with participation of Solar One, Brooklyn Compost Project, Council on the Environment of NYC, Transportation Alternatives, Alive Structures, Midwood Martial Arts, and Newkirk Area merchants. Join us for:

Live Music and DJ’s all day!
Traditional NYC Street Games:
Handball, Skully, Hopscotch, Double Dutch, Jacks, and more!
Food Vendors!
Environmental Info and Activities:
Solar Power, Composting, Green Roof/Garden Design, Cell Phone Recycling, etc.,
plus Recycling Games and Art Projects just for kids!

WHEN: Saturday, June 21st, 11am - 6pm, Rain or Shine!
WHERE: Newkirk Avenue between East 16th and East 17th Streets

See you there!

Okay, so I’m late on this one.

photo by Flatbush Gardener

Last Sunday was the season opener for the Cortelyou Road Greenmarket, and it was a very festive occasion! Kids and parents crowded the playground, a klezmer band played, and the market manager cooked up apple-rutabaga compote while conducting a color-coded survey about what additional products people would like to see at the market. It already looks like there will be a greater variety of vendors than in past years, and starting this weekend Brooklyn Compost Project will conduct worm composting demonstrations.

If you can’t make it next Tuesday (or even if you can) there’s a petition you can sign to support this cause:

The NYC Recycling Action Committee, formed by two NYC teachers, aims to help get recycling programs in every public and private NYC school.

We’re making progress toward that goal, but we need your help. Please do your part by signing this petition.

This comes from Educating Tomorrow, a group that “seeks to build a dynamic community connecting NYC K-12 teachers, administrators, students in teaching, and organizations serving children and schools”.

Calling All NYC School Recycling Supporters!

A Joint Committee hearing with the Dept. of Sanitation and the Dept. of Education on SCHOOL RECYCLING is set for TUESDAY, JUNE 3, 1 PM. at City Hall.

Councilmember Bill De Blasio will be holding a pre-hearing press conference on the steps of CITY HALL at 12:15 PM. He’ll announce a bill calling for school recycling programs in all NYC schools. Plus, he’ll introduce legislation to bring back dumpster recycling collection (exactly what we’ve been asking for)!

Join us in showing the NYC Council how much we care!

Bring your teachers, students, parents and signs! Yes, it’s a school day, but a wonderful opportunity to learn about our City’s decision-making process. Councilmembers McMahon, Jackson & others, NRDC, the Custodian and Cleaner’s Unions will be there too!

We’ll have “Be cool. Recycle at school!” t-shirts if you want to order some—they’re only $5!

After the rally, the hearing takes place from 1-4 PM. The public is invited to attend.

This is a critical moment: be there! And forward this far and wide!

Be cool,

Micki Josi and Coquille Houshour
NYC School Recycling Action Committee
info@educatingtomorrow.org
www.educatingtomorrow.org

Last night was the first meeting to brainstorm and plan for the new Flatbush Community Garden, renamed the Flatbush Unity Garden. A group of 20+ people met at P.S. 217 to share their ideas of what they’d like this community resource to become. In addition to growing vegetables and fruits and flowers, what many of us expressed was the desire for a place where we can meet our neighbors, form ties to our community, and enjoy a peaceful outdoor environment. New York City has many examples of gardens that serve as hubs of neighborhood cultural and social interaction as well as providing beautiful green spaces (and in some cases food as well). Clearly there is a longing for such a place here in Flatbush, and our goal is to create one.

East 4th Street Community Garden, Kensington, Brooklyn, photo by Flatbush Gardener

Campus Road Garden at Brooklyn College

East Village community garden, Manhattan

There was also talk of composting, rainwater harvesting, permaculture, urban agriculture, and many of the other sustainability concepts that I for one have been hoping for a location to demonstrate and educate the community about (myself included!). It’s great to learn that other folks in the neighborhood share the same goals.

A tour of the site is scheduled for this Sunday afternoon… stay tuned for details.

Tour de Brooklyn 2008 starting line

The Fourth Annual Tour de Brooklyn was, once again, a great success. I’ve ridden in all of them and because the route changes each year, the TdB offers a wonderful opportunity to see parts of Brooklyn that may not be on one’s daily itinerary. This year after starting underneath the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges we rode on Atlantic Avenue from the BQE to Washington, then took Eastern Parkway all the way to Evergreen Cemetery, with three traffic lanes devoted solely to bicycles. How great is that? After the cemetery we went down Knickerbocker Avenue through Bushwick and then passed through Williamsburg on the way to the Navy Yard - where no photos were allowed, much to the consternation of avid photographers like Ultraclay, who nonetheless managed to get a few shots in before the crackdown.

Brooklyn Navy Yard, photo by Ultraclay

The ride ended up back in DUMBO at Walt Whitman Park, where everyone went their separate ways to enjoy the rest of the beautiful Memorial Day weekend.

Tour de Brooklyn cyclist with passenger

(Click for link to full-size printable version of flyer)

I’ve received a number of inquiries lately from folks wondering where to recycle CFL bulbs locally (the bulbs contain a small amount of mercury, and shouldn’t be thrown out with the trash). This Wednesday the answer is at Brooklyn Green Drinks, hosted by Center for the Urban Environment at their beautiful new home, a showplace for green building practices.

Here are the details, courtesy of the Green Drinks website:

Join us for BKLYN Green Drinks @ The (Brooklyn) Center for the Urban Environment located on 7th Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenue. Celebrate their exciting and innovative new headquarters as they become LEED-Certified Gold for Commercial Interiors by the US Green Building Council, the first of its kind in Brooklyn!

Founded in 1978, Brooklyn Center for the Urban Environment is dedicated to educating individuals about the built and natural environments of New York City. Creators of the Green Brooklyn conference and the Sustainable Business Network, the Center is a local leader in the field whose commitment to strengthening public education and developing more sustainable communities is rooted in the belief that creating a healthy and livable environment requires instilling an appreciation for and an understanding of the built and natural environments. Their wide range of programs address the needs of the city’s underserved communities with a diverse menu of hands-on educational offerings that develop an understanding of the interdependency of urban life with the local ecosystem, improving academic performance and instruction, and fostering environmental stewardship.

The folks at BCUE want to announce that they are also accepting
recycling on the premises that night:

• Alkaline batteries
• Inkjet/laser cartridges
• Compact Florescent Lightbulbs (CFLs)
• Technotrash, meaning: All forms of electronic media and their cases: diskettes, zip disks, CDs, CD-Rs, CD-RWs, DVDs et al, video
tape (i.e. VHS), audio tape, game cartridges, DAT, DLT, Beta or Digibeta, and virtually all other type of computer tapes.
• Hard drives, Zip and Jazz drives, jump drives, etc.
• All forms of printer cartridges including both inkjet and toner.
• All types of pagers, PDAs and their chargers, cables, and headset accessories
• All types of rechargeable batteries and their chargers
• All of the cords, cables, boards, chips, etc. attached to or removed from a computer.

WHERE:
Center for the Urban Environment, 168 7th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11215 (btw 2nd and 3rd Aves)
F train to 4th Ave or R train to 9th Street. Walk over 2 blocks north to 7th Street and 1 avenue west to 3rd Avenue

WHEN:
Wed 5/21, 7 pm – 9 pm

Cash bar (proceeds to benefit CUE)

Still thirsty? Bar Tano located at 457 3rd Ave and 9th Street will be open until 12 am.

(… Now, if we could only find a permanent place to recycle our CFLs…)