Saturday, October 24: Meet the Trees

Posted on 2009-10-17 by admin

Fraxinus americana, White Ash, one of the street trees that will be on the tour.

On Saturday, October 24, Sustainable Flatbush will host its first Fall Street Tree Walking Tour. And I’m looking forward to once again be one of the guides for the tour.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Brooklyn, NY October 16, 2009

SUSTAINABLE FLATBUSH FALL 2009 STREET TREE WALKING TOUR
Saturday, October 24, 2009—Rain or Shine

Based on the success of the annual walking tour events in celebration of Arbor Day and spring in bloom, Sustainable Flatbush is now introducing the inaugural Fall Street Tree Walking Tour. The tour guides will be Tracey Hohman, professional gardener, and Chris Kreussling, aka Flatbush Gardener, both neighborhood residents.

Sustainable Flatbush Street Tree Walking Tour, Arbor Day 2009. That’s me in the middle, next to the tree. Photo by Keka

Throughout the tour, your street tree guide will:

identify trees and their characteristics
share interesting facts
explore local tree history
discuss the many ways street trees benefit the environment
explain how to obtain and care for street trees
and much more!

This free event is a perfect opportunity to visit Victorian Flatbush in the heart of Brooklyn and experience the neighborhood’s breathtaking street trees—including some that are more than 100 years old!

Location:
Tours start at Sacred Vibes Apothecary, 376 Argyle Road, just south of Cortelyou Road

View Sustainable Flatbush Fall 2009 Street Tree Walking Tour in a larger map

Directions:

Take the Q train to Cortelyou Road Station and walk west after exiting the station toward Argyle Road.
Buses that stop on or near Cortelyou Road include the B23, B103, B68, and BM1,2,3,4 and x29 express busess.
As a reminder, check the MTA website for schedule and service advisories before you head out.

Time:
Tours depart at 11:00 AM and 12:00 NOON.
Tours take about 2 hours to complete and are 1 mile in length.
This is a rain or shine event – please dress for the weather!

For more information, please contact Sustainable Flatbush

Foliage Report

The New York State Fall Foliage Report for the week of October 14-20 is reporting that NYC is “just changing.”

I can confirm that, with Dogwoods, White Ash and now Locust trees all in full color. Sweet Gum and Oaks are starting to turn. If cooler weather persists through the week, peak colors will probably arrive just in time for Halloween on the 31st. Still, there should be lots of color for us to enjoy on the 24th.

A Japanese Maple on Marlborough Rad in Prospect Park South, part of the tour, November 2007

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Links

Fall Foliage Walking Tour October 24th!, Sustainable Flatbush

Daffodil Project 2009

Posted on 2009-10-15 by admin

Update 2009.10.18: Kensington date of 10/18 was rained out. Rain date is 10/25.

The Daffodil Project 2009 distribution at the Greenmarket in Grand Army Plaza, outside Prospect Park, Saturday, October 10, 2009

The Daffodil Project was originally created to commemorate September 11. … The Daffodil Project is made possible in part by the generosity of a Dutch bulb supplier, Hans van Waardenburg of B&K Flowerbulbs, who has pledged to donate 500,000 daffodil bulbs to the project each year as long as there are volunteers willing to plant them. More than 20,000 volunteers have responded to his challenge so far. And thanks to their efforts, more than 3 million yellow daffodils [bloomed] in over 2,000 individual sites across the five boroughs in the spring of 2009.
– The Daffodil Project, New Yorkers for Parks

Here are some locations in Brooklyn where you can get your bulb on with the Daffodil Project this season.

Kensington, Sunday, October 25

PICK UP A SHOVEL AND MAKE KENSINGTON GREENER (AND YELLOWER)!
WATCH CHURCH AVENUE BLOOM!

Sunday, October 25th, is Daffodil Day in Kensington. (18th was rained out)

Join your neighbors as we plant daffodil bulbs on Church Avenue and its side streets. In the spring, watch the flowers that we planted bloom!

From 9:00 a.m. to noon, volunteers will:

loosen soil in tree pits
plant daffodil bulbs
go to Connie’s Cafe for free coffee and a muffin!

Wear clothing and shoes that you don’t mind getting some dirt on. If you can, bring:

a hand cultivator
a trowel
a bulb borer
anything else that’s useful for digging and planting
extra gardening tools, if you have them, for your neighbors to use.

We’ll meet at 9:00 a.m. in front of Astoria Federal Savings, at the corner of Church and McDonald avenues.

Connie, the owner of Connie’s Cafe (corner of Church Avenue and E. 5th Street), has graciously agreed to donate coffee and muffins for the volunteers.

This neighborhood event is sponsored by KARMABrooklyn (Kensington Area Resident/Merchant Alliance) and WKAG (West Kensington Action Group).

Flatbush, Saturday and Sunday, November 7&8, and November 14&15

Again this fall, Sustainable Flatbush will sponsor Daffodil bulb plantings at locations throughout Flatbush. As we get closer to the dates, we’ll announce the locations and times and how you can get involved.

Links

Daffodil Day in Kensington, Kensington Area Resident/Merchant Alliance (KARMA)

Sustainable Flatbush

The Daffodil Project, New Yorkers for Parks

Blessing of the Animals, Chelsea Community Church

Posted on 2009-10-12 by admin

Update 2009-10-12: Added story about Smokey.

Blog Widow and Annie, the new kitten, at the Blessing of the Animals service at Chelsea Community Church earlier today.

An off-topic, i.e. non-gardening, post.

In some recognition of National Coming Out Day, some non-gardening factoids about me:

I’m an atheist.
My partner, known as Blog Widow, is an ordained minister, among many other talents.
People who’ve known me a long time think that’s hysterical.

It takes some enticement to get me into church. Filling the pews with dogs and other companion animals kinda does it for me.

This is also an opportunity to introduce Annie.

Annie is a six-month old kitten we adopted two weeks ago from Sean Casey Animal Rescue in Kensington. We’ve been wanting to adopt a second cat, thinking that Ripley, the old soul, would do better with some companionship when we’re out during the day. Ummm, yeah. That’ll work. Eventually.

Today was Annie’s “coming out,” as we took her to the Blessing of the Animals service at Blog Widow’s church, Chelsea Community Church. Mostly dogs were present; Annie was one of four cats, by my count, in attendance. She even made an appearance on stage when Blog Widow introduced her to the congregation for his general blessing over those assembled, human and otherwise.

Smokey

I shared this story here two-and-a-half years ago. This is an appropriate context to revisit it.

My atheism is life-long, forged in the fires of Catholic catechism during childhood, such as this exchange:

Me: When I go to Heaven, will my dog, Smokey, be there?
Nun: No.
Me: Why not?
Nun: Animals don’t have souls.

Smokey was a magnificent animal, a German Shepherd we obtained as a puppy. I named him during the ride home. Sitting in the back seat, trying to hold onto him: a writhing mass of long, shaggy fur all the colors of smoke. He became my companion, my protector, my model of perfect love. Setting aside, for the moment, the overweening confidence that I would go to Heaven, as a child I recognized that any place that would not grant Smokey admittance was beneath my interest and unworthy of my attentions.

Certainly, there were other, more pernicious, influences that drove me from religious indoctrination. Conversion to active disbelief became a logical extension; without the possibility of evidence, there is no reason to believe. It’s taken me a long time to accept that, nevertheless, I am a spiritual person. There’s no life after death, but there is life; that’s remarkable enough to celebrate it, and reason enough to grieve its inevitable end. Events such as the Blessing of the Animals remind me that, on this point at least, I share some common ground with others, regardless of the differences in our beliefs, or disbeliefs.

Slideshow

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Links

Chelsea Community Church
Sean Casey Animal Rescue

Save the Campus Road Garden in Flatbush

Posted on 2009-10-08 by admin

Update, 2009-10-09: The Daily News has picked up the story, a few days after it’s been in the Brooklyn Blogosphere.

Campus Road Garden, South Midwood, Flatbush, Brooklyn, August 2008

The fate of the Baltic Street Garden in Park Slope was, unfortunately, sealed months ago. And now Flatbush’ 14-year old Campus Road Garden is threatened by Brooklyn College’s plans to build a parking lot in its place.

View Brooklyn Community Gardens in a larger map

The garden has a [long] history and a lot of love, sweat and passion went into creating the garden and sustaining it through the years.

The college has made beautiful new additions to the campus: building, walkways, etc.

However, the garden, which lies at the foot of the athletic field, is going to be bulldozed to make room for a small parking lot.

As you can imagine we are all saddened by this. Each member joined for their own reasons, but the bottom line is, we all come together as a community and we cherish the friendships we have made with fellow gardeners, the Brooklyn College community and, of course, the neighborhood.
– Letter from the author of Snowballs and Candy Corn

Here’s how you can help.

Sign the online petition: Stop the Demolition of the Campus Road Garden. (You’ll be prompted to contribute through PayPal, but you can ignore that.)
On Facebook, join the group Stop the Demolition of Campus Road Garden! to stay informed.

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Links

Stop the Demolition of the Campus Rd Garden, online petition

Snowballs and Candy Corn: Our Garden, a collection of blog posts from one of the Campus Road gardeners, a neighbor and friend

Saving the Campus Road Community Garden from Parking Lot Fate, 2009-10-19
Brooklyn College to pave over popular garden to expand track, Flatbush residents not pleased, Daily News, 2009-10-09
Campus Road Community Garden – Petition, Ditmas Park Blog, 2009-10-05

City Council Approves Demolition of Historic PS 133, Historic Districts Council Newsstand, 2009-07-01

Brooklyn Leaf Composting Project

Posted on 2009-10-02 by admin

A Brooklyn-wide effort to organize locally and restore leaf composting to Brooklyn! There’s a brainstorming meeting TOMORROW, Saturday, October 3, at Ozzie’s Cafe in Park Slope. See below for full details.

Please join your fellow community gardeners and our friends from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden for a brainstorming session that will focus on how we can expand and improve community leaf collection and recycling this fall.

As you know, the City will not be collecting leaves separately from regular trash, again, this fall. That means that it’s up to us to find ways to take this rich source of garden nutrients out of the wastestream and bring it into our gardens, where it will do the most good.

Building on a very successful leaf collection and recycling project that was implemented at 6/15 Green garden last year, we hope to coordinate a Brooklyn-wide project that will enable local community gardens to be collection points for bagged leaves from their neighbors for use in the community gardens….and possibly even distributed back to the community in the future.

This is truly a win/win for everyone. Gardens will benefit from the addition of wonderful leaves that they can use as mulch or make into “brown gold” compost and residents will be able to recycle their leaves knowing that they will not be wasted clogging up our landfills.

Please join us for our first planning meeting to get the ball rolling.

We’ll be brainstorming on the basic strategies of how we can work together, coordinate dates and collection methods, create a unified press release and outreach and the ways we can avoid duplication and confusion of efforts.

We really need your voice and your ideas right from the start!

Feel free to forward this information to any community gardens or other folks you think would like to be part of this project.

Date: Saturday, October 3, 2009
Time: 12:00 Noon
Location:
Ozzies’ Coffee
249 5th Ave.
Bet Carroll & Garfield
Brooklyn, NY 11215
(718) 768-6868

Subways:
M. R to Union St

Buses:
B63 along Fifth Ave
B37 & B103 along Third Avenue
B71 along Union St.

We’re looking forward to a lively discussion.

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Links

Google Group

Flatbush Frolic 2009

Posted on 2009-09-15 by admin

Sunday, I tabled for Sustainable Flatbush at the Flatbush Frolic. For the second year, Sustainable Flatbush presented an Environmental Fair at the Frolic, partnering with organizations that represent their four main initiatives: Energy Solutions, Livable Streets, Zero Waste, and Urban Gardens & Farms.

Now in its 33rd year, the Flatbush Frolic is one of a handful of street fairs that stands out from the hundreds NYC hosts annually. The Frolic is locally organized, and features local businesses and organizations.

Because I spent most of the day tabling, I didn’t get to see much of the Frolic, but here’s some of what I did see.

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Links

Environmental Fair, Sustainable Flatbush
Flatbush Frolic Web site

Wicked Plants with Amy Stewart at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Posted on 2009-07-26 by admin

A large group assembled for Amy Stewart’s tour of Wicked Plants along the Annual Border of Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s Lily Pool Terrace. Saturday afternoon, Blog Widow and I went to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden for an afternoon of Wicked Plants: a tour led by Amy Stewart, a book signing, and a cake baked for the occasion. Amy Stewart, rigged with portable amplification Ricinus communis, Castor Bean plant Book purchase display

The Cake

A Wicked Cake enters the Lily Pool Terrace “Everything is edible, except the boards,” said one of the cake wranglers. Well, that and the stems of the flowers. The flowers were incredibly lifelike. It’s hard to justify eating artistry like this. But it was a hot and humid day, so what can you do?! Amy regards a Tulip before taking a bite of it. Blog Widow peals a petal off a Tulip. It tasted vaguely like wax lips. Technically edible. The base was seven layers of chocolate and vanilla cake with mocha cream. Delicious, and worth the wait.

Glam Shots

Not everything we saw that day was wicked. Double-Flowering Lotus Dragonfly Hens and Chicks Okay, wicked, but kinda cool, huh?

Slideshow

[bit.ly] [bk.ly]

Links

Wicked Plants, Brooklyn Botanic Garden Wicked Plants, Amy Stewart Pretty Poison: Plants to Die For, CBS News Sunday Morning, 2009-08-02

CPC approves Flatbush Rezoning Proposal, Council hearing 7/27

Posted on 2009-06-18 by admin

Update, 2009-07-29: Flatbush Rezoning Proposal approved by City Council
Update, 2009.07.14: The City Council Hearing on the Proposal has been confirmed for July 27, starting at 10am.

Yesterday, June 17, 2009, the City Planning Commission unanimously approved the Flatbush Rezoning Proposal without revision. It now goes to the City Council, the final step in the ULURP process, for final review and disposition. The Council Public Review hearing is tentatively scheduled for July 27.

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Links

Flatbush Rezoning Proposal Certified; Public Hearing Scheduled for April 2nd, 2009-03-16
PUBLIC REVIEW BEGINS ON CITY PLANNING PROPOSAL TO PROVIDE ZONING PROTECTIONS FOR NEARLY 200 BLOCKS OF FLATBUSH BROOKLYN, Press Release, DCP, 2009-03-02

Important DCP Links

Residence District Zoning Explained
Table comparing R1 through R3 (PDF)
Table comparing R4 through R5 (PDF)
Inclusionary Housing Program, DCP
DCP Zoning Glossary
ULURP: Uniform Land Use Review Procedure

Native Plant Garden, Chicago Botanic Garden

Posted on 2009-06-10 by admin

At the Chicago Botanic Garden, our first garden stop for Chicago Spring Fling 2009, I made a pilgrimage to the Native Plant Garden. I was surprised that most of the plants were familiar to me as Northeastern natives. However, I had never before encountered Geum triflorum, Prairie Smoke. I saw a lot more of over that weekend, but I saw it here first.

Even close up, it reminds me of trails of smoke rising from a candle wick that’s just been extinguished. I bumped into the staff photographer who took the group shot of us just outside the visitor’s center. I asked her what she liked in this garden; she said this was one of her favorite flowers.

Most of the Baptisia were not yet fully open here as they were at the Lurie Garden we visited later in the day. They looked like grass eels rising from the lake bed.

On closer inspection they looked slightly less reptilian.

I did find one handsome stand of Baptisia australis.

Another sinuous plant was this beautiful Carpinus caroliniana, Hornbeam. Another common name is Musclewood. It’s easy to see why.

I find beauty in the green things, whose forms gain prominence.

Carex grayi, Bur Sedge

Parthenocissus quinquefolia, Virginia Creeper

A grass I neglected to identify.

Aristolochia macrophylla, Dutchman’s Pipevine

The big star when I visited was Dodecathon meadia, Eastern Shooting Star, an eastern woodland wildflower with which I am familiar. I grew it in Garden #1 in the East Village decades ago. During my Chicago visit, it appeared and reappeared in drifts, and in its full color range, from pristine white to pink to deep rose.

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Links

Chicago Botanic Garden

Save the Baltic Street Community Garden and P.S. 133

Posted on 2009-06-08 by admin

The Baltic Street Community Garden and the century-old gothic P.S. 133 school building in Park Slope are threatened by School Construction Authority (SCA) plans to raze both for a new school building.

More details on the issues and what’s at stake are below the fold.

What you can do:

Call or write to Councilman David Yassky’s office, and urge him to support the preservation of the existing garden and school, and to press for an alternative, appropriate plan.
Phone: 718-875-5200.
Email: yassky@council.nyc.ny.us
Address: 114 Court Street, Brooklyn, N.Y. 11201

Sign the online petition [http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/4thAveLandmark/]

Come to the Community Board 6 meeting TONIGHT, 6/8 at 6:30pm where this issue will be discussed. Representatives from both the SCA and Yassky’s office will be there. Location:
Old First Reformed Church [GMAP]
729 Carroll Street
(Corner of 7th Avenue)
Brooklyn, New York

To learn more, please contact us at baltic.garden@gmail.com

The School Construction Authority (SCA) recently announced its plans to demolish historic PS 133 in Park Slope (375 Butler Street at 4th Avenue) to make way for a new, much larger school structure. This remarkable gothic school, a recognized historic resource designed by renowned educational architect CBJ Snyder, is a beloved community anchor.

It has been determined eligible for the State and National Register of Historic Places, and a number of other Snyder schools throughout the city are already designated local landmarks, including Morris High School in The Bronx and the former Stuyvesant High School on East 15th Street in Manhattan.

Local residents are devastated by the notion of losing PS 133 and have developed alternative plans that would allow for the building to be preserved with an annex constructed to accommodate the additional seats. The SCA has expressed no interest in considering these alternatives and has neglected to include local stakeholders in any of the discussions surrounding the proposal.
– Park Slope Snyder School to be Demo’d by NYC School Construction Authority, Historic Districts Council, 2009-06-05

An online petition to save the century old PS 133 building and adjacent 30 year old community garden has been created. Please consider signing it if you have any concerns about the NY School Construction Authority’s
proposal to tear down the current school building, and build a massive 960 seat school on the site of the garden and school playground. Construction is slated to begin in just a couple of months.

The proposal has been created in haste, without any input from the planned community immediately surrounding it, and without concern for the safety of the neighborhood. There is no plan in place for handling
the toxic waste that will be disturbed and dug up on the contaminated site. Traffic concerns due to the 660 seat increase have not been adequately addressed. Neighborhood residents feel that the lightning pace of this project should be slowed, and alternative plans be considered

The School Construction Authority wants to tear down the century old PS 133 bldg (which is wait listed for the landmark status) and the Baltic St Community garden to build a nearly 1000 seat new school on that property. There are so many reasons why this proposal is flawed including:

the surrounding community was not consulted at all, and they are against the project as it is drawn up at present.

school is too massive for the tiny streets and houses of Baltic & Butler, which along with the garden is a planned community built nearly 30 years ago.

traffic problems not adequately addressed. Dropping off and picking up 960 students per day is unsafe in that location. 50 school buses will be circling that small half block area.

environmental impact study states that the site is contaminated with hazardous substances. To date, they have no plan in place on how to safely deal with the contaminated soil.

school is sited in District 13, but they will get no increase in seats. Instead, District 15 (who is paying and pushing for this project) will get an additional 560 seats. The new bldg would house 3 separate schools–districts 13, 15, and 75, but in a very segregated way. There would be no mixing of the students. Many parents object to this segregation.

many people feel that as soon as it is finished, rezoning will occur, granting entire school to District 15, which leaves 13 with no new benefit, just a loss of a school.

garden has been in that site for 20 years, and has fully mature trees, shrubs, hedges, etc will be destroyed as it will be too hot in August to transplant even if new homes could be found for them. It is a unique space with thousands of sq feet for growing food in addition to the ornamentals.

this is the only open, green space on 4th Ave for a the entire 6 mile stretch from Flatbush to the Verrazano.

Links

Save 4th Ave Park Slope Landmark and Community Garden (online petition)
Park Slope Snyder School to be Demo’d by NYC School Construction Authority, Historic Districts Council, 2009-06-05

Foliage Report

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Kensington, Sunday, October 25

Flatbush, Saturday and Sunday, November 7&8, and November 14&15

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Smokey

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The Cake

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Important DCP Links

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