University Settlement, Henry Street, Hamilton Madison, Manny Cantor,

Chinese American Planning Council, Grand Street Settlement:

LES Settlement Houses Community Education Events on Voting

and 

Candidate Forum

Thursday, June 3 from 6:15-8 – City Council District 1 candidate forum (virtual on Zoom; free)

•     Come meet candidates for the City Council 1st District seat and hear about their vision for the LES.
• Join us at 6:15 for a Ranked Choice Voting demonstration. The Forum starts at 6:30.
•     There will be simultaneous translation in Mandarin, Cantonese, & Spanish.
•     Register & suggest questions here: https://tinyurl.com/D1Forum

From Minnesota Conservation Volunteer

Go to their Website here.  (it won’t work here but it’s a nice picture).

Then click on a bird to hear its unique tune.

Great read. By John Leland

NYTimes “Life, death, renewal and social media ensued.”

“The saga of Billy and Lilly, two red-tailed hawks that Mr. Palma Mir named after his parents, is one of regeneration and joy, with a tinge of sadness and some dead rat carcasses.”

SDR Park’s own Red Tailed Hawk

From Play Fair for Parks  Play Fair was Co-founded by New Yorkers for Parks, the New York City Council, the New York League of Conservation Voters, and DC 37, the NYC Parks workers’ union

The Horticultural Society of New York will be planting perennials in SDR Park tomorrow on Forsyth between Hester and Grand. 

Volunteers cleaned and mulched the planting beds last month and plan to green them tomorrow. 

Details: 

DATE: Monday May 10

TIME: 10am and stay as long as you are able.

WHERE: corner of Hester and Forsyth 

CONTACT: Pamela Ito 917-886-1707

Our plant list is primarily for dry shade and includes: 

Hostas, hellebores, astilbe, red heuchera, forget me nots, echinacea, and other tuffys.  

We will be four Hort staff and a couple park volunteers. Will be there rain or shine. If you cant make it (understandably), please visit the plants and let me know how they are doing.

From NeighborWorks America

Profile of Thomas Yu of Asian Americans for Equality

by Madelyn Lazorchak, Communications Writer

“Home is where we are anchored. It’s a starting place for many of us. It can be nurturing or it could be traumatic or a testing ground. It can be all of those things at the same time.”

“Home is something that shapes us.” Yu wants home to be as safe and stable as possible for as many people as possible. In last year’s NeighborWorks America Housing and Financial Capability Survey, 50% of Asians said their home did not feel safe or secure, while 44% of Blacks and 44% of Latinos shared the same sentiment.”

“Yu recalls living in neglected tenement housing as a child. “Immigrant families don’t always know where to go to create change,” he says. “Or where to go for help. But we had a neighbor who was an organizer, rallying tenants together to promote change and fight for building repairs.”

“One way Yu hopes to bolster the community is by bringing art and culture to Chinatown’s Forsyth Plaza, near the Manhattan Bridge. Chinatown has the lowest open-space ratio, per person, in the city. Yu says turning the plaza into a long-term arts and performance space will utilize an area that is empty after dark and bring economic activity at the same time. But it will also bring the community much-needed joy, starting with an art installation at the end of May.

“We want to reclaim spaces to say, ‘We are not afraid.’ We are here, as a people.”

“Lord Ganesha clears the obstacles and paves the way for us to move forward in life“

We hope for more international assistance for the people of India as the devastation of the COVID pandemic continues around the world. [aide finally shipped from The United Arab Emirates, Taiwan, France, Israel, U.S., Russia, Belgium]

Ganesha “Wisdom and understanding and help in overcoming obstacles”

“Many countries, including Mexico, Nigeria, Egypt, and Jordan have faced oxygen shortages that have led to deadly accidents and driven up virus deaths. The World Health Organization estimated earlier this year that 500,000 people were in need of oxygen supply every day, but that number is likely to be much higher with the outbreak in India” – NYTimes

From Hindustan Times: “Baker Neha Divekar, whose son was stuck in Paris due to the pandemic, decided to celebrate the festival for the first time by installing Ganpati idol at home after his return home in June. “I knew that I wanted to install the idol but at the same time I was sure that I was not going to leave home to buy an idol…No guests have been invited…”

Pranali Sahasrabudhe, a professor and a Vile Parle-East resident: “I have been installing eco-friendly Ganpati at home for four years now, but this is the first time that I have not used any decoration material that needed to be bought…all my flowers are made from papers available at home so that I don’t have to enter a market place to buy them. .. I have even asked my extended family to remain at home and have assured them to video call during the aarti”. [a Hindu religious ritual of worship in which light (usually from a flame) is offered to one or more deities]

From Deccan Herald: “Several of the Ganesh mandals have decided to run health campaigns, organized blood and plasma donation in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.”

More from The Lotus Sculpture website:

THE SACRED SYMBOLS OF LORD GANESH STATUES

“Lord Ganesh, the Remover of Obstacles, is rich in symbolism used as spiritual guides. Each symbol associated with the elephant-headed Hindu god is viewed as a reminder to manifest the powers held within us. Ganesh, a much-beloved and worshiped deity, is the son of Lord Shiva and Parvati. He is also known as the God of wisdom, prosperity, and auspiciousness.

A Ganesh statue can be hand-carved in many postures and forms, typically with four or eight arms, holding various symbolic objects. Lord Ganesh is often displayed dancing or playing a musical instrument, such as a flute. He is sometimes accompanied by or riding a rat (or the mouse) – a symbol of all-pervasiveness. The rat can be interpreted as under Ganesh’s control, which is symbolic of a spiritual pursuit to attain self-realization and grace.”