Southern approach to the entrance to the Japanese Garden, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, November, 2005
This is a reminder that the next Brooklyn Blogade is this Sunday, October 12. Our location this month is seasonally appropriate: the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
There are still seats available, but RSVP is required. See the original post for details.
The Brooklyn Blogade visits the Brooklyn Botanic Garden on Sunday, October 12
Update, 2009-07-29: Flatbush Rezoning Proposal approved by City Council
477 Westminster Road, Ditmas Park West, one of hundreds of homes that will receive more protection with DCP’s revised draft
NYC’s Department of City Planning (DCP) provided the first view of their revised draft of the Flatbush Rezoning Proposal to Brooklyn’s Community Board 14 (CB14) on September 3, and more recently to the CB14 Executive Committee on September 18. I wasn’t able to sit in on any of the meetings, but I’ve spoken with folks who’ve seen the new proposal first hand.
The revised draft is covered in Flatbush Life, including a photo of the redrafted map:
After a presentation to the executive committee of Community Board 14 – which greeted the plan warmly – the Department of City Planning (DCP) is moving forward to certify the proposal, which will launch the formal approval process for the rezoning.
During the meeting, which was held in the board office, 810 East 16th Street, DCP received accolades from board members and area residents for reworking the plan to take into account neighborhood concerns.
I wrote a detailed report about the earlier draft that DCP presented to CB14 and at a public hearing back in June. From everything I’ve heard and seen about this second draft, they got it right. In general, lots that are 50×100 feet will get the R3X designation, while lots that are 40×100 will get R4A. This is a more tailored approach than the broad brush of R4A that was painted over Ditmas Park West and South Midwood in the first draft. (See my original post for complete details on these zoning designations.)
They really listened to the concerns of residents, went back and re-drafted to address them. The free-standing homes responsible for the physical character of this area of Flatbush will be protected. All of Flatbush will be protected against unlimited height residential development. There are new opportunities for commercial development, and incentives for affordable housing. It’s hard to find something to critique in this draft.
Flatbush Rezoning Proposal will define the future of Victorian Flatbush, 2008-06-13
Flatbush rezoning moving forward, Flatbush Life, 2008-09-28
Rezonings for Flatbush, Canarsie Move Forward, Campaign for Community-Based Planning, 2008-10-06
Flatbush Rezoning Moving Forward, Ditmas Park Blog, 2008-10-07
Crape-Myrtles in full fall regalia in November 2006 at the Lily Pool Terrace of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden
On Sunday, October 12, 2008, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG) welcomes the Brooklyn Blogade!
The Blogade is a “traveling roadshow” that meets each month in a different location in Brooklyn. It’s a way for bloggers who live or work in Brooklyn to visit different parts of Brooklyn and meet each other, and for residents of the communities we visit to connect with Brooklyn’s online world.
Inspired by the out-of-doors experience of the July Blogade in Prospect Park, I contacted Dave Allen, BBG’s Web Manager, about the possibility of hosting a Blogade. Dave is responsible for some of BBG’s Web content you may have already enjoyed, such as the timelapse videos of this year’s Hanami, the Cranford Rose Garden, and the Lily Pool Terrace. He and I have spoken informally in the past about how to foster greater connections between BBG and the online world. This seemed like a good fit, and October is a great time to experience some of our beautiful fall color at BBG.
Schedule of Events:
RSVPs REQUIRED:
A Picnic at Prospect Park (the Brooklyn Blogade), July 28, 2008
Blogade (Blog posts)
Brooklyn Botanic Garden (Blog posts)
Brooklyn Botanic Garden (Flickr photo collection)
BBG has several different online resources and personae which you can explore:
Web site. Be sure to explore the Visit section for directions, maps, what’s in bloom, special exhibits, and so on.
Vimeo (High-def Video)
YouTube (Video)
Flickr (Photos)
Facebook (Social networking)
MySpace (Social networking)
The Fresh Kills Composting Site in Staten Island
The very last ever, until something changes, NYC Compost Giveback takes place this weekend in the Bronx, and in two weeks in Staten Island. Since there’s no funding in the budget for fall leaf pickup, there will be no more leaves, and no more givebacks, after this.
BRONX
Saturday & Sunday, OCTOBER 4 & 5, 8am to 2pm (rain or shine)
Soundview DSNY Composting Site (at the end of Randall Ave. close to the Bruckner
Expressway)STATEN ISLAND
Saturday & Sunday, OCTOBER 18 & 19, 8am to 2pm (rain or shine)
Fresh Kills DSNY Composting Site (off West Service Rd. near exit 7 of Rt. 440)NYC residents and community groups from any borough can get unlimited amounts of
free compost at these events. This high-quality, natural soil enhancer is made out
of leaves that DSNY collected from City residents and institutions.At the Compost Givebacks, NYC residents can also purchase discounted compost bins
for $20 (subsidized by DSNY-BWPRR) to make their own compost.
Fall 2008 Compost Givebacks and Bin Sales
Sanitation Announces Plan to Collect Fallen Leaves [as garbage, not for composting], Press release, Department of Sanitation, New York City, 2008-09-22
NYC Compost Project
A Daffodil blooming on Cortelyou Road this past Spring
This Monday, September 29 is the deadline for reserving Daffodils from the 2008 Daffodil Project. The Brooklyn pickup will be Saturday, October 18 at Grand Army Plaza.
This year, I requested 1,000 bulbs on behalf of the Flatbush Community Garden. Neighbor Stacey, who kicked off last year’s planting, has requested another 1,000. We’re targeting the first two weekends in November – the 1st, 2nd, 8th and 9th – for planting on Beverley Road, Cortelyou Road, Newkirk Avenue, and P.S. 139. These dates are listed in my Google calendar in the sidebar as “Flatbush Daffodil Project.” If you’d like to help, watch for announcements as the dates approach.
2008 Daffodil Bulb Reservation, online form
Sustainable Flatbush
Round 3 of the 2008 Green With Envy Tours visits community gardens in Bedford-Stuyvesant on Saturday, October 4, from 10am to 2pm. This tour is organized by the Brooklyn Community Gardens Coalition with support from NYC Dept. of Parks & Recreation, GreenThumb, GreenGuerillas and BBG’S GreenBridge.
Click for map biggeremization
Gardens on the tour:
Join us for this guided tour, visiting Community Gardens in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. The tour begins with a 10am breakfast at the Madison Street Block Assn. Garden between Franklin & Bedford, then walk, bike, or ride the bus to visit some AMAZING Brooklyn Gardens.
Special THANKS to the Parks Department for generously providing bus transport for this tour!!! Space is limited… RSVP joncrow [at] earthlink [dot] net.
To get to the start of the tour, take the G to Classon, the C to Franklin, or from Downtown Bklyn, take the B52 or B26 to Franklin and walk to the Madison Garden.
Green Guerillas
GreenBridge, Brooklyn Botanic Garden
GreenThumb
Bed-Stuy Garden Tour, NYC Department of Parks & Recreation
MUST HAVE! Flatbush joins the neighborhoods of Williamsburg, Greenpoint, Red Hook/Gowanus, DUMBO/Vinegar Hill, Bay Ridge/Fort Hamilton:
The Brooklyn Historical Society (BHS) has just released a history of Brooklyn’s fabled Flatbush neighborhood. As one of the original six townships of Kings County, Flatbush has 400 years of recorded history, in which time it transformed from a rural Dutch hamlet of farmers into the “layered, complex, endlessly fascinating place” that the book’s co-author Francis Morrone described at the booklaunch last Thursday evening.
– Brooklyn Historical Society Releases New History of Flatbush, Phoebe Neidl, Brooklyn Daily Eagle, September 23, 2008
The book provides yet another response to the question, “Where is Flatbush, anyway?!“
The neighborhood is geographically defined in the book as being bound on the north by Parkside Avenue, on the south by Avenue H, on the east by Rogers Avenue and on the west by Coney Island Avenue. Flatbush encompasses several smaller communities, such as Ditmas Park, Prospect Park South, Beverly Square, Fisk Terrace, Midwood, Caton Park, and Albemarle-Kenmore Terraces.
Credit for this new history is largely due to the late Adina Back, a public historian who specialized in the civil rights movement, community activism and education here in Brooklyn. She passed away last month from cancer as the book was going to print.
With both anecdotal and statistical accounts, Back traces Flatbush’s evolution into the diverse urban area it now is with the help of documents and photos preserved by the Flatbush Historical Society, which closed its doors in 2002 and donated its collection to BHS.
Where is Flatbush, anyway?!, December 1, 2007
Brooklyn Historical Society Releases New History of Flatbush, Phoebe Neidl, Brooklyn Daily Eagle, September 23, 2008
BHS Celebrates Publication of New Flatbush Neighborhood History Guide [PDF], Press Release, September 9, 2008
UPDATE Friday, 2008-09-26: CANCELLED. The announcement came at 10am from the tour’s organizers:
Intrepid gardeners,
With a forecast of some serious rain, we’ve come to a decision to cancel this Saturday’s (9/27/08) bqlt “Riding out the Harvest” bike/van tour.
Save your energy for next week’s (10/4/08) “Green(e) with Envy,” another great opportunity to explore the world of community gardening.
I’m disappointed, but I’ll admit I wasn’t looking forward to slogging through the rain with my camera. I am looking forward to the Green With Envy Tour of Bed-Stuy Community Gardens next Saturday, October 4.
Classon Ful-Gate Block Association Community Garden, one of nine Brooklyn community gardens on this Saturday’s tour.
The Brooklyn-Queens Land Trust (BQLT) is hosting its Second Annual Bike and Van Tour this Saturday, September 27th:
Jump in the van or hop on a bike – we’re visiting a sampling of BQLT gardens – saying hello, having some snacks along the way. It all begins at 9:30am with a coffee reception at Hollenback Community Garden (Washington Ave between Gates and Green Avenue ). The harvest ride will culminate in a cookout beginning at 3:00pm at Euclid / Pine Street Block Association.
MEETING TIME/COFFEE: 9:30am @ Hollenback Garden
DEPARTURE TIME: 10:00am Sharp!
TOUR’S END/COOKOUT: 3:00pm @ Euclid-Pine GardenThis is a BIKE & VAN TOUR:
Bicyclists will be led by Isak Mendes – RSVP/Info: eaglemendes [at] yahoo [dot]com
Seats in the Van are limited! Reserve yours by contacting Brothel Dean: strechdean [at] msn [dot] comSuggested donation: $5/person
The gardens on the tour are:
Classon FulGate Block Association Garden, Green With Envy Tour, II.6, August 10, 2008
Hollenback Community Garden, Clinton Hill, Green With Envy Tour, II.5, August 8, 2008
St. Mark’s Avenue Community Garden, Prospect Heights, Green With Envy Tour, II.2, August 2, 2008
Persephone with her pomegranate. Dante Gabriel Rossetti – Proserpine (Oil on canvas, 1874) – Tate Gallery, London
Wikipedia: Equinox
Cortelyou Road Park, Park(ing) Day 2008
For the second year, Sustainable Flatbush created Cortelyou Road Park, a mini-park-for-the-day on Cortelyou Road in Flatbush that was one of 50 such sites across New York City.
For our park, I loaned furniture and container plants from my garden to recreate a garden room on Cortelyou Road. The grass was sod donated by Transportation Alternatives (T.A.). The Flatbush Food Co-op donated a gift basket to be raffled off, and kept us stocked in popcorn and chips. Vox Pop donated urns of coffee.
Setting up
JUMP!
Finger painting
Drawing
Bounty donated by the Flatbush Food Coop
[bit.ly]
Park(ing) Day 2008, Sustainable Flatbush
Flatbush Food Co-op
Vox Pop
Park(ing) Day NYC
Park(ing) Day
Eyebeam
Transportation Alternatives (T.A.)
The Open Planning Project (TOPP)
The Trust for Public Land
Cortelyou Branch, Brooklyn Public Library, 1305 Cortelyou Rd. at Argyle Road