Community Gardeners at City Hall

Posted on 2010-08-05 by admin

Updated 2010-08-05: Added links to more reports on the press conference, variously reported also as a demonstration, protest, or rally.

Yesterday morning, I joined about 70 of my fellow community gardeners and community garden advocates and supporters on the steps of City Hall. The agreement that has largely protected community gardens in NYC since 2002 expires next month. The press conference was organized by the New York City Community Gardens Coalition (NYCCGC) to draw attention to issues with proposed new rules for NYC’s community gardens.

NYCCGC has all the details on their Web site. I urge everyone to weigh in with written comments, whether submitted through the NYC.gov Web site, or by email. You can also (gasp!) mail a letter. You can even call 311. The hearing is Tuesday, 8/10. If you want to speak, you must register by Monday, August 9. All comments are due on or by August 10, the date of the hearing.

Slideshow

Despite the heat, even at 9:30 in the morning, it was a lovely, energizing, and community-building event. The gardens were well-represented.

Links

Take Action: Parks’ Policy Change Threatens Community Gardens, NYC Community Garden Coalition (NYCCGC)

Community Garden Advocates Demand Parks Protections, Maria Eugenia Miranda, NBC New York, 2010-08-04Green groups fear new community garden rules, am New York (Newsday), 2010-08-04
Coming to the Defense of Community Gardens, City Room, NY Times, 2010-08-04
Demonstrators Disapprove Of Proposed NYC Park Rules, CBS New York/1010 WINS, 2010-08-04 (Text and Podcast)
Community Gardeners Rally in Front of City Hall to Push for Green Space Protections, DNAInfo, 2010-08-04
Defend Community Gardens, That Greenpoint Blog, 2010-08-05
Gardeners Root For City Patches, Melanie Grace West, Wall Street Journal, 2010-08-05
Community Garden Advocates Demand Permanent Protection for Their Gardens, Epoch Times, 2010-08-05
Benepe: There He Goes Again, Soiled Hands, 2010-08-05
New Yorkers Rally for Community Garden Protection, Ecocentric, 2010-08-19

Gardens Supporters Press Conference, 8/4, at City Hall

Posted on 2010-08-03 by admin

The East 4th Street/Windsor Terrace-Kensington Veterans Memorial Community Garden, one of over 100 NYC community gardens under Parks jurisdiction. The agreement that has largely protected community gardens in NYC since 2002 expires next month. Brooklyn has 42% (204/483) of NYC’s Community Gardens.

Several community gardening advocacy groups are holding a press conference on the steps of City Hall tomorrow, Wednesday, August 4, at 10:00am. They are inviting all supporters to join them.

The press conference is in response to the new community gardens rules proposed by the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation (Parks) and Housing Preservation and Development (HPD).

New York City Community Garden Coalition
RALLY & PRESS CONFERENCE WEDNESDAY AUGUST 4TH, 10:00AM
@ NEW YORK CITY HALL STEPS – BE THERE!
We are calling upon all community gardeners, of our members, supporters, and allies to join us this Wednesday, August 4, 2010 on the steps of City Hall
as we voice our concerns regarding the proposed new rules that govern many of our city’s community gardens.

Location: City Hall Steps, New York NY 10007
Date: Wednesday, August 4th, 2010
Time: 9:30am – 10:30am (Starting at 10:00am Sharp)
The Spencer Street Block Association Garden in Bed-Stuy is under the jurisdiction of HPD. In the eight years of the settlement agreement, HPD has destroyed nearly all of its gardens. Only about 20 remain across the city.

Enter the City Hall steps area by passing through metal detectors on the East or West entrance of City Hall inside City Hall Park.

We will meet at 9:30am
@ the East side of the steps
(closest to Brooklyn Bridge)
Bring your fellow gardeners, neighbors, kids, pictures, banners, flowers, vegetables….
Please confirm you are coming by calling us at (888) 311-3993 or emailing us at info@NYCCGC.org

Getting to City Hall by Subway:
4, 5, 6 to Brooklyn Bridge/City Hall
R, W to City Hall
2, 3 to Park Place
J, M, Z to Chambers Street
E to World Trade Center
A, C to Chambers Street

This press conference is in response to the Proposed Parks Rules and upcoming Public Hearing on Tuesday August 10th for more info go to http://www.nyccgc.org

Hellebores and Narcissus in March of 2007 in the Summit Street Community Garden in Red Hook/Columbia Waterfront neighborhood, another Parks garden that would be eligible to be sold to developers under Parks’ proposed new rules.

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Links

Notice of Opportunity to Comment on Proposed Rule (PDFs) from Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) and Housing Preservation and Development

Take Action: Parks’ Policy Change Threatens Community Gardens, NYC Community Garden Coalition (NYCCGC)

Coming to the Defense of Community Gardens, City Room, NY Times, 2010-08-04

Community Gardens Need Your Help, Backyard and Beyond, 2010-08-03
Keeping New York City’s Community Gardens Green, NY Times Editorial opposing the proposed rules, 2010-08-02
New York’s Community Gardens Lose Protect Status, Threatened With Development Under New Rules, TreeHugger, 2010-07-27
Letter to Gardeners (PDF), NYCCGC, 2010-07-22
Protect our community gardens, EV Grieve, 2010-07-19

The 2002 Settlement

2002 Memorandum of Agreement (PDF), NYCCGC

Community Gardens Lawsuit Settles, The Municipal Arts Society of New York (MASNYC), 2004-02-09
Ending a Long Battle, New York Lets Housing and Gardens Grow, NY Times, 2002-09-19
Community Gardens in New York City: the Lower East Side of Manhattan offers a summarized timeline of community gardens in NYC from 1965-2002

Design Drafts for the Parsonage at the Flatbush Reformed Church

Posted on 2010-08-01 by admin

This afternoon at 3pm I’ll be presenting to the community drafts of two alternative designs for a new communal garden on the grounds of the Parsonage, a landmarked historic building, on the grounds of the Flatbush Reformed Church.

Neither of these is a final design. They’re intended simply to present key features requested by community members at the Visioning Workshops and show how they might integrate into a cohesive design. The two designs weight these features differently, giving more or less space to different areas, and supporting different activities. I’m hoping this afternoon’s meeting will highlight the most popular features of each design, which can be recombined into a final design for this garden.

Dimensions

Here’s the base plan, drawn to scale at 3/16″ = 1 foot, of the site. Kenmore Terrace is at the bottom of the plan, East 21st Street on the left, the parking lot on the right. North is roughly up.

The front porch is nearly 53′ long! It’s just over 25′ from the fence along Kenmore Terrace to the front of the porch, and 27′ from the East 21st Street fence to the side. It’s nearly 85′ from the parking lot to East 21st. The sidewalk bed along Kenmore Terrace is 3’6″ deep. The bed between the fence and the parking lot is 8’3″ deep.

Existing Conditions

The space is dominated by large, mature oak trees which provide high shade over the entire property. Three large Taxus, Yew, shrubs exist as foundation plantings in front of the porch. There probably was at one time fourth shrub, at the far left of the porch, to complete the symmetry.

Everything else is lawn. Between the parking lot and the center walk, the lawn is sparse and the ground is compacted. To the left of the center walk, the ground is less compacted, and the grass transitions to a mix of clover and moss closer to East 21st Street.

There are planting beds between the fence along the property line and the sidewalk. Existing plantings of perennials in these beds are scattered and sparse.

Design A: “The Commons”

This design maximizes space to meet, sit and play. A paved patio area is created between the center walk and the parking lot. Benches provide seating for over 20 people. A large expanse of lawn provides space for running around or lawn games, such as badminton, horseshoes, etc.

Raised beds – 4×4 or 2×4 – provide over 200 square feet to grow food, herbs, and medicinal plants.

The existing large Taxus, Yew, shrubs are preserved. A buffer of perennials is created around the trunk of each Quercus, Oak, tree.

Rainwater is collected from the downspout near the western end of the porch (left in this rendering).

Design B: “Sanctuary”

This design provides for both shared and intimate experiences in the garden. Three gardens are created here: a common area, a wildlife habitat garden, and a rain garden.

The existing Yews are removed to make more room, especially for the common area between the center walk and the parking lot.

A few raised beds are specified in this design in the common area. More space is available for raised beds to the right of this plan, between the parking lot and the fence along the property line.

The common area has both a paved patio area and a small lawn for picnicking. A wide entrance and semi-circular bench around the base of one of the Oaks provides a generous invitation to enter and linger. No other seating is specified, but could be added, for example, on the ends of the raised beds.

The wildlife habitat garden is contained with a meandering path. Two small understory trees provide focal points. These would be underplanted with small shrubs, and shade-loving perennials. The path is designed to both cutoff and provide access to this garden. You can’t see everything without walking the path. Two benches provide intimate seating, out of sight of each other and other areas of the garden.

Rainwater is collected from the downspout near the western end of the porch (left in this rendering). Here, a “stream” is designed to direct overflow to the rain garden. This would be planted with native shrubs, ferns, and wildflowers.

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Links

Community Garden Potluck August 1st!, Sustainable Flatbush, 2010-07-24

Flatbush Reformed Church
CAMBA
Flatbush Farm Share CSA

Proposed NYC Rules Threaten Community Gardens

Posted on 2010-07-28 by admin

Update 2010-07-28:

Welcome, NY Times CityRoom readers.
Added links to information on the 2002 settlement agreement.

The Baltic Street Community Garden in Park Slope, as it appeared in July 2008. It was destroyed in 2009 by the NYC Department of Education.

The agreement that has largely protected New York City community gardens for nearly a decade expires this September. Community gardens fall under different jurisdictions, depending on whether they are in private hands, such as a land trust organization, or on land controlled by an Agency of the City. In advance of the expiration of the agreement, the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR, or simply “Parks”) and Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) have drafted revised rules for governing the gardens under their care. In short: gardens will have no protection.

Public comments are due in writing by August 10. To view the proposed rules, or to submit comments:

Visit Proposed Rules on the NYC.gov Web site.
For “Agency”, Select “DPR” or “HPD”.
Click [GO].
Click “Community Gardens” to view the Proposed Rule (PDF). Click “Comment” to submit your written comments online.

There is a community meeting tomorrow evening for gardeners and advocates of NYC’s community gardens to learn about the issues and what we can do in response.

Gardener’s Information Session
Wednesday July 28 6-8pm
Brooklyn Botanic Garden Auditorium
1000 Washington Ave.
Subway: 2,3 to Eastern Pkwy, or B, Q to Prospect Park

Public Hearing
August 10 11am
Chelsea Recreation Center
430 W. 25th St (btwn 9 & 10)
Subway: C, E to 23rd Street, or A to 34th Street

The Campus Road Garden in South Midwood, as it appeared in August 2008. It was destroyed earlier this year by Brooklyn College.

[goo.gl]

Links

Notice of Opportunity to Comment on Proposed Rule (PDFs) from Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) and Housing Preservation and Development

Take Action: Parks’ Policy Change Threatens Community Gardens, NYC Community Garden Coalition (NYCCGC)

New York’s Community Gardens Lose Protect Status, Threatened With Development Under New Rules, TreeHugger, 2010-07-27
Letter to Gardeners (PDF), NYCCGC, 2010-07-22
Protect our community gardens, EV Grieve, 2010-07-19

The 2002 Settlement

2002 Memorandum of Agreement (PDF), NYCCGC

Blooms and Bloggers: The Buffa10 Cocktail Reception

Posted on 2010-07-25 by admin

Part of Garden Bloggers Buffa10, Buffalo, NY, July 2010

Panorama, Buffa10 Cocktail Hour, Thursday, July 8, 2010

Elizabeth Licata, one of the organizers and hosts of Buffa10, opened her garden for a cocktail reception for early arrivals the afternoon of Thursday, July 8, the first official event for Buffa10. As enjoyable as it was to rub shoulders with other garden bloggers, it was a real treat to visit a garden I’d only seen online. This view was familiar to me, as it was to her other readers, from her personal garden blog, Gardening While Intoxicated.

Glam Shots

Impatiens X hybrida ‘Fusion Glow’?

Heliopsis

Strobilanthes dyerianus and Ipomoea batatas

David Austin Rose ‘Abraham Darby’

Jug

Slideshows

Links

Gardening While Intoxicated

North Pearl Street, Allentown Association
Garden Bloggers Buffa10

Patrick Dougherty at BBG

Posted on 2010-07-24 by admin

I’m looking forward to this. Installation will take place from Thursday, August 5 through Sunday, August 31. The work is planned to be on display for nearly a year, through June 2011.

Press Release

Brooklyn, July 10, 2010—Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG) announces the commission of its first site-specific sculpture to celebrated artist Patrick Dougherty, whose massive constructions made of woven saplings and twigs conjure up the creations of Lewis Carroll and Andy Goldsworthy for their outsized physicality and whimsical charm.

Dougherty began developing concepts for the work during a July 2009 visit to BBG, when he selected the Plant Family Collection—the physical and horticultural heart of the Garden—as the site of the future work. The final design will be revealed when construction gets under way in the first week of August 2010.

Dougherty sees himself in the tradition of artists for whom the process is as important as the end result, and his particular artistic process engages the expertise of staff throughout Brooklyn Botanic Garden. To locate a source for the saplings required for the sculpture, for example, BBG’s director of Science, Dr. Gerry Moore, called upon his field knowledge garnered during the Garden’s 20-year study of flora in the metropolitan area. He settled on Ocean Breeze Park on Staten Island, about 13 miles from Brooklyn Botanic Garden, which has an abundance of nonnative willow (Salix atrocinerea), a species typically targeted for removal. BBG Horticulture staff will oversee removal of the invasive plant material over a period of days, providing the double service of facilitating Dougherty’s project and improving the balance of native species in the park.

During the rest of August, the sculpture will be brought to glorious life under Dougherty’s direction, aided by a corps of assistants from the Garden’s staff and volunteers. Some helpers will be scaling scaffolding to manage the vertical support poles; others will be instructed in the artist’s signature weaving process, which lends Dougherty’s sculpture its structural strength and visual dynamism.

Dougherty’s career melds his technical carpentry skills with his lifelong love of the outdoors. He began creating sculpture in 1980, fashioning single pieces in his backyard. Since then, he has created nearly 200 pieces for institutions and galleries. For more information about Patrick Dougherty at BBG, visit bbg.org/dougherty. For more information about Brooklyn Botanic Garden, visit bbg.org.

Contact: Kate Blumm, Brooklyn Botanic Garden
718-623-7241 | kblumm@bbg.org

Links

Patrick Dougherty at Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Patrick Dougherty

Garden Stumbling: More of Buffalo’s North Pearl Street

Posted on 2010-07-24 by admin

Part of Garden Bloggers Buffa10, Buffalo, NY, July 2010

9 (right) and 17 North Pearl Street, Buffalo, NY

The first official event of Buffa10 was a Thursday afternoon cocktail reception, appropriately held in the Gardening While Intoxicated garden of Elizabeth Licata, one of our hosts for Buffa10, and 1/4 of the Gang of Four behind Garden Rant. Before, during and after, we were invited to wander – the Garden Stumble – the neighborhood’s streets, admire the architecture, and visit several of the gardens opened for us in a preview of Buffalo’s justly famed Garden Walk, happening this weekend.

For those attending Buffa10, North Pearl Street was our gateway to the architecture and gardens of Buffalo, a prelude to the abundance we would enjoy throughout the weekend. Front yards were mostly populated entirely by gardens. This front yard at 82 North Pearl Street was typically lush, with Hydrangea quercifolia (Oak-Leaf Hydrangea), Hosta, Hemerocallis, tall Lilium and Achillea, Bergenia, Lavandula, and many more species and varieties. I especially liked the use of Matteucia struthiopteris, Ostrich Fern, whose arching exclamations give movement to the garden more typically provided by tall ornamental grasses.

The few lawns were more often surrounded by gardens, like this one.
45 North Pearl Street, Allentown Area, Buffalo, NY

Glam Shots

A lovely Rudbeckia in a sunny front-yard garden.

Lysimachia clethroides, Gooseneck Loosestrife, native to China and Japan, common in Buffalo gardens.

Lysimachia ciliata, Fringed Loosestrife, native to North America, which I’ve never seen before this, nicely used in a wide, shaded bed between sidewalk and curb. It’s a charming wildflower, one for which I now must find an excuse to grow in my own native plant garden.

Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola’, one of my personal favorites for shady gardens.

Cotinus coggygria, Smoketree/Smokebush, common in Buffalo gardens.

Slideshow

[goo.gl]

Links

North Pearl Street, Allentown Association
Garden Bloggers Buffa10

Hope you like Petunias: The Erie Basin Marina Trial Gardens

Posted on 2010-07-18 by admin

Part of Garden Bloggers Buffa10, Buffalo, NY, July 2010

Panorama of the the Buffa10 visit to the Trial Gardens at the Erie Basin Marina in Buffalo, NY

I arrived in Buffalo on Wednesday, July 7. I wanted to take in some sights on Thursday before the Buffa10 schedule began. I found myself at the Erie Basin Marina Trial Gardens. Even though we would be visiting on Saturday, I was glad to have a prolonged visit on my own.

Shortly after I arrived at the Gardens Thursday, I met Stan Swisher, one of the nursery managers there. We spent a couple hours talking about the operation, visiting the different beds. Stan showed me countless specimens, and gave me the back-story on several of them. Here, Stan shares with me the details of a double-flowered Bacopa.

This is Echinacea ‘Pow-Wow Wild Berry’ from PanAm Seed. It’s short and compact, an asset for smaller gardens, but there are several cultivars available today with similar habit. What’s remarkable about it is that it grew to this flowering size from seed this season.

Another interesting breakthrough is X Calitunia, an intergeneric cross of of Calibrachoa and Petunia. Riding on the Buffa10 short bus with Joseph (Greensparrow Gardens), he explained that this was surprising because the two parent genera have different numbers of chromosomes.

The Trials

When we arrived on Saturday morning, we were given four red flags on long metal stems. These served as our votes, one for each grower represented in the Gardens. Not everyone got the memo about “one per grower,” but we had fun walking around tagging our favorites.

Stan told me that “the public likes pretty flowers.” The garden writers and bloggers of Buffa10 seemed to be no exception. Dahlia ‘Mystic Illusion’ was the top favorite of the Buffa10 crew. I think I may have voted for this, myself. She’s a stunner.

Nevertheless, at least three of us tossed Juncus ‘Blue Arrow’ a vote. He’s a handsome fellow in his own right. The three of us being rather contrarian bloggers and gardeners may also have influenced our choice in this regard.

The Winners

Here are the Buffa10 choices, based on votes.

Ball Seed
- Delphinium ‘Diamond Blue’
- Petunia ‘Phantom’
Danziger
- Angelonia ‘Big Blue’
- Petunia ‘Sun Ray’
- Portulaca ‘Pazazz Tangerine’
Darwin Perennials
- Achillea ‘Little Susie’
- Achillea ‘Red Velvet’
- Leucanthemum ‘Sante’
Proven Winners
- Calibrachoa ‘Coralberry’
- Dahlia ‘Mystic Illusion’
- Ipomoea ‘Bronze’
- Solenostemon (Coleus) ‘Spitfire’
Syngenta
- Bracteantha ‘Yellow Strawburst’
- Pelargonium (Geranium) ‘American Magenta Splash’
- Penstemon ‘Phoenix Red’

Slideshow

Disclosure

During my visit on Thursday, Stan bought me lunch – a hot dog and a ginger ale – and gave me a lift back to the hotel. This had no influence on the content of this post.

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Links

Erie Basin Marina, Buffalo, NY
Garden Bloggers Buffa10

Twentieth Century Club

Posted on 2010-07-16 by admin

Part of Garden Bloggers Buffa10, Buffalo, NY, July 2010

A panoramic view of the walled garden of the Twentieth Century Club in Buffalo, NY.

Dinner Thursday evening was at the Twentieth Century Club, a Buffalo institution that had its origins in an alumni association of the Buffalo Seminary. These roots were reflected in the walled garden, a cloistered garden, where we enjoyed a wonderful dinner and company beneath the shade of a huge mature beech tree.

Slideshow

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Links

History – Twentieth Century Club, Buffalo Architecture and History
My Favorite Buildings: 20th Century Club, Buffalo Rising, 2009-05-27

35 North Pearl Street

Posted on 2010-07-15 by admin

Part of Garden Bloggers Buffa10, Buffalo, NY, July 2010

Red Monarda, Beebalm, against a turquoise blue door in the backyard of 35 North Pearl Street in Buffalo’s Allentown neighborhood.

This is one of the first gardens I saw in the Allentown neighborhood of Buffalo the afternoon of Thursday, July 8. Perhaps because it was first, it got extra attention. Nevertheless, I think you’ll agree it was worthy of it.

A simple design made practical use of a small, urban backyard. The hub and spoke design creates multiple focal points: a fountain, a chair, and the blue door. This is an important design strategy for making a small space seem bigger, part of our conversation on the “short bus” one afternoon. At the same time, it grants reliable access to most of the flowers beds for maintenance. A strong design like this works even – especially – when flowers are past and leaves are gone. And Buffalo’s notorious snows would highlight it further, when it’s not completely buried.

Slideshow

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The 2002 Settlement

Dimensions

Existing Conditions

Design A: “The Commons”

Design B: “Sanctuary”

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The 2002 Settlement

Glam Shots

Slideshows

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Press Release

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Glam Shots

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The Trials

The Winners

Slideshow

Disclosure

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