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

Recycling Outreach in Brooklyn

I’m sure many of you, while dutifully putting your paper recyclables in the green bins, and metal, glass and plastic recyclables in the blue bins, have often wondered: When the Department of Sanitation (DSNY) picks these up, do they really go to a recycling center?

According to David Hurd, director of the Office of Recycling Outreach and Education (OROE) at the Council on the Environment of New York City (CENYC) — which is not a city agency — they do.

“So many New Yorkers want to believe that the Department of Sanitation is actually not recycling the recyclables that they pick up,” he said. “That’s absolutely false.”

In some cases, people are recycling less or not recycling at all. So, through OROE, “What we try to do is basically get people to understand the program,” he explained. “To debunk the classic myth.”

CENYC, which is almost 40 years old, created OROE in 2006. Five outreach coordinators tackle each borough by community district, using a Residential Waste Characterization Study conducted by DSNY to target the districts that have low recycling diversion rates first.

Brooklyn’s recycling outreach coordinator, Jae Watkins, says of her approach, “I try to find active community groups in the districts.” At their meetings she does a presentation with samples, “a collection of things that are both recyclable and not recyclable. I clear up the confusion about the program.”

Much confusion is generated from what DSNY does and does not collect. Plastic bottles are the only type of plastic that can be recycled; yogurt and takeout containers are not recyclable. Milk cartons seem like they should go out with paper and cardboard, but they actually get recycled with plastics and metals. Also, household items that are at least 50 percent metal — pots and pans, irons, toasters and wire hangers — can be recycled.

Watkins mostly speaks to building owners, giving them tips about ways to make recycling easier in their buildings, such as making sure their bins are in places that are well-lit and clean.

Of the neighborhoods Watkins has tackled so far, she said, “I started out in the Williamsburg/Greenpoint area a couple of years ago and then I moved to Bed-Stuy, and then Bushwick, and now I’m working in the CB 2 area, Fort Greene.”

Once she’s established herself in a community district, Watkins says she remains a resource for recycling questions and requests. She gets calls every once in a while from building owners who are looking for more ways to educate their tenants, such as getting signs in languages other than English.

“A lot of people, they have all these questions but they don’t know who to ask,” Watkins said.

Though she has covered a lot of ground in her three years at CENYC, Watkins still has a ways to go. “It takes six months to really get in good in a community district, and there are 18,” she said.

“What I think makes us effective is that staff really does try to completely absorb the neighborhood,” Hurd said. “Not only do we use data from the Department of Sanitation study, but we also use demographic data from the Department of City Planning to identify larger target population groups.”

OROE also identifies the other opportunities that exist in neighborhoods, such as composting, appliance repair shops, or shoe repair shops, Hurd explained, to make objects last longer rather than be thrown out.

“We’re trying to get people to remember that whole concept, that garbage is a choice that we make,” he continued. “There are a lot of things that are perfectly good but we decide that they are no longer good for us. We try to talk about changing that mentality where we can.”

For more information about recycling, visit www.cenyc.org.

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Party and Benefit for Bushwick Farmers' Market

This Sunday, Dec 20, a party and benefit for the Bushwick Farmers’ Market, the “Winter Solstice Feast,” will be held at 130 Palmetto St. in Bushwick from 6 p.m. to midnight.

An annual tradition hosted by of some of the market’s organizers, this year the hosts have asked attendees who are able to make donations in support of the Farmer’s Market, which is just finishing its first year but lacks necessary funding for 2010. There will be opportunities for giving during the event and there is no cover charge.

There will be live entertainment, a silent auction and food. The event is BYOB/N — bring your own bottle and napkin — to make the event as low-impact as possible.

For more information or to volunteer, visit www.bushwickfarmersmarket.org/solstice/.

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Three Brooklyn Students Are Finalists in 'Green Teen' Essay Contest

Six New York City students — three from Brooklyn — were finalists in the second annual Green Teens Essay Contest. It was a competition which invites young writers ages 12 to 18 to submit a 300-word personal essay about how they will help Mayor Bloomberg implement MillionTreesNYC, which is a PlaNYC initiative to plant and care for one million trees by 2017.

The grand prize winner of the contest (who was from Manhattan) received $1,000, two runners up received $500 each, and three honorable mentions received $100 each.

“Growing young minds through environmental awareness is the key to success in greening New York City,” said Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe. “These green teens have demonstrated a savvy understanding of the immense health and environmental benefits of trees, and they have generated a number of creative ideas to engage even more New Yorkers in MillionTreesNYC. We look forward to working with the essay finalists to further develop their ideas for implementation and help create a greener, greater New York City.”

Runner up Nedine Dobson, 17, from Clara Barton High School in Crown Heights titled her essay, “A Melting Pot of Beautiful People With Beautiful Trees,” and in it wrote, “Each school district should be responsible for involving each school in the district to embark on a go green project. The project will require groups of students to be responsible for the design of areas in their school district to plant trees — this initiative promises to make New York, with its melting pot of beautiful people, a garden of beautiful trees.”

Eric Murray Datcher, 16, from the Bushwick High School for Social Justice, earned an honorable mention with his essay, writing, “The key to the Mayor’s plan is involving the youth of New York City. There are young people throughout the city who are simply waiting for an opportunity to make a major change. The Million Trees project could be that change to unite the youth in a positive project. I believe I can use my strong voice to gather more students, young people, and community members to beautify more places throughout New York City.”

Jamel Irby-Shabazz, 12, of Park Place Middle School in Park Slope, also earned an honorable mention with his essay, in which he wrote, “Every month we will get teens to sign up as a special citizenship program with the NYC Parks Department to help plant trees. Teens will then make a difference in their community and experience something positive in their community. The teens will also be able to place their family name on the trees. I also believe that a million trees will equal a million healthy breaths. A million healthy breaths can help a brain learn and be more conscious about the environment in which we live.”

The essay contest was sponsored by Flowerworks Florist & Landscape Contractor, Carver Federal Savings Bank, Our Time Press, and Gxart Studio. Essay finalists were honored on November 19th at Restoration Plaza on Fulton Street, in an event celebrating the newly-formed Bed-Stuy Gateway Business Improvement District (BID).

For more information about MillionTreesNYC, visit www.milliontreesnyc.org.

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Rethinking Urban Space: Mini-Golf in a Vacant Lot

Vacant lots are a common sight in this city, so common that many don't give them a second thought. But this summer one previously empty and trash-filled space will be transformed into a 9-hole miniature golf course. And it's opening on Saturday.

Dubbed the Putting Lot, it's in Bushwick at 12 Wyckoff Avenue. Each hole was designed by a different group of artists or architects, chosen by an open call for submissions conducted in April. With a budget of $500, the teams got to work on creations with the theme of "urban sustainability."

The materials are reclaimed and repurposed, just like the lot, and are used in non-conventional ways.

Sustainability was the main focus and drive for the project. According to the Putting Lot's web site: "We think vacant spaces can be used in ways to help build neighborhood sustainability, as much as they can diminish it. We believe neighborhood sustainability is one of the most important aspects of urban sustainability."

Starting this Saturday, June 6, the Putting Lot will be open Wednesday through Friday from 12 - 8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. - 8 p.m. It's super affordable at $5 for adults and $3 for children 12 and under.

For more information, visit www.theputtinglot.org.

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Bushwick Group to Receive Environmental Justice Grant from EPA

The Eagle received this press release:

Tomorrow, The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will join Make the Road New York, a community-based organization in Bushwick. The organization will accept an EPA environmental justice grant to conduct participatory research and outreach. Make the Road New York promotes economic justice, equity and opportunity for all New Yorkers through community, advocacy and many other support services. Environmental Justice is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income in the development, implementation and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations and policies.

It will be tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. at 301 Grove St. in Bushwick.

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