Our sixth video on YouTube is:

Our sixth video on YouTube is:

Randall's Island, NYC: A Video Snapshot

New York City is surrounded by islands, and Randall's Island is one the most intriguing. This short documentary style film is one New York City is surrounded by islands, and Randall's Island is one the most intriguing. This short documentary style film is one part landscape meditation, one part informational video and one part Brechtian didactic cinema. With breathgiving scenes of nature in a heavily urbanized area, a few interviews and music by Antibalas, Joanne Shenandoah, Kuatli Vazquez, Aretha Franklin, Carioca and Bob Marley, the film explores issues of privatization of public space. Particularly meant to draw attention to the scheme to develop a private beach club and suburban themed "waterpark" on existing public ballfields and protected wetlands this is a hard-hitting and visually rewarding film for everyone interested in beauty, art and protecting the green spaces in our own neighborhoods that together make up our planet.
Altogether the film, posted in two parts, is under 15 minutes.
Category Travel & Places

Click Link:

See the movie here!

Trashtastic Interview with Harry Bubbins

Trashtastic Thursday with Harry J. Bubbins

Trashtastic Tuesday comes early this week (or late, depending on your world view). Note that the everydaytrash post flow may trickle down next week. I’ll be in Budapest. Stay tuned for stories of Euro and post-Communist trash. In the meantime…
_______

everydaytrash: So, I heard the city is now using trains to transport trash OUT of the Bronx, what about the trash coming IN?

Harry J. Bubbins: The Bronx, and specifically the South South Bronx, the Port Morris and Mott Haven neighborhoods handle almost all the garbage. Besides the borough waste, we handle trash from Manhattan and Queens as well. This is because the Mayor’s Solid Waste Management Plan, approved by the NYC Council has been stalled by three Upper West Side State legislators who refuse to handle Manhattan’s waste in Manhattan. The direct outcome of their recalcitrance is an increase of diesel truck traffic in the most at-risk for asthma communities and a dream deferred for a significant step towards environmental justice.

everydaytrash: What are the Harlem River Rail Yards?

Bubbins: The Harlem River Rail yards refer to the 96 acres site at the southern most tip of the Bronx that is owned by the people of New York through the NYS Department of Transportation...

Read the entire interview at:
everydaytrash.wordpress.com

Bronx Helpers Write to Us

New Settlement¹s Bronx Helper Program Writes...

By Kayla M.
New Settlement¹s Bronx Helper
August 2007

When I went to Brook Park it was fun because I got to help out the
garden and at the same time I got to climb a tree and swing from the vines and
I also got to eat and try new things. My group, J.A.K. had the job of digging holes and pulling vines. Altogether it was a fun and new experience. I
got to be on T.V. That was the icing on the cake and a good end to the day.

By Akilah M.
New Settlement¹s Bronx Helper
August 2007

In Brook Park we learned about different plants and saw some that we
never heard of before. We even got to taste some of them, like
Peppermint, Spearmint and Basil. They all were very strong. Then we swung
on a vine and a tree but it was too low to the ground. There were three
workgroups. My group was J.A.K., for the first letter of our names. Š Then
we pulled vines from the gate because it was choking the plants around it.
While we were there a reporter from Bronx News 12 was there to interview us
and watch us. Then we climbed a tree. I had a great time at Brook Park.
The End.

Bronx: Garbage Takes the Train. BS?

Bronx: Garbage Takes the Train

from the NYTimes
Read more Here

Published: August 15, 2007

Garbage is now being shipped out of the Bronx entirely by rail instead of by trucks, part of a city plan to reduce the number of trucks traveling on the streets, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced yesterday. The Bronx is the second borough to use trains to ship the garbage; Staten Island began shipping household waste in May after the city reactivated the Staten Island Railroad. The Bronx ships about 2,100 tons of garbage each day for disposal outside the city, the mayor said.

Note:

What this means is that all of the garbage being shipped out of the Bronx, which includes trash from Queens and Manhattan currently, is coming through Community Board #1 of the South, South Bronx. The Mott Haven and Port Morris neighborhoods specifically.

It comes into our neighborhoods via diesel trucks and to the Waste Management facility on the Harlem River Rail Yards. Although the Harlem River Rail Yards are owned by the NYS Dept of Transportation, and leased to Galesi Group, we enjoy no public benefit whatsoever. Still at this time there is no official public access, though it is 96 acres of waterfront property. See our efforts to create these kinds of amenities at:

http://www.friendsofbrookpark.org/waterfront.html

Email us to get involved in environmental justice efforts!

The images are of the doubled up lines of idling trucks blocking the Third Avenue Bridge at Bruckner Boulevard at the entrance to the Port Morris facility. note the police breaking through the lines to get traffic to flow and the worker with a bag of food he went to get while is idling truck was waiting to enter the facility.

See a follow-up article at:

AM NEWS Article

Women's Garden Cycles Bike Tour vists FoBP

hey friends of brook park,

thanks for letting us tag along on your canoe trip! here's the info
for our blog: http://womensgardencycles.wordpress.com - where you can
find a link to liz's flickr page that features some pictures from our
ride down the river. feel free to use and/or link us to your
website.... great!
best,
kat and wgcbt

--
- the garden cyclers

Women's Garden Cycles Bike Tour

A 1,600 mile bicycle journey to promote local food growers.

http://womensgardencycles.wordpress.com