A long awaited celebration for the ADA Ramp Ribbon Cutting after so many years!

Thank-you to all the volunteer gardeners and NYC Parks staff here who work year-round to make Sara Roosevelt Park a beautiful, welcoming, and human place.

Thank you Ted Enoch and his team at Catalyst of Partnerships for Parks, City Parks Foundation, the BRC’s Kim Fong, Bob Humber, Shweta Patwardhan, Erika Suban and the Garden volunteers of M’Finda Kalunga Garden and to the Hua Mei Bird Garden volunteers, to the 5th Pcts PO Smith and the Youth Explorers and all of the Sara Roosevelt Park Community Coalition volunteers and partners.

With 2K, 3K, and 4K

A bit of respite away from asphalt and concrete playgrounds into the world of flowers, fish, chickens and bugs!

With Jen our Children’s Area magician!

And a group photo with paras, parents and teachers watching over….

A perfect day to celebrate during this Climate Week!

Wednesday, September 23 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM

Habitat for Humanity, Solar One, the tenants, Community Board 3′s Commitment to low-income families being able to live in NYC.

Bill McKibben, the tenants and Habitat for Humanity...a blessing and wonderful reminders of what a community can do.

Bill McKibben:

Habitat for Humanity!!

The Tenants of Mascot and a Blessing

Panels head into the building destined for the roof!

From Habitat:

Habitat for Humanity of New York City and Westchester County, Habitat for Humanity of New York State, GiveSolar, and Solar One as we launch our work in NYC, starting with Mascot Flats. Food, drinks, homeowner stories, and a valiant effort to move some donated solar panels to the roof!

?Forty years ago, volunteers came together to these apartments for home ownership. Today, we’re coming together again to ensure they remain affordable for decades to come.

?This September, during NYC Climate Week, we’re hosting a solar barnraising—bringing volunteers, residents, and partners together to prepare for and celebrate the installation of rooftop solar on the historic Mascot Flats Habitat Coop building. Mascot Flats is the first Habitat for Humanity project President Jimmy Carter worked on. Forty years ago, volunteers rehabilitated the building as the first Habitat project in New York City and the first-ever Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project. We’re returning today to begin the next chapter.

?More than a celebration, this event marks the launch of our coordinated work across New York state to put solar panels on Habitat for Humanity homes. This collaboration represents a partnership between GiveSolar and Habitat for Humanity state and local organizations in 16 states across the country to build a model for equitable residential solar. Our goal: to reduce the energy burden for Habitat families and highlight the importance of the affordable housing sector in the clean energy transition. This is the energy we’re bringing to New York.

?Why This Matters

?Across the country, low-income homeowners continue to face disproportionately high energy costs while often being left out of the clean energy transition. We want to change that. Working with Habitat state support organizations across the country, we are creating a scalable model that combines:

• ?Affordable homeownership

• ?Clean energy

• ?Lower utility bills

• ?Community resilience

?Join Us

?We’d love to have you join us for food, drinks, and to move some solar panels to the roof! Our solar barnraising isn’t simply an event; it’s a demonstration of what’s possible when communities come together to build a more affordable, resilient, and equitable future.

?Raise the roof!

Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter from their first visit:

“This is the 13th child killed in traffic so far this year in New York City, more than twice as many children than were killed by this point last year. 141 children have been killed in the Vision Zero era, a pledge to end traffic fatalities that was sparked by the death of a 12-year-old boy….

“NEW YORK — Last night, at the intersection of 14th Street and First Avenue, a truck driver hit a Citi Bike, injuring one 16-year-old rider and killing a 15-year-old rider. The riders were crossing First Avenue with the right-of-way to turn onto the protected bike lane heading north when the truck driver turned into them.

The 15-year-old girl killed by the truck driver was the 19th bike rider killed so far this year, up 19% from average and up 58% from this point last year. Nine people have been killed while riding their bikes in Manhattan this year, more than at this point in any year since Vision Zero began, and more than double the average.

There is no bike infrastructure on 14th Street. Bike riders wishing to turn right onto First Avenue from 14th Street must first cross four lanes of traffic — with the current street design, even if bike riders and drivers both wish to turn right, the driver is directed to turn right against potential bikes. Simple but effective infrastructure solutions like turn calming, signal re-timing, and more bike infrastructure can transform a deadly intersection into a safe one, here and across the neighborhood.

Statement from Ben Furnas, Executive Director of Transportation Alternatives:

“Our thoughts are with the family of this young, 15-year-old New Yorker, who was suddenly killed by a truck driver last night, and our hope is with the 16-year-old who is currently fighting for her life in the hospital. Both girls deserved better. New York should be a city where young people are safe while navigating the city by bike and can experience the joy and freedom that comes from cycling.

“It’s every bike rider’s nightmare: you’re traveling straight with the right of way, when suddenly, a car or truck turns right directly into you. It doesn’t matter if you have the right of way, or you’re wearing a helmet, or you’re doing everything right. When we design intersections that force bike riders to cross four lanes of traffic, all the while doing so little to slow down that same traffic or calm their turns, tragedies like this happen.

“We’re counting on the City of New York to fix this chaotic intersection to make it safe for New Yorkers who are walking, biking, riding, or driving, no matter if they’re going straight or turning right. That means turn calming, protected bike infrastructure, and a protected bike intersection to prevent crashes and tragedies like this from ever happening again.”

University Settlement’s Block Party Cancelled!

We have had to make the difficult decision to cancel our 140th birthday party in Manhattan due to the weather emergency declared by New York State.

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Hemos tenido que tomar la difícil decisión de cancelar nuestra fiesta del 140 aniversario en Manhattan debido a la emergencia meteorológica declarada por el estado de Nueva York.

Arts in the Garden, FABnyc’s Nights In Sara Roosevelt Park’s ‘The Pit’, Hispanic Heritage Celebration, and University Settlement’s Block Party, and Sustaining All Life & United to End Racism at New York City Climate Week:

Something for everyone from Sept 19- November 7th

Check these out!

Ladybugs with University Settlement’s Pre K’s!