Saturday, October 22nd End of Season Celebration, Carrie McCracken Community Garden, Seeds to Soil

This Saturday, October 22nd from 4-7p.m. join us to celebrate the end of the harvest season in your local community garden.

Creatively Green event by Seeds to Soil in the Carrie McCracken TRUCE Community Garden at West 117th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue.

Download and share the flyer announcement
Participate in envisioning plans for the future:
Bring a picture, drawing or writing of what it means to be creatively green in Harlem.
Have your portrait taken as part of a crowdsourced Inside Out Art Action project supporting urban environmental sustainability.
View images and interviews of your neighbors showcasing how both small and large gestures can have a positive impact on our neighborhood.
Share your vision of the sustainable future of our neighborhood.
Exchange ideas with your neighbors over some food.
Celebrate the first full year of the New York City Parks designation of the Carrie McCracken TRUCE Community Garden!

Meet the Upper Harlem Green Committee, May Events

Developing a green initiative within the community is often to travel a rocky, winding trail. Only with dogged perseverance is the Green Standard raised. As one  great philosopher said, “Righteous persistence brings reward.”  Such is the case with Activist Cheryl Minor and the small band at the Fred Samuel houses.

Nearly frustrated to the point of disbanding; new energy has been breathed into their struggle to overcome Ecological with apathy, overload, and inertia among NYCHA (public housing) residents and the surrounding neighbors. The impetus was a recent meeting with NYCHA’s progressive Commissioner Hon. Margarita Lopez.

We now have a call from their Uptown Harlem Green Committee to greening activists to Rally in support of them.  With all the jawing about the conversion of pre-war buildings for higher income residents (i.e. gentrification); it would seem to be a no-brainer to show active support for improving the most ambitious reuse of such properties in Harlem.

If one doesn’t know who Mr. Samuel was; or his place in the history of Harlem political Giants: then one may not see how crucial support for resident action at the housing and Green sites that bear his name are. For those; who do know; there’s no excuse for not lending material support to Cheryl (Poet) Minor and the Upper Harlem Green Committee.

A few links:

http://www.nyc.gov/html/records/html/features/blackhistory.shtml

http://www.blogger.com/profile/00709755132323652010

Cheryl recently wrote to all activists: Any service, advice, support you can give would to help the Green Committee would be greatly appreciated.

1) Green Committee Meeting Date

Fred Samuel Community Center, 2nd Floor

669 Lenox Avenue between West 143rd St & West 144th St

Monday, May 16

5:30pm-6:30pm

*Meetings opened to Fred Samuel residents and public/community.

2) Playground-West 143rd Street between 7th Ave & Lenox Ave

Green Committee Cleaning & Planting

Saturday’s – May 14, May 21

9am-11am

*Need cleaning equipment & plants & materials.

Contact: Cheryl Minor   Work-718-433-3187

Can we at Carrie McCracken TRUCE send a contingent to help out?

Express Yourself! Public Hearing on City Garden Rules Coming Soon!

Dear Friends of Carrie McCracken TRUCE Community Garden:

You’ve heard that the City could decide to evict our gardeners and garden at any time. Now the City is proposing new rules that offer fewer protections to all gardens on City property. Take a moment now to call 311 to express yourself about urban gardens and ask for rules that give gardens the respect they deserve. The public hearing will be August 10th. This is the best time to make your voice heard.

More information is below from: http://www.nyccgc.org/

July 22, 2010
Dear Community Gardeners and Garden Supporters:
As you may have heard, the New York City Administration recently published “Proposed Rules” for community gardens under the jurisdiction of the Department of Parks and Recreation (Green Thumb/Parks) and the Department of Housing Preservation & Development (HPD). The City claims that these rules are an adequate replacement for the 2002 Memorandum of Agreement (“Community Gardens Agreement”) between the New York State Attorney General and the Bloomberg Administration that has been protecting community gardens for the past 8 years – and which will be expiring this September.
NYCCGC is firmly in opposition to these Proposed Rules because they threaten all gardens on City property with development and do not offer the same protections as the 2002 Community Gardens Agreement.
We ask that you, along with your community gardening group, affiliated coalitions, neighbors, supporters, and organizations, stand with us in opposing these rules and demanding rules that permanently preserve existing community gardens and allow pathways for creating more gardens in the future.
TAKE ACTION!
Please plan to attend the public hearing for comments on the Proposed Rules on community gardens under Parks and HPD jurisdiction to be held on Tuesday August 10, 2010, 11:00am, at the Chelsea Recreation Center located at 430 West 25th Street, New York, New York 10010. Information on how to register your intention to testify as well as how to comment on these rules in writing, online, or by mail is available on our website (www.NYCCGC.org) and at the end of this letter.
Suggestions for points to make in your testimony and written comments:
1. The Proposed Parks Rules must state that all gardens in good standing will remain as community gardens.
2. The Proposed HPD Rules must include a process for community gardens in good standing to be transferred to Parks.
3. The Proposed Parks/HPD Rules threaten community gardens because they do not extend the protections established in the 2002 “Community Gardens Agreement”.
4. Rather than preserving community gardens, the Proposed Parks/HPD Rules assume all gardens are subject to development.
5. The City Administration needs to recognize community-controlled green spaces and provide long-term solutions for making community gardens permanent.
6. The Rules need to provide processes and procedures for creating new gardens and urban farms.
Most of all we recommend that you tell the story of your community garden and why it is special to you, your family, and your community in your comments at the hearing and in writing.
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On our website you can find links to the Proposed Rules to read them and download them for yourself, updates on our mobilization efforts, and dates of upcoming information sessions in neighborhoods across the City. Please contact us if you want to help with these efforts.
No matter whether your community garden is Green Thumb/Parks, HPD, NYRP, or Land Trust – even if you don’t garden at all but want to support NYC’s community gardens – a threat to even one garden is a threat to all gardens! The time to stand together for all community gardens is NOW.
We look forward to standing with you in solidarity for our gardens on Tuesday, August 10th!
Yours in Solidarity with all Community Gardens,
NYCCGC
Further information on testifying and commenting on the Proposed Rules:
Notice of your intention to testify on either proposed rule should be registered with Ms. Laura LeVelle: call (212) 360-1335, email laura.lavelle@parks.nyc.gov, or send a letter to her: Department of Parks and Recreation, The Arsenal, Central Park, 830 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10065. You must register to speak by August 9, 2010.
Written comments regarding the Proposed Parks Rules should be sent to: General Counsel, Mr. Alessandro G. Olivieri, Department of Parks and Recreation, The Arsenal, Central Park, 830 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10065.
Written comments regarding the Proposed HPD Rules should be sent to Mary-Lynne Rifenburgh, 100 Gold Street, Room 5Q-2, New York 10038.
You can also directly comment online on either rules through the City’s website (http://www.nyc.gov/html/nycrules), or by calling 311 on or before August 10, 2010.
NYCCGC recommends that you should comment on both rules.

August crops

abundance of tomatoes