Protecting and improving the community for the people who live and work here

Parks Sara Roosevelt Park Meeting led by Acting NYC Parks Manhattan Commissioner Ralph Musolino.

Sara Roosevelt Park Community Coalition Remarks by President K Webster

Thank you Ralph. You’ve been one of our very best Parks leaders over decades and we appreciate it. And congratulations to Commissioner Shimamura.

I’m going to keep this to 5 minutes

Our role is/has been to build respectful Partnerships to encourage a positive, activated park for 40+ years

Because activated use is what makes a park safer.

We want to thank ground Parks staff – including our former/current Parks Managers and we’d like to thank Partnerships for Parks, our 5^th Pct and CB3.

Who activates us:

Kim Fong of the BRC and her staff, MKG’s events like Juneteenth, Halloween, Dog Halloween, University Settlement who recently posted flyers on locations of warming sites. MKG posting info for immigrants here. AAFE workshops nearby. The Hua Mei Birders (Tommy and Tony especially) and MKG (both for 40 years), The 5^th Pcts Chan and Smith and their Youth Explorers, The Alliance taking on below Grand, ALL the individual volunteer garden plots north/south of Delancey led by Kate, Rob, Tessa, and Irit. FABnyc backing Debra Jeffreys-Glass/MKG to honor the African burial ground that was here. FABnyc/ThinkChinatown! Arts with lighting – that made the park safer too. The Remote Theater Project’s performances in the Pit, including Walking Amal and of course Chinatown Partnership’s Wellington Chen for always coming through with help. We are grateful for  the Chinese Progressive Association voter projects, the schools here, the soccer organizations especially the grandfathered ones. And all the event creators in the Pit.

We have children’s programming throughout the season (ladybug, butterfly/turtle releases), chicken care, bird walks, Thx to Partnerships we held a Panel of the volunteer gardeners working here.

The Tenement Museum’s partnership means we are hyper aware of our histories. We’ve installed markers to denote this including: in particular that this entire area was  once known as the “Land of the Blacks” because formerly enslaved Black land owners farmed here in 1647. We thank Wei Tchou who recently wrote in Places Journal about this park.

We have clothes distribution thank you Bob. We have many food and arts providers who volunteer here such as Sea of Galilee Church and Inside Change from Within.

Upcoming with Partnerships and Ted Enoch we’ll hold a panel of providers in and around this park to assist our communities to learn who is trying to tackle homelessness and/or poverty daily/weekly Jeff of the Bellevue van, Marcellous of City Relief, Jose of the Dept of Ed food trucks.

We intend to have an information panel on affordable housing focused on younger people and elders

We intend to create a Native marker/garden to honor the LENAPE legacy.

And this park has always been home to Immigrant communities -eventually we want to acknowledgement all people who had/have historic connections here to build understanding across artificial barriers.

Our asks:

Stanton Building – There is not one youth center despite having four Parks buildings. 7 high schools one jr high abutting this park.

PEP in playgrounds for the next period of time.

We’d like to see the 5^th Pct reactivate Community Policing

Needle boxes for safe disposal of needles everywhere. Thank you Housing Works.

We need precisely targeted encampment moving  if/when they occur– encampments can’t be in spaces near playgrounds, schools, nor in front of the BRC senior center. We need our providers to help. Signage, talking to folks…etc..

We don’t have to be shitty about it.

Housing/services for formerly and current homeless people. Pushing them out to nowhere doesn’t help.

Communications Building  at Broome –-how could it better be useful to this park?

Dogs off leash in playgrounds/sports fields

Stolen Goods market – we have sellers and the buyers keep it lucrative

Kim Fong BRC salt thanks, and Francisco plowed.

Debra/Bob MKG

Melissa Aase CEO University settlement

Rob, Tessa, Kate, K – outside of mkg gardens.

Fran Rivington Playground

Agenda:

Opening Remarks

Acting Borough Commissioner  – Ralph Musolino

Operations Park Manager – Eddie Rodriguez

Capital  Steve Simon, Manhattan Chief of Staff

PEP-Capt. Charles St. Louis

NYPD – Capt. Michael Lam / Det. Rodney Rosado

Community Board 3 – Susan Stetzer, District Manager

Partnerships for Parks – Ted Enoch, Senior Program Director

Sara Roosevelt Park Coalition – K Webster

Sara D. Roosevelt Park Alliance- Anli Liu

On Monday, March 23 at 10:30am the Play Fair Coalition will rally on the steps of City Hall before the City Council’s Preliminary Budget Hearing on NYC Parks.

Click here to RSVP to the 3/23 rally – we need you there!

Following the rally, at 11:30am, advocates will head into the City Council building at 250 Broadway (across from City Hall) to testify. We encourage you to submit in-person, virtual, or written testimony and will share a testimony template with talking points next week.

Thanks to Park Manager Eddie Rodriquez for tackling our London Plane crash quickly! And for requesting Forestry asap.

Agenda:

Opening Remarks

Acting Borough Commissioner  – Ralph Musolino

Operations Park Manager – Eddie Rodriguez

Capital  Steve Simon, Manhattan Chief of Staff

PEP-Capt. Charles St. Louis

NYPD – Capt. Michael Lam / Det. Rodney Rosado

Community Board 3 – Susan Stetzer, District Manager

Partnerships for Parks – Ted Enoch, Senior Program Director

Sara Roosevelt Park Coalition – K Webster

Sara D. Roosevelt Park Alliance- Anli Liu

Bob with Iresema and K

Parks Sara Roosevelt Park Meeting

Our Sara Roosevelt Park Community Coalition report:

Thank you Ralph. You’ve been one of our very best Parks leaders over decades and we appreciate it. And congratulations to Commissioner Shimamura.

I’m going to keep this to 5 minutes

Our role is/has been to build respectful Partnerships to encourage a positive, activated park for 40+ years

Because activated use is what makes a park safer.

We want to thank ground Parks staff – including our former/current Parks Managers and we’d like to thank Partnerships for Parks, our 5^th Pct and CB3.

Who activates us:

Kim Fong of the BRC and her staff, MKG’s events like Juneteenth, Halloween, Dog Halloween, University Settlement who recently posted flyers on locations of warming sites. MKG posting info for immigrants here. AAFE workshops nearby. The Hua Mei Birders (Tommy and Tony especially) and MKG (both for 40 years), The 5^th Pcts Chan and Smith and their Youth Explorers, The Alliance taking on below Grand, ALL the individual volunteer garden plots north/south of Delancey led by Kate, Rob, Tessa, and Irit. FABnyc backing Debra Jeffreys-Glass/MKG to honor the African burial ground that was here. FABnyc/ThinkChinatown! Arts with lighting – that made the park safer too. The Remote Theater Project’s performances in the Pit, including Walking Amal and of course Chinatown Partnership’s Wellington Chen for always coming through with help. We are grateful for  the Chinese Progressive Association voter projects, the schools here, the soccer organizations especially the grandfathered ones. And all the event creators in the Pit.

We have children’s programming throughout the season (ladybug, butterfly/turtle releases), chicken care, bird walks, Thx to Partnerships we held a Panel of the volunteer gardeners working here.

The Tenement Museum’s partnership means we are hyper aware of our histories. We’ve installed markers to denote this including: in particular that this entire area was  once known as the “Land of the Blacks” because formerly enslaved Black land owners farmed here in 1647. We thank Wei Tchou who recently wrote in Places Journal about this park.

We have clothes distribution thank you Bob. We have many food and arts providers who volunteer here such as Sea of Galilee Church and Inside Change from Within.

Upcoming with Partnerships and Ted Enoch we’ll hold a panel of providers in and around this park to assist our communities to learn who is trying to tackle homelessness and/or poverty daily/weekly Jeff of the Bellevue van, Marcellous of City Relief, Jose of the Dept of Ed food trucks.

We intend to have an information panel on affordable housing focused on younger people and elders

We intend to create a Native marker/garden to honor the LENAPE legacy.

And this park has always been home to Immigrant communities -eventually we want to acknowledgement all people who had/have historic connections here to build understanding across artificial barriers.

Our asks:

Stanton Building – There is not one youth center despite having four Parks buildings. 7 high schools one jr high abutting this park.

PEP in playgrounds for the next period of time.

We’d like to see the 5^th Pct reactivate Community Policing

Needle boxes for safe disposal of needles everywhere. Thank you Housing Works.

We need precisely targeted encampment moving  when in occur– these can’t be in spaces near playgrounds, schools, nor in front of the BRC senior center. We need our providers to help. Signage, talking to folks…etc..

We don’t have to be shitty about it.

Housing/services for formerly and current homeless people. Pushing them out to nowhere doesn’t help.

Communications Building  at Broome –-how could it better be useful to this park?

Dogs off leash in playgrounds/sports fields

Stolen Goods market – we have sellers and the buyers keep it lucrative

Speakers invited on behalf of the Coalition:

Kim Fong BRC salt thanks, and Francisco plowed.

Debra/Bob MKG

Melissa Aase CEO University Settlement

Rob, Tessa, Kate, K – outside of mkg gardens.

Fran Rivington Playground

From Jane our incredible organizer (and superhero Librarian):

Many of our Street Homeless help out in this Park. Proud of CB3 commitment to humane treatment as we find effective ways to keep everyone safe.

Help remember those who came before us….Create a ribbon for our fence with messages of remembrance and hope

Opening Remarks: Debra Jeffreys-Glass

Libations: Tracy L. Gray

Performance: Robert Bryan

The “Old Guard”

With thanks to:

Bob Humber & Kate Fitzgerald: Head Gardeners MKG

MKG community volunteers

K Webster and the sara Roosevelt Park Community Coalition

Speakers and performances: Robert Bryan, Tracy L Gray and Asha Futterman

Emanuel Oni: HALO artist

Ryan Gilliam and the FABnyc Team

John Sloane and the Buro Happold Team

Brian Cohen and Kyle Luntz and the BEAM Center Team

Ted Enoch, Sayde Wilson and Pilar Maschi Partnerships for Parks and Catalyst Program

Tricia Shimamura, NYC Parks Manhattan Commissioner and the Manhattan Team

Terese Flores, NYC Parks, District 3 Regional Manager

Many Thanks to GreenThumb  and Partnership for Parks Coordinators and Jen for organizing the MKGarden team (includingEresimapictured here) !