Warning About Pesticides Hiding in Plant Purchases
From MKGardener Jane:
Hello new and old gardeners:
Just a reminder that it’s very important to check that anything you are planting in the garden, or feeding to birds, is not poisonous to pollinators.
“It is estimated that of the roughly 672 million birds exposed annually to pesticides on U.S. agricultural lands, 10% or 67 million are killed. Ironically it is often the same sunflower and/or other grains intended to feed backyard birds that may have been sprayed with lethal pesticides to keep pests (often including birds) at bay.” http://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/wild-wings-organic-bird-foods/
“One in eight bird species are threatened with global extinction, and once widespread creatures such as the puffin, snowy owl and turtle dove are plummeting towards oblivion, according to the definitive study of global bird populations.”
“More than half of ostensibly bee-friendly plants sampled at 18 Home Depot, Lowe’s and Walmart garden centers in the U.S. and Canada contained high levels of neonicotinoids, which are considered highly toxic to bees, butterflies and other insect pollinators.
Even when they don’t kill pollinators outright, neonicotinoids can impair their immune systems and sense of navigation, potentially turning gardens and backyards into flowery traps.” https://www.wired.com/2014/06/garden-center-neonicotinoids/
NYT “How a Garden for the Poor Became a Playground for the Rich”
Stanton Building Across from Sara Roosevelt Park:
“Thelma Burdick, for whom the building was named, was instrumental to the Lower East Side’s fight for affordable housing.
In the 1950s, she helped to lead a victory against Robert Moses, a legendarily powerful official in the 20th century who was the mastermind behind many of the New York area’s parks, highways and bridges.
The protesters won a commitment from the city to develop affordable housing like the Burdick.
And the building was named after her.
Now…
“Nearly six years after tenants agreed to the deal that paved the way for the hotel, they are still waiting on a playground.
“These days, 43.5 percent of New York City’s population lives below or near poverty, defined as a family of four with an income of $32,402.
The contrast between rich and poor is extreme in the yellow spots on the map below, where at least 40 percent of the families make less than $30,000 a year and at least 5 percent of the households have an annual income above $200,000….”
Yet More Buses on Chrystie Near Canal/Hester
Added to the 70 per hour anticipated buses coming in during the L Train Shutdown.
More particulates, more pollution across from 3 schools and a heavily used field.
From Community Board 3 vote sheet:
A new Bus Stop Application: “Super Bus Inc”, 51 Chrystie St
VOTE: TITLE: Approve a Curbside Bus Stop for Super Bus Company @ 51 Chrystie St.
WHEREAS, Super Bus, Inc. has applied for a designated bus stop for curb-side loading/unloading operations located at 51 Chrystie St, on the west side of the street between Canal St and Hester St. The buses will operate under the Super Bus brand name, providing service between New York and Monticello, NY with 5 arrivals/5 departures daily between the hours of 6:00 am to 9:00 pm. Super Bus would be approved for only one bus at a time loading/unloading; and
WHEREAS, The bus stop is an existing 75 ft bus stop in front of 49-53 Chrystie St that would be shared with Tribal Sun Bus. That company was represented at the meeting and reported that they currently operate 14 arrivals/14 departures daily at the location, so adding a permit for Super Bus at this location would bring the total to 19 arrivals/19 departures daily; and
WHEREAS, The bus stop is immediately adjacent to a truck loading zone at 45-47 Chrystie St designated from 8am to 7pm, Mon-Sat, which is used by existing businesses that require loading and unloading. CB 3 resolutions passed in April 2013, September 2013 and June 2017 explained serious concern about designating a 100-foot long bus stop, because it eliminated a truck loading zone from 8:00 am to 7:00 pm, Monday to Saturday, on a block that has existing businesses that require loading and unloading. In 2013, three of these businesses appeared at a CB 3 meeting to present their concerns; and
WHEREAS, Although Super Bus, Inc. had indicated on its CB3 application that a storefront at 47 Chrystie St will be provided for the use of customers, so they may wait to board their bus and use the restroom facilities, that is not actually true. It is important that a bus company of this size – operating 10 of the 38 total arrivals and departures daily – provide a storefront with restroom for its customers. Otherwise, crowds of passengers will inevitably cause sanitation, nuisance and safety issues; and
WHEREAS, Super Bus, Inc. has agreed to return to the November 2013 committee meeting and will try to rent a storefront before then; now
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that CB3-Manhattan requests that DOT extend the CB3 comment period for this Super Bus application by 30 days.
Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer: Manhattan Solid Waste Advisory Board
-The Manhattan Solid Waste Advisory Board is active and all meetings are open to the public. See their excellent website for updates. http://www.manhattanswab.org/
Let us know if you want to support recycling and/or organics efforts on your block. HChu@manhattanbp.nyc.gov or 212-669-8300.
Note (from Hack:Trash:NYC):
- About 33% of NYC’s wastes are organics
- NYC’s waste diversion rate (recyclables and organics) is about 20.5%
- DSNY (Sanitation Dept) collects 3.5 million tons of wastes and recyclables each year
- DSNY’s FY18 budget for recycling and organics education is $4.5 million out of a total agency budget of $1.6 billion
- It costs $380 million per year to transport just wastes out of NYC to landfills
- The average New Yorker throws out 14 lbs. of garbage per person per week
–On Tuesday, August 7, 2018 at 3333 Broadway two interns, Maria Ordonez and Luis Ordonez, organized a Recycling Day, 1-6pm with the support of Manhattan Borough President’s Office, Urban American, 3333 Broadway Tenant Association, NYC Dept of Sanitation, NYC Dept of Health, WE ACT, GrowNYC, Citizens Committee for New York and DJ Marlon Bizzy as well as residents. Great credit to Maria Ordonez and Luis Ordonez who organized this event and who are spearheading recycling at 3333 Broadway with the Tenant Association and management. The good news: Management has set Tuesday every week as Recycling Day in this 1,022 unit building! Another intern organized recycling education at PS 125 and other public schools!
From the Personal Account of Gale Brewer – (Also The Manhattan Borough President)
“Charter Revision Commission: vote NO on #2 and #3.
-Tuesday, November 6, 2018, Election Day. In NYC, turn over the ballot and be sure to vote on the 3 referendum questions, and vote NO on #2 and #3. Tell your friends.
I know you’re used to hearing from me about what’s going on in the office and events listings, but I’m writing today—from my personal account!— with an important message about the NYC Charter Revision Proposals on the November 6, 2018 ballot.
I’m writing to let you know that I am opposing Charter Revision Proposals 2 & 3—and I hope you’ll join me.
Proposal 3 would term-limit the unpaid members of the City’s 59 Community Boards (yes, all 2,950 of them) and Proposal 2 would shift who provides services to those boards (among other things).
These proposals would be a real—and in some cases dangerous—disruption to the way Community Boards protect our communities.
Community Boards are truly the grass roots of city government; these citizens volunteer their time to help decide everything from liquor licenses to city services to land use, zoning and real estate development in their districts (and almost everything in between). I served on CB 7 in the 1990s.
Land use and zoning regulations are hard to learn; it takes time. And city agencies take time—sometimes a LOT of time—to complete projects. Yet Proposal 3 rigidly terminates all members after eight years. It would have the effect of allowing developers and their lawyers—who are never term limited!—to dominate development negotiations, because those long-time members will be gone. And on long-term city projects like street redesign or sustainability, newly-appointed community board members would have little influence over long-term projects. Every Board’s institutional memory would be wiped out.
Term limits are not just dangerous, they’re redundant—since Borough Presidents and City Council members are already term-limited!
Proposal 3’s language ends by referencing Proposal 2’s “Civic Engagement Commission” as a supplier of “resources, assistance and training” to the Boards—tasks that Borough Presidents do now. Proposal 3 also says this commission will be controlled by the Mayor—every Mayor going forward—and charges it with a host of other tasks as well (many of which are laudable, but could be done now, without a Charter change!).
Proposals 2 and 3 may sound appealing to voters, though, in a wolf-in-sheep’s-clothing kind of way. “Civic Engagement” hardly sounds like a bad thing, and “term limits” have been approved by New York City voters three different times over the last 25 years, most recently in 2010.
I am supporting a “Vote No on 2 & 3” committee, and we are getting the word out about the impact of these proposals. But time is short—November 6 is looming! I’d appreciate your help in a few ways…
— Please join our committee—and in so doing give us permission to use your name publicly—by signing up for our committee and their email blasts at this link: bit.ly/VoteNoSignUp Or paste this url into your browser: https://tinyletter.com/VoteNoOn2and3November6
— Like and share our Facebook page at Facebook.com/VoteNoOn2and3.
(We also have an ActBlue online contribution account at this link bit.ly/VoteNo23contribute or paste this url into your browser: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/vote-no-on-2—3-1
We’re also accepting we’re accepting checks made payable to the “No On 2 and 3 Committee” at 555 W. 23rd St., South 6L, NY, NY 10011.)
— Please let your friends and neighbors know the true impact of Charter Proposals 2 & 3. Remind them it’s important to turn out on Election Day, November 6, and that these proposals are on the BACK of the ballot. Use any of the language in this email if it would help. If you’d like to download and reprint our flyer and distribute it to your building or block, visit here: bit.ly/VoteNoFlyer1
I hope you’ll help, and soon. We have less than a month to get the word out. If you have any questions, please email our campaign account at VoteNoOn2and3Committee@gmail.com so your responses don’t get lost in my inbox—and so our volunteers can get back to you quickly.
FYI: 4 Borough Presidents signed a letter to oppose 2 and 3. Much thanks, Gale A Brewer
P.S. I explained more in an op-ed for the Manhattan CNG weeklies here: chelseanow.com/2018/09/community-board-term-limits-proposal-is-an-accidental-gift-to-developers/ Please share it with your friends!
-Mayor’s Charter Revision Commission on ballot Nov 6, 2018. These are the dates of hearings when the Mayor/Administration is trying to convince us that these are good proposals. Please attend and explain why you think they are not. The dates of these hearings are hard to find. https://www.eventbrite.com/o/new-york-city-charter-revision-commission-17790519964
Mon, October 15 | 6:30 PM
Jewish Center of Jackson Heights
37-06 77th Street
Jackson Heights, NY 11372
Tue, October 16 | 6:30 PM
Michael J. Petrides School
715 Ocean Terrace
Staten Island, NY 10301
Wed, October 17 | 6:30 PM
Metropolitan College
463 East 149 Street
Bronx, NY 10455
Thu, October 18 | 6:30 PM
Gregorio Luperon High School for Science and Mathematics
501 West 165 Street?New York, NY 10032
Mon, October 22 | 6:30 PM
Brooklyn College
2900 Bedford Ave
Ingersoll Hall IH-1127
Brooklyn, NY 11210
————————————————————————————-
http://www.charter2019.nyc/ The Manhattan hearing for the CHARTER REVISION COMMISSION 2019 took place on September 27, 2018 from 6pm-1:30am because so many people testified! This is the Charter Revision Commission that will have referendums on the ballot in November 2019. It is comprised of members appointed by many officials, not just the Mayor. It is reviewing the entire charter. ALL ideas are welcome. City Council/Public Advocate/Borough residents/Comptroller/Mayor are on this Charter Revision Commission that is reviewing the ENTIRE Charter for the November 2019 ballot. There will be many more hearings. Contact: info@manhattanbp.nyc.gov and put Charter Revision Commission in subject line or call 212-669-8300. We are glad to come to your organization and brief you on the charter if you wish.”
Update: Yet More Violence in the Stanton Area of Sara Roosevelt Park
From Daily News:
“Man slashed in the face in ‘random’ clash”
From BoweryBoogie:
“Man slashed Across the Face in Sara D. Roosevelt Park in ‘Random’ Attack”
Channel 7 News: “Man Needs 30 Stitches after being slashed in face on Manhattan Street”
Lo-Down: “Apparent Random Slashing Happened at Stanton & Chrystie Streets Saturday”
In this area of the Stanton ParkHouse:
Stabbing 12/2017
Woman brutally beaten 5/2017
Murder 8/2018
Random Face Slashing 10/2018
Yesterday, disabled homeless man was punched in the face on Rivington in front of M’Finda Garden.
When will Parks Dept return the derelict looking Stanton Building to this community?
*******
Meanwhile, this is Parks answer to the problem of people defecating in this area: a fence.
Those in need of a toilet have already begun to ‘work around it’.
How about we open the bathrooms with security and maintenance 24/7 to actually deal with the problem?
Our answer to this park’s problems goes more like this.
Invite activities that invite positive use of a park area. Doesn’t solve everything but keeps “eyes on” the park and provides a bit of safe haven for this neighborhood.
This was happening outside the M’Finda Garden at the same time that person was being slashed:
de Blasio’s Commission (appointed solely by him) Would Weaken NYC’s Checks and Balances
Mayor de Blasio’s Commission (appointed solely by him) answer to a strong checks and balances is to have Borough President, City Council and the Community boards they appoint weakened.
The City Council’s commission included the Mayor’s reps, City Council reps, Tish James and the City Council – it offers a more in-depth look at the Charter and all revisions.
Due to the fact that the mayor put it on the ballot for November – NO Community Board can weigh in as a body. Their job is to look with some expertise at all things coming at neighborhoods and yes boards are varied in their abilities but they also can have real institutional knowledge. AND they are the only bulwark against any mayor’s authority.
Ecofeminism: Fueling the Journey to Energy Democracy
From TNI (Trans National Institute) an event with 200 women in Bilbao, Basque Country February 2-7, 2018 on the need for any energy transition to be ecofeminist:
“The growing call for the feminisation of politics – and energy politics for that matter – is about much more than merely increasing the representation of women in decision-making positions. We need to question the ways energy politics are shaped. We need to ask, energy for whom and energy for what?”
The alternative energy model needs to be life-sustaining – protecting collective survival – and needs to take into account the disproportionate impacts the lives of women everywhere.
Any new model needs to acknowledge the diverse roles a multitude of women play in their day-to-day realities and in the global political economy.
The feminist strike on March 8, 2018 saw one in five women take to the streets throughout Spain:
“We strike for a new renewable energy model, distributed, decentralized, democratic, participatory, decarbonized, equitable, fair and in the hands of people. A new ecofeminist energy model in which energy is a right and life is at the center.”
“Energy is currently produced and consumed based on sexist, racist and classist power relations that favour the pursuit of private profits. Groups that are already treated with disdain by many societies are further marginalised, in specific and concrete ways, by the current energy model.”
Gender inequality increases the likelihood of a family suffering from energy poverty
“Today’s political economy still expects – or even requires – women to take on a multiplicity of caring and household roles. Without this unpaid and mostly invisible labour, the political economy could not function. Public services that supply (warm) water, electricity and heating are essential to fulfill these roles. If these essential services were publicly owned and fundamentally democratic they would include women and be grounded in their daily realities – potentially offering a road to equitable redistribution of power and resources.”
How are women rendered invisible? Research by Enginyeria Sense Fronteres(ESF) shows how official data on poverty is not disaggregated by gender. Where data is disaggregated, it shows only a 0.1% difference between men and women…[but]…Data that takes into account individual income shows a very different reality, with 25.7% of men & fully 49.7% of women at risk of experiencing energy poverty.”
…70% of energy aid recipients in Barcelona are women. Single-parent families are at a higher risk of experiencing energy poverty; 80% of these parents are women. In turn, lacking access to a sufficient amount of energy has a negative effect on the development of children. …inequality between genders increases the likelihood of a family suffering energy poverty. Furthermore… analyses of energy poverty and inequality treat women as a homogenous group, ignoring how materially vulnerable groups of women, such as single mothers, women over 65, migrant women, and domestic and service sector workers, are in specific material ways more heavily impacted by the structural injustices of the current energy model.
Undermining energy politics that are reproducing patriarchy as the basis for capitalism
“Extractivist oligopolies and corporatised politics have imposed humiliating austerity measures, privatisations of public services, and excessive and growing socio-economic inequality, displacement and dispossession, and environmental destruction. These processes drive skyrocketing levels of energy poverty and a worsening ecological crisis.”
Not surprisingly, most governments, corporate boards and international institutions that determine societies’ energy policies are dominated by men…We need to question the ways energy politics are shaped.
We need to ask, energy for whom and energy for what? As Alba del Campo puts it, how much and what type of energy do we need and what is it used for?
We need energy democracies and participatory politics in which a variety of ordinary women can influence tomorrow’s energy policies. Collective but diversified bottom-up power can ensure a new energy model is run by and services those who the current model exploits and discriminates against.”
A new energy model that is build on the needs and labour of the social majority of women
“…for a just transition towards energy democracy, the new energy laws and policies must reflect the needs and labour of the social and diverse majority of women.
The Alliance against Energy Poverty’s success in passing Law 24/2015 in the Catalan Parliament is an early sign that ecofeminist energy policies are workable. This law is unique in treating access to energy as a human right. An eclectic group of women affected by energy-poverty participated in its drafting, which, since 2015, and for the first time in the history of Spain, prohibits the cutting off of electricity supplies of vulnerable families in Catalonia.
From Bilbao and Cadiz to Catalonia, the fight for a just energy transition is already under way. With courage and endurance we can make it ever stronger and expose the material impacts of the current, profit-driven energy model on the “multiple many” in distinct yet coinciding ways.
This article was heavily inspired by the Summer Course about Ecofeminist Views, Empowerment and Energy Transitions at the University of Cadiz, July 5-7, 2018.
All photos from It’s Our Park Day from FABnyc