Brook Park in NY Times!

Congrats to the ASPIRA gardeners and Ray Figueroa!

In the Bronx, Less Asphalt, More Vegetables

In the Bronx, Less Asphalt, More Vegetables
By David Gonzalez

A symphony of dull thuds and sharp clanks heralded — what else? — the planting season at Brook Park in the Bronx. Teenagers took turns swinging sledgehammers and pickaxes as they tore up the remains of an ancient basketball court inside the Mott Haven park, where they have already planted eight large boxes now bursting with tomatoes, peppers, greens and other natural goodies.

“This used to be a parking lot,” said Raymond Figueroa, a program coordinator with Aspira, the youth group sponsoring the urban planting. “We’re opening up the asphalt so we can plant some more.”

And before you could ask, he launched into a list of the stuff they had already planted earlier this year.

“We got tomatoes,” he said. “We got eggplants. We got peppers. We got collard greens. We already did one harvest, which we donated to a food pantry that feeds 500 people.”

Brook Park, at Brook Avenue and East 141 Street, is a real city park run by some civic-minded folks, like Harry Bubbins. The plan had once been to rip up the asphalt to expose the brook that many believe still courses below the soil. But until the money can be found for that project, the plot will be used as a garden. Other parts of the park are thick and green with natural shade.

Mr. Figueroa said this was not some crunchy green exercise. When they haven’t been planting, watering or harvesting, they have been asked by Columbia University to help survey a wide swath of the South Bronx for other empty lots that can be used for vegetable gardens.

“Then we’re going to get into negotiations with the city so we can replicate this garden,” he said. “This is the diabetes capital of New York. One of the reasons is, the corner store doesn’t offer fresh fruits and vegetables.”

Rahkeem Williams, 14, was hauling chunks of broken asphalt to a slowly growing pile by the fence. He lives in the neighborhood and knows how hard it can be to eat properly.

“Healthy food? Around here?” he said. “It’s not that easy. It’s easy to get fast food. You go to McDonald’s, and they got their dollar menu. You go to the supermarket, and they want $3 for two cucumbers.”

The slow smashing of asphalt continued. A delegation of young people ventured off to a local church to see if it would take a donated harvest of collard greens. A young man waved a garden hose, shooting a glistening stream over the garden. Starr Giscombe went back to fill up her wheelbarrow with asphalt.

“It’s hard work,” she said. “It’s a lot of manual labor. It’s not just sitting in your office and working on a computer. It’s taking action.”

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Garden Dance Performance: by Sabine Heubusch

December 12, 2007
Time: Afternoon,

What: Garden Dance Performance: by Sabine Heubusch

Please let us know if you will bring your students to enjoy:

- Brief Seasonal Hand’s on Tour of Garden
- Special GARDEN DANCE performance
- Quick Dance/Movement Workshop Exploration

The dancer brings the audience to different places in the garden. The audience has the freedom to place themselves around the performer. The slow pace of the dance provides space for the audience to take in the complexity and details of the garden. Participants connect to Nature’s richness - to its smells, colors, shapes, sounds, and its peacefulness.


RSVP!!!!!!
Depending on the response we will have one or two performances in the afternoon of the 12th.

Please email with your name, school, grade, cell phone and number of students by November 30th.
Heavy rain, and or super frigid weather cancels. Snow is fine!


About the performer:
Dancer Sabine Heubusch received her BA in Music and Movement from the University for Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. After winning a dance scholarship from the Austrian Ministry of Arts and Education, she moved to New York. Sabine has performed in various New York City venues, including Dixon Place, Soho Joyce, Pentacle, and Limelight.
In 2001, she began to focus on site-specific outdoor performances, and in 2005, she founded RASA Dance. Currently she is performing her new piece in Brooklyn Bridge Park. A certified teacher of Alexander Technique, Yoga, and Pilates Mat, Sabine teaches adults, children, and children with special needs in New York and throughout Europe. See: http://www.spinelight.com for more information.