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Prospect Park South Halloween Parade 2009
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Tag Archives: Flatbush
Saturday, October 24: Meet the Trees
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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Related Content
Fall Approaches, 2009-09-26
Links
Fall Foliage Walking Tour October 24th!, Sustainable Flatbush
Save the Campus Road Garden in Flatbush
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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Related Content
South Midwood Garden Tour and Art Show, 2009-08-18
Other Gardens: South Midwood Garden Tour, 2006-07-30
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
Cortelyou Road Park, this Friday, 9/18
Cortelyou Road Park, Flatbush, Brooklyn, Park(ing)Day NYC 2008 
On Friday, September 18th, from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM, a park will be born: Sustainable Flatbush will transform a single 8’x15’ parking spot into a green space, complete with grass, plants, and seating. “Cortelyou Road Park,” in front of the Cortelyou Branch of the Brooklyn Public Library, at the corner of Cortelyou and Argyle Roads, in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn, is one of 50+ sites around New York City participating in Park(ing) Day, an international event.
I’m participating again this year. We’ll be recreating a garden room in the parking spot, like we did last year, as you can see in the photo above.
The park will include art activities and exhibitions for both children and adults. Two sustainable craft businesses based in the NYC-area, Garbage of Eden Design and RePlayGround, will teach free creative workshops on fashioning fun stuff out of garbage. We invite you to bring your favorite cereal box or designed scrap paper to personalize your crafts. Jewelry made from plastic bags and yogurt containers as well as kits to make projects from scrap will be on display.
Come marvel at worms turning food scraps into compost, and charge your cell phone with solar power all while listening to music and relaxing with good neighbors and new friends on a patch of grass!
Be sure to fill up at our BYO Mug Coffee Station, courtesy of Vox Pop Café. Enjoy a snack from the Flatbush Food Coop, or sample a dessert from Visions Restaurant & Bar. Enter the raffle for a chance to win a Coop Food Gift Basket or Visions Gift Certificate.
Plus, beginning at 11:00 AM, Ronny Wasserstrom will be entertaining the kids with his special trick puppets, including the juggling egg puppet!
“Using 120 square feet of concrete for temporary storage of an automobile benefits only its owner. If we can take that area and transform it into something magical that is enjoyed by hundreds of people, maybe that’s a better use of the space,” says says Anne Pope, Founder/Director of Sustainable Flatbush. “I hope it gets people thinking about how public space can be allocated for the maximum
benefit.”
So stop by and bring your own coffee mug and you will never look at a parking spot the same way again!
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Related Content
Links
Cortelyou Road Park
Park(ing) Day this Friday, September 18th!, Sustainable Flatbush
Cortelyou Road gets a new park–for the 3rd year in a row!, Park(ing) Day NYC
Flatbush Frolic 2009
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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Related Content
Links
Environmental Fair, Sustainable Flatbush
Flatbush Frolic Web site
Flatbush Rezoning Proposal approved by City Council
Updated 2009-07-30: Added more links.
Today the City Council approved the Flatbush Rezoning Proposal. Brooklyn Community Board 14 posted this statement on their Web site: “We greatly appreciate the hard work of our elected officials, the neighborhood associations and their able leadership, and particularly the great staff at the Brooklyn office of the Department of City Planning for making this happen!” Knowing that the Council also sealed the fate of Coney Island, i.e.: Miami Beach, tempers my satisfaction with the outcome for Flatbush.
As some relief for today’s beastly weather, please enjoy this scene of one of the hundreds of homes now protected with today’s vote.
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Related Content
CPC approves Flatbush Rezoning Proposal, Council hearing 7/27, 2009-06-18
Flatbush Rezoning Hearing at Borough Hall 5/7, 2009-05-05
Flatbush Rezoning Proposal CB14 Public Hearing April 2, 2009-03-16
DCP-CB14 briefing on Inclusionary Housing provisions, 2009-03-10
Flatbush Rezoning Proposal certified, enters public review process, 2009-03-02
Flatbush Rezoning Proposal scheduled for certification, 2009-02-28
New Flatbush Rezoning Proposal Gets It Right, 2008-10-07
Flatbush Rezoning Proposal will define the future of Victorian Flatbush, 2008-06-13
Flatbush Rezoning Proposal, 2008-05-23
Preserving Livable Streets: DCP’s Yards Text Amendment, 2007-11-07
Victorian Flatbush at risk from inappropriate zoning, 2007-10-23
State of Flatbush/Midwood, 2007-10-05
Landscape and Politics in Brooklyn’s City Council District 40, 2007-02-14
NASA Earth Observatory Maps NYC’s Heat Island, Block by Block, 2006-08-01
Links
City Council Adopts Flatbush Rezoning, Brooklyn Community Board 14, 2009-07-30
Flatbush Rezoning, Ditmas Park Blog, 2009-07-30
Important DCP Links
Flatbush Rezoning Proposal, City Planning
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
Other Links
South Midwood Residents Association
Brooklyn Community Board 14
Brooklyn Community District 14 Profile (PDF)
CPC approves Flatbush Rezoning Proposal, Council hearing 7/27
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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Related Content
Flatbush Rezoning Hearing at Borough Hall 5/7, 2009-05-05
Flatbush Rezoning Proposal CB14 Public Hearing April 2, 2009-03-16
DCP-CB14 briefing on Inclusionary Housing provisions, 2009-03-10
Flatbush Rezoning Proposal certified, enters public review process, 2009-03-02
Flatbush Rezoning Proposal scheduled for certification, 2009-02-28
New Flatbush Rezoning Proposal Gets It Right, 2008-10-07
Flatbush Rezoning Proposal will define the future of Victorian Flatbush, 2008-06-13
Flatbush Rezoning Proposal, 2008-05-23
Preserving Livable Streets: DCP’s Yards Text Amendment, 2007-11-07
Victorian Flatbush at risk from inappropriate zoning, 2007-10-23
State of Flatbush/Midwood, 2007-10-05
Landscape and Politics in Brooklyn’s City Council District 40, 2007-02-14
NASA Earth Observatory Maps NYC’s Heat Island, Block by Block, 2006-08-01
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
Other Links
South Midwood Residents Association
Brooklyn Community Board 14
Brooklyn Community District 14 Profile (PDF)
Flatbush Rezoning Hearing at Borough Hall 5/7
447 Westminster Road, Ditmas Park West, Flatbush, Brooklyn
Brooklyn’s Community Board 14 approved the Flatbush Rezoning Proposal without modification. The next step is review by the Borough President’s office. The public hearing is this Thursday, 5/7, at 5pm at Borough Hall, 209 Joralemon Street (back entrance), in the Courtroom.
The Flatbush Rezoning Proposal is unusual in several ways, not least of which is the degree to which the Brooklyn office of City Planning worked with Community Board 14 to develop and revise the plan. The proposal is intricate in its detail and deviates from defacto standard DCP practices in order to meet community concerns. It’s therefore critical that those who support the plan turn out in force to ensure that the collective voice of our communities carries the proposal forward.
There are three rezoning proposals on the agenda Thursday evening: Greenpoint-Williamsburg, Flatbush, and DUMBO. It’s going to be a busy night, and it conflicts with the Brooklyn Blogfest, which starts at 7pm the same evening. It’s a short ride on the B25 bus from Borough Hall to powerHouse Arena, the site of the Blogfest, so I hope to make both events on time.
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Related Content
Flatbush Rezoning Proposal CB14 Public Hearing April 2, 2009-03-16
DCP-CB14 briefing on Inclusionary Housing provisions, 2009-03-10
Flatbush Rezoning Proposal certified, enters public review process, 2009-03-02
Flatbush Rezoning Proposal scheduled for certification, 2009-02-28
New Flatbush Rezoning Proposal Gets It Right, 2008-10-07
Flatbush Rezoning Proposal will define the future of Victorian Flatbush, 2008-06-13
Links
ULURP Public Hearing Notice [PDF], Borough Hall
Flatbush Tree Tour, Saturday, April 25
2009.04.23 IMPORTANT TRANSIT SERVICE ADVISORY: The Manhattan-bound Q train will only stop at Church Avenue between Kings Highway and Prospect Park this weekend. Coney Island bound trains will make all stops.
Argyle Road in my neighborhood of Beverley Square West in Flatbush, Brooklyn, one of the blocks that will be on Saturday’s tour.
This Saturday, April 25, join Sustainable Flatbush in our second year of celebrating Arbor Day and the magnificent street trees of Brooklyn’s Victorian Flatbush. The Sustainable Flatbush Arbor Day 2009 Street Tree Walking Tour reprises last year’s route, visiting the Victorian Flatbush neighborhoods of Beverley Square West and Prospect Park South.
Tours will depart at 11am and 12noon from Third Root Community Health Center at 380 Marlborough Road, just south of Cortelyou Road. [GMAP] Take the Q train to Cortelyou Road and walk one block west (left) to Marlborough Road after exiting the station.
View Sustainable Flatbush Arbor Day 2009 Street Tree Walking Tour in a larger map
Your tour guides will be my neighbor, Tracey Hohman, a professional gardener, and yours truly. Throughout the tour, we 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 more
This FREE tour is a little over a mile in length and lasts approximately 90 minutes. Tours will take place rain or shine. Please gear appropriately for the weather and walk: sunscreen, comfortable walking shoes, water, and so on.
The area boasts a rich variety of both street trees and ornamental trees and shrubs. On the tour, you will see:
- Acer platanoides, Norway Maple
- Aesculus hippocastanum, Horsechestnut
- Amelancier, Serviceberry
- Betula nigra, River Birch
- Cercis canadensis, Redbud
- Cornus florida, Flowering Dogwood
- Cryptomeria japonica, Japanese Red Cedar
- Ginkgo biloba, Ginkgo
- Gleditsia triacanthos, Honey Locust
- Liquidambar styraciflua, Sweetgum
- Metasequoia glyptostroboides, Dawn Redwood
- Pinus strobus, White Pine
- Platanus x acerifolia, London Plane
- Pyrus calleryana, Flowering Pear, Callery Pear
- Quercus palustris, Pin Oak
- Quercus robur ‘Fastigiata’, Columnar English Oak
- Sophora japonica, Japanese Pagoda Tree, Scholar Tree
- Tsuga canadensis, Eastern Hemlock
- Ulmus americana, American Elm
- … and many more
For more information about the tour, please email garden AT sustainableflatbush DOT org.
Sustainable Flatbush brings neighbors together to discuss, educate, and advocate for sustainable living in our Brooklyn neighborhood and beyond.
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Related Content
Links
Resources
Web
To request a free street tree, fill out the form at http://www.nyc.gov/freetree
Million Trees NYC
Trees New York
Online Tree ID Guide, Arbor Day Foundation
Books
Dirr, Michael A. Dirr’s Hardy Trees and Shrubs: An Illustrated Encyclopedia. Timber Press. ISBN-13: 9780881924046
Reminder: April 2 CB14 Public Hearing on Flatbush Rezoning Proposal
39 E. 16th St, Caton Park, Flatbush, Brooklyn
This is a reminder that Brooklyn’s Community Board 14 (CB14) is holding a Public Hearing on the Flatbush Rezoning Proposal this Thursday, April 2, at 7pm at P.S. 249. [GMAP] This is the first public review of the proposal since NYC’s Department of City Planning (DCP) certified the proposal on March 2.
This will be the first of the four public reviews which the proposal must undergo before it becomes law. The ULURP “clock” requires that CB14 complete their review and submit their decision by May 11, though they’re likely to finish within two weeks. The CB14 Executive Committee meets next Monday, and the regular CB14 monthly meeting is the Monday after that, April 13.
Approval by CB14 and the Borough President are widely seen as a fait accompli. We anticipate opposition from developers – whose community interests usually take the form of build, take the money, and run – for the DCP and City Council hearings. We also anticipate that they will be greatly outnumbered by community members supporting the proposal.
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Related Content
Flatbush Rezoning Proposal available on DCP’s Web site, 2009-03-18
Flatbush Rezoning Proposal CB14 Public Hearing April 2, 2009-03-16
DCP-CB14 briefing on Inclusionary Housing provisions, 2009-03-10
Flatbush Rezoning Proposal certified, enters public review process, 2009-03-02
Flatbush Rezoning Proposal scheduled for certification, 2009-02-28
New Flatbush Rezoning Proposal Gets It Right, 2008-10-07
Flatbush Rezoning Proposal will define the future of Victorian Flatbush, 2008-06-13
Links
Flatbush Rezoning Proposal Certified; Public Hearing Scheduled for April 2nd, 2009-03-16, Community Board 14 (CB14)
Inclusionary Housing Program, DCP
ULURP: Uniform Land Use Review Procedure