Earth Week With Calhoun School

In celebration of Earth Week this year, on May 21st, 2009, my 4th grade science students traveled to Brook Park in the South Bronx to participate in an amazing series of all-day community service activities. It was an extraordinarily memorable trip for all of us. Many remarked that it was “the best trip of the year.” Upon our departure, children rushed over to me to tell me how much they loved Brook Park and how badly they wanted to return.

As residents of the upper west side, the majority of my students had never been to the South Bronx before. In preparation for the trip, they learned that not all neighborhoods in New York City are privileged with access to green spaces with clean air to breathe as one experiences in Central Park. Through the Friends of Brook Park web site, they saw pictures of the transformation of the once junk/drug infested city lot into the splendor that is now Brook Park. The students were fascinated by the idea of ordinary citizens organizing to improve their own environment with a community garden.

Upon our approach to Brook Avenue and 141st, we were delighted to see the garden with our own eyes – to watch the sidewalks and pavement fall away into an incredibly beautiful, green oasis, filling an entire city block. The tension of the man-made urban streets seemed to melt away like a dream as we entered the garden gates and found ourselves immersed in a world of open sky and living green space. The children were captivated from the very moment we arrived and a palpable calm came over our group, consisting of about 50 children and 8 adults!

Harry Bubbins and the other garden educators greeted us. We learned about the reason for Brook Park’s name – the mysterious ancient brook which runs underneath the ground and the garden’s quest to uncover it. Through our walking tour of the garden, we learned about garden plants (which we were invited to taste), Christmas tree mulching, the value of compost, Willow Trees, labyrinths and the troubled history of the South Bronx which made the need for the garden so important. Throughout this experience, the children were also making their own discoveries: a group of boys found crystal formations in rocks; another group was enamored with two wandering kittens.

After the tour, our work began. We shoveled and spread mulch over the ground, sifted compost, dug holes to plant apple trees, broke up asphalt and worked collectively to pass heavy rocks from one area to another. I have never seen such young children work so hard with such intense enthusiasm and determination as they did on that day. The level of focus and group-collaboration they displayed was awe-inspiring and even more remarkable for its sheer effortlessness. No convincing or persuasion from adults was necessary! I saw groups of children work cooperatively to plant apple trees and to hammer heavy wedges into the asphalt, then carry the pieces away to a wheelbarrow. I saw nine-year-olds put all their strength into the breaking up of asphalt with sledgehammers.

As some children wrote later, “We were so responsible, like top-notch workers.” Another child wrote, “We knew we might never do this again.” It was clear to me that the children’s motivation stemmed from the fact that they genuinely cared about what they were doing, knew it was important and that they enjoyed it. They were entrusted with something real and were able to see the tangible results of their work.

We concluded our visit with a collective, silent walk through the labyrinth and a chance to reflect as a group on the experience. The labyrinth walk was a fitting ending to our journey, bringing us all back together through one shared experience.

The children’s enthusiasm for Brook Park has lived on at the Calhoun School both through numerous heartfelt letters of thanks and through public advocacy letters to government officials. Like them, I too am a believer in Brook Park and I want to see the flowing brook come alive once again and for more and more children to come to the garden to have the wonderful experience of a lifetime that we had. On that note, I ask you to please contribute whatever you can to this remarkable garden which brings such incredible joy to all who are lucky enough to encounter it.

Sincerely,

Amy Landau
Lower School Science Teacher
The Calhoun School

SURVEY TO IMPROVE THE ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW PROCESS

SURVEY TO IMPROVE THE ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW PROCESS

On-line Questionnaire Solicits Public Comments

Effort to Identify Obstacles and Propose Solutions that Improve City Procedures Related to Environmental Review Process, as Promised in State of the City

Environmental reviews are critical to the City's decision-making process in approving, rejecting or shaping development projects, and they reveal and propose ways to mitigate the environmental impacts of proposed development. The environmental review process solicits and requires the input of experts and the public to ensure a full and comprehensive vetting of a proposed project's impact. This survey could help the City to improve and expedite environmental review by identifying inefficiencies and proposing ways to improve the process - without compromising environmental protection standards or impeding public input. The survey solicits feedback on how projects should be prioritized and how agency resources should be allocated, as well as how the City might improve inter-agency coordination, the completion of timely and efficient analysis, and communication among City agencies, applicants and the public. The survey does not address changes to legislative policy, legal standards, analytical methodologies, or other planning processes, such as the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure. It is part of the City's ongoing commitment to make government work more efficiently to facilitate responsible development, while at the same time improving, and ultimately strengthening, environmental protections.

Through the on-line questionnaire, the City is seeking input from stakeholders including applicants, developers, community members, civic groups, consulting firms, agencies, community boards and elected officials. Individuals with experience in the City's environmental review process are especially urged to participate.


To access the questionnaire, CLICK HERE. The questionnaire will be available on the website until May 22, 2009

Harlem River Access Daily News Article

Momentum is building. Thanks to your support. Contact us to get involved even more!

City Planning Harlem River Testimony

See our testimony from the April 1st hearing of the City Planning Commission. We have been advocating for access to the Harlem River for many years, and the rezoning proposal for the Lower Concourse is an ideal opportunity! Send a note to your Council Member about this today.
Click on the images to the right to see our testimony.

And:
City Planning Commission
22 Read Street
New York, NY 10007 April 10, 2009

Re: Lower Concourse Re Zoning Proposal - Inclusion of Park Ave Waterfront Site.

Dear Commissioners,

We strongly support expanding the Lower Concourse Re Zoning proposed zoning foot print approx. 150 feet South/West to include the Park Avenue waterfront site, located btw. Exterior Street & the Harlem River.

For more than half a century residents living in the Bronx have been prevented from accessing much of their waterfront. The Lower Concourse Re Zoning Proposal provides a unique opportunity to address some of these inequities. For decades people from the community have been using a small sliver of land between Exterior street & the Harlem River just north of the Third Avenue Bridge in the South Bronx for a variety of both passive and active recreation uses. However, the proposed map currently stops mere feet from the site and is not currently included in the rezoning proposal. This is an obvious and natural site for a community park, with true waterfront access.

Extending the foot print approx. 150 feet would provide desperately needed access to the water front. The site provides wonderful panoramic views of the Harlem River and would be an ideal opportunity to create safe, legal access to the area. Possible uses include such activities as a launch area for human powered water craft, picnicking and other park and open space uses. It should be noted that the public has been using the area for these activities for years. However, the property currently creates a barrier for access because people using the site risk arrest. Including the site would also help achieve one of the major stated goals of the rezoning, which is to “Provide new waterfront open space to an under-served community.”

Using the word underserved is an understatement is this community. Currently there is not a single legal access point along the waterfront for more than 2 miles south of the site and more than a mile North. The community has been advocating for its use as a park space for over ten years. This site is even featured on the cover of the NYC Department of City Planning’s Bronx Harlem River Waterfront Bicycle and Pedestrian Study, August 2006.
Expanding the footprint would also work to support the longer-term efforts which has been advocated by many to create a continuous promenade along the Harlem River and connect the proposed parks to the north with the existing Port Morris community to the south.

Its inclusion would have a measurable impact not only on the surrounding community but on visitors alike who are being encouraged to explore the city by having increased access to bike lines and greenways from projects undertaken by various city, state and federally funded initiatives. I have personally seen a markedly increased interest in the Park Ave site from bike riders who are venturing out to this section of the city. This positive use will only increase if the public were encouraged to use the site.

Including the Park Ave site for proposed parkland and waterfront access would be a small but important step to help rectify historical inequities. It should also be pointed out that the CSX railway along the Western border of the Bronx prevents any park space that is blocked by the raised rail in the Harlem River. This prevents the public from being able to truly access the "waterfront." The rails also create barriers for water recreational opportunities.
The nearest waterfront site being proposed - btw. 145/147th street - suffers from this rail barrier as well. The proposed park space there is contingent on highway and building development and is somewhat speculative and most likely would not occur for a decade or longer if at all. While we support this proposed site including the Park Ave site would have an immediate impact.
The Lower Concourse rezoning proposal public review is currently going through environmental review and the ULURP process. We strongly encourage the City Council to hold a public hearing on this issue. I do not believe many people in the community are aware of the plan. Many people I've spoken to in the area do not know anything about it.
While we are encouraged that the Harlem River and this area are getting much needed attention, we feel it is very important to highlight one area that needs to be included before you approve the final version. Creating real waterfront access is vital for a community that has been prevented from having access to it for the better part of a century.

We strongly support expanding the proposed zoning footprint South/West to include the Park Avenue waterfront location and respectfully request the City Planning Commission include it in the Lower Concourse Re Zoning Proposal plan. Not doing so would be a wasted opportunity.

Sincerely,
Geoffrey Croft- president
NYC Park Advocates

NYC Park Advocates Inc. is a non-profit, non-partisan watchdog group dedicated to improving public parks, restoring public funding, increasing public recreation programs, expanding open space and accessibility, and achieving the equitable distribution of these vital services in New York City for all. We are the only non-profit park advocacy group dedicated to all City, State and Federal parkland in New York City. For more information please visit us at http://nycparkadvocates.org

April in Brook Park