News

For anyone under 18 years old

Jose serves breakfast and lunch! (see below for menu)

Breakfast and lunch will continue beyond the instructional school year. Our Summer Meals Program is available throughout New York City to anyone ages 18 years old and under. Designated public schools, community pool centers, parks, and food trucks will be open for service. No registration, documentation, or ID is necessary to receive a free breakfast or lunch meal.

Service Dates & Menus

• All dates, times, locations and menus are subject to change.
• Wednesday, June 28, 2023 – Friday, September 1, 2023
• There is no service Tuesday, July 4, 2023 (4th of July)
• Summer Breakfast Menu(Open external link)
• Summer Lunch Menu

Neighbors to Save Rivington House, Council Members Rivera and Marte, Borough President Levine in Attendance!!

Neighbors to Save Rivington House

ROAR WITH US!

ROAR: Rejoice! Organize! Activate! Reclaim!

Led by University Settlement with FABnyc, M’Finda Garden, GreenMapNY, Conbody, NYCParks, SRPCC (us), and many others!

For more event schedules HERE: 

LES Community Heroes Jasmine Corchado, Andy Fontanez, Sabura Rashid, K Webster

Special Award for efforts to support those seeking asylum: Artists Athletes Activists, Lilah Mejia, Camille Napoleon

Link to FABnyc‘s notification: https://mailchi.mp/fabnyc/lower-east-side-history-month-is-coming-celebrate-with-us-this-may-201664

and FABnyc website (lots more photos): https://peoplesles.org/content/k-webster/

Text of K’s Acceptance Talk:

I like these awards. I like honoring local people – each offering a version of not giving up, of how they figured out to stand with others. Stepping in, even if they can’t always win, they’re still willing to try.

Like Debra – who fights for the right to an educational system that everyone could trust in.

Like Ryan – who knows that art and artists are essential, and creates possibilities.

Like Kim Fong who built a diverse and compassionate staff to care for her seniors.

Like my brother Paul, who intervened when racism or sexism played out on the construction site.

Like my mom who after my dad’s heart attack went to work nights taking an hour-long bus ride to a production-line job with men who didn’t want her there, but because she decided to win them over – they became her fiercest allies.

Like Sgt Prado from our community policing unit who tried desperately to save a young women’s life, but couldn’t, and didn’t try to hide his grief.

Like Marvin and other young men that Bob Humber ‘takes under his wing’ who have no housing, but have a home with him. Each choosing the other.

Like my ‘now’ family: all brilliant, good men: Steve, Lee, and Adam.

Like my friend and comrade Azi Khalili whose bravery, smarts and love extend over a large part of the world, literally saving lives.

Like all of us who try, in Alice Walker’s words, to add our own ‘small stones to the pile’.

Like anyone who dares to get up again after all the ‘tries’ that didn’t work.

I try not to second-guess how we’ve survive our lives, but also try not to assume that any survival strategy determines our lives forever. And to remember that oppressive systems pit everyone against everyone on every possible difference. But that we don’t have to accept that.

To me, a hero is someone who understand that sometimes the bravest thing we can do is to show vulnerability or listen or wait or risk a mistake. And sometimes these are the only things that save lives in a tough, but very beautiful, vast world filled with all the rest of us, heroes all, who are trying too.

Thank you. And “you’re welcome”.

First, thank you officers for taking the time to listen to the concerns of some of our residents, business owners, landlords and SRPCC long-time volunteers. It was a good meeting and a good start with both of you.

PO Surathud Sumranchuen surathud.sumranchuen@nypd.org

PO  Anthony Oconnell anthony.oconnell@nypd.org

Hoping we can keep each other informed and interconnected on park issues.

Update on park safety:

The Park Manager removed benches on the Forsyth Park side of the park alongside the MTA’s plywood wall from Rivington to Stanton. He removed benches due to a recent uptick in drug dealing and violence in that corridor.

This is the long corridor with no egress that was mentioned to the MTA at their meeting. As soon as possible, we are asking to have the plywood fencing removed (or shortened?) It would mean less likelihood of someone being trapped inside the park in that corridor with no real visibility.

Rivington playground continues to have adults some acting irrationally, some appear fine who may help make the area feel safer, but parents don’t go in because it doesn’t feel safe enough to go into the playground with young children.

Last week:

One of our gardeners (88 years old) was injured when a woman threw shoes directly at his face. One of our gardeners, a young woman, while standing with a few of us outside the M’Finda Garden gate was punched (very) hard in her back by a passing stranger who kept walking.

Other violent crimes resulting in longer term injuries seem to be a problem with drug turf.

We urgently ask that the Parks department reconsider the new playground design which, as we understand it, still intends to have seating for “adults without children” in a section separated only by a low 3′ fence. Despite the fact that those of us who watch this playground (like Bob who sits outside this playground almost daily) have repeatedly asked to have a high fence separating the two areas – with an area for seating for ‘adults without children’ out in the open and a gated entrance with a high fence going north/south for the “adults with children” entryway.

It would reduce the size of the playground a bit but an important trade-off for more safety.

The adult seating wouldn’t need to be fenced, it could be planted and garden-like. We like having the bike food delivery guys, elders and those needing respite sitting here as they make the area safer. And we want safe areas for our homeless people.

In the past, our NCO officers have requested to have signs posted saying “ONLY adults with children may enter the playground section” (with some seating for parents). If we have that signage, the police can remove adults who cannot function well there. If adults can be anywhere in that playground? Divided only by a low fence? Our long experience tells us that we will have adults who are not in command of their minds in there with NO ability for the police to remove them until something goes wrong.

We have a community of adults who just want a safe place to sit and families with children who just want a safe place to play. For the few who are not capable of keeping themselves or others safe – we need more structure to prevent disasters.

Thanks all. Back to our Memorial Day weekend ‘off’.