Coming Up: Winter Stop 'N' Swap

Looking to get rid of some clothes or housewares? In the mood for a wardrobe or home makeover on a budget?

On Saturday, Feb. 26, GrowNYC, a non-profit geared toward improving the quality of life in the five boroughs through environmental programs, will offer a Stop 'N' Swap in the M.S. 113 lobby in Fort Greene from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Members of the community are invited to bring unwanted but still usable items — books, toys, fashionable clothing, housewares and working electronics — along with a bag to fill up with items they would like to take with them. (All items should be portable so others can easily carry them away.)

Whatever is left at the end of the day will be sorted and donated or recycled. According to GrowNYC spokesperson Amanda Gentile, about 300-500 people come out to these swaps. Ninety percent or more of what comes in ends up getting reused. 

“Stop ‘N’ Swaps have hit at the right time. In this economy, they’re a great way for residents to find things they need without having to pay and they are reducing the amount of garbage that NYC generates,” said GrowNYC Executive Director Marcel Van Ooyen. “In fact, it’s a triple-win; in addition to economic and environmental benefits, they also build community as New Yorkers come out and meet their neighbors.”

M.S. 113 is located at 300 Adelphi Street between DeKalb and Lafayette avenues.

Climate Awareness Day in Brooklyn

This Sunday, Jan. 23, from 2 to 5 p.m., join Parents For Climate Protection, the New York League of Conservation Voters, NYPIRG, Transportation Alternatives, Park Slope Parents, and the Brooklyn Food Coalition at Congregation Beth Elohim for Climate Awareness Day.

The featured speaker will be Liz Butler, campaign director of 1Sky, the largest collaborative climate and energy campaign in the United States. Butler was a co-founder of ForestEthics and was directly responsible for the protection of over 50 million acres of forests in the U.S., Canada, and Chile. She also served as the National Organizing Director for American Lands Alliance and the Director of Missouri Public Interest Research Group. 

Butler's address will be followed by an audience Q & A and a letter-writing session directed at local and national politicians urging them to take action on climate change legislation. At 4 p.m. the event will split up into four breakout sessions that focus on topics including environmental policy at the state and local level, the impact of climate change on food production, green values and ethics, and new developments in building and transportation efficiency. There will also be special activities for children.

Congregation Beth Elohim is located at 274 Garfield Place at 8th Avenue in Park Slope. There will be a suggested donation of $5 for the event.

MulchFest 2011 in Prospect Heights

Yesterday we brought our Christmas tree to the Prospect Heights Community Farm at 252-256 St Marks Ave. for MulchFest. We were told that our tree was the 232nd collected at the farm over the course of the weekend. As we were walking away, two more trees were being brought to the drop-off location. According to the Parks Department, 16,665 trees were mulched this year, with Brooklyn bringing in the most at 6,627.

Recycle Holiday Trees into Mulch This Weekend

This Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 8 and 9, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., bring you holiday tree to a designated city park to be recycled into mulch.

The New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, the New York City Department of Sanitation, and GreeNYC are teaming up again for MulchFest. The wood chips generated will be used to nourish trees and plants on streets and gardens citywide. You can also take home your a bag of mulch to use in your backyard or to make a winter bed for a street tree.

Last year, close to 24,000 trees citywide were recycled. This year there are 70 sites across the city, 35 for chipping and 35 additional drop-off locations. 16 of these sites are in Brooklyn. For a list of the sites, click here.

Remember to remove all lights and ornaments before bringing the tree to a MulchFest site. Biodegradable bags will be provided if you wish to take some free mulch home (but mulch isn't available at all the sties, make sure to check before you go).

New York Restoration Project Replants Trees in Bushwick Destroyed By September Tornado

The New York Restoration Project (NYRP), in partnership with the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, announced the planting of 74 new trees in Maria Hernandez Park in Bushwick. These trees replace the more than 50 large, caliper trees that were lost as a result of the tornado that devastated parts of New York City on Sept. 16. The Bryant Park Corporation and 34th Street Partnership donated an additional grant to support supplementary park landscaping and maintenance. 

“New York Restoration Project’s partnership with the New York City Parks Department to replant these 74 new trees in Maria Hernandez Park is a proud example of how our continued collaboration allows us to accomplish great things on behalf of New York City,” said Amy Freitag, Executive Director of New York Restoration Project. “As a helping hand to the Parks Department, it’s NYRP’s job to step up to the plate when tragedy, devastation or budget cuts strike and make sure our city’s parks, community gardens and open spaces remain green and accessible and our urban forest continues to grow strong.”   

“Last September, New York City and its parks, and Maria Hernandez Park in particular, were hit by one of the worst storms in modern history,” said New York City Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe.  “But New Yorkers are known for their resilience, and I am so proud to be here today, only three months later, to celebrate the first effort to rebuild and restore what was lost in that natural disaster.”

The tree planting in Maria Hernandez Park was made possible through MillionTreesNYC lead sponsors BNP Paribas, The Home Depot Foundation and Toyota, as well as funds raised at NYRP’s annual fundraising gala, Hulaween – which raised more than $460,000 to support the organization’s tree-planting activities citywide.

On September 16, 2010, two tornadoes and a macroburst tore through New York City, uprooting trees, damaging cars and peeling roofs from houses. The storm’s tree destruction stretched uninterrupted from Park Slope through Bedford-Stuyvesant and Bushwick in Brooklyn, into Ridgewood, Queens and all the way through Queens to Bayside. More than 3,500 trees were damaged or destroyed during this storm.

Maria Hernandez Park was especially a scene of devastation; endless rows of fallen trees struck by lightning or uprooted by the tumultuous winds that took the sidewalks with them. Trees — 2.5” caliper up to 5.0” caliper or 8’ to 16’ tall — that were planted in the park  include Silver and Little-leaf Lindens, Pin Oaks, Japanese Zelkovas, deciduous Evergreen Dawn Redwoods, Flowering Kwanzan Cherries and Yellow Woods.

Top photo: New York City Department of Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe, NYRP Executive Director Amy Freitag, President of the Bryant Park Corporation and 34th Street Partnership Dan Biederman, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, Council Member Diana Reyna and Brooklyn Community Board 4 District Manager Nadine Whitted are joined by students from P.S. 123. 

Photos by Malcolm Pinckney from NYC Parks

New Brooklyn Green Team Eco-Challenge

The Brooklyn Green Team has entered month two of its new eco-challenge — the no new clothing challenge. The group is supporting local shops owned by locals that dig out wearable treasures from past and present. Among the stats they list as encouragement: the 12 to 15 percent of people who shopped at consignment and thrift stores in 2006 saved 2.5 billion pounds of clothes from re-entering the waste stream.

Click here for information on how join the challenge and to check out some resources, including a list of local secondhand shops. (I recently scored big-time at the Park Slope Beacon's Closet — there are fabulous secondhand clothes out there!)

Recycled, Repurposed Film and TV Props at Gowanus Shop

Film Biz Recycling takes props and furniture from New York City’s movie, TV and commercial productions that would normally be thrown out and either sells them or donates them to charities and supply shops.

Tomorrow, Dec. 10, Film Biz Recycling will open on 540 President St. in Gowanus after relocating from Long Island City, Queens. But tonight, from 4 to 8 p.m., the store is opening its doors for a sneak peek of its new location, as well as a look at its stock of loot from holiday commercials and TV specials.

Green Edge NYC has the info about tonight’s event. Also see www.filmbizrecycling.org.