Elizabeth Hubbard Memorial Garden. Former AudubonNY Bird Demonstration Garden. The Rivington House Memorial Garden. And the Homeless Memorial Garden.
Thank you to Rob Watson the key volunteer gardener (and Black Belt – and ‘Father of LEEDS’)! And to all his many volunteers over the years. And to Pam Ito of The Hort and to AudubonNY and to the men who are unhoused and housed volunteers who helped build and maintain these gardens.
Meet the Organizers: Sokie Lee (NYC Clean Volunteers – Let’s Clean New York) and Jason Chen (NYC Dept. of Sanitation, and UA3 (Community First).
Thanks to the Girl Scouts, M’Finda Kalunga Garden & Sara Roosevelt Park Community Coalition, Youth Explorers and 5th Precinct’s PO Randy Chan and many many other volunteers!!
We have a number of men who appear to be in distress/ struggling with addiction and/or the damage from living on the street/unsafe congregate shelter/or possibly unhoused, who use the playground during the day to sit on the play equipment, shoot up inside, and/or to wander around in it. Some just yell, some have more threatening behavoirs/actions. Most are not causing harm, but not an inviting situation for children/parents to play in.
We have dog owners who seem to insist that they get to bring their dogs into the playground, off leash at times which isn’t every young child’s wish. Park staff let me know a while ago that they have to pick up dog leavings.
We have almost daily the free breakfast and lunch truck distributing for children under 18years old. Which means we have even more children, running back and forth from the garden to the playground across the Rivington Streetway.
The latest issue:
Local community, and others, let us know that apparently two Friday evenings ago, a number of 13 year olds (according to witnesses) got into the Rivington playground area – and apparently had guns on them.
The neighbors said they are not from this area.
No one has reported this happening (to us) since then.
Neighbors find it hard to call the police, given the sense that our local precinct is no longer functioning using community policing – they no longer ask for help here due to concerns for their children’s safety – but they would appreciate some kind of mitigations or help.
It won’t stop whatever happened two Friday’s ago – but it does clarify the use of the playground and create greater use by local adults in the area thus greater safety.
Our Requests:
As we said in the design meeting at CB3 – after conferring with Bob (who sits out on Rivington almost daily) and University Settlement’s Childcare programming, MKG parents, and others who frequently use this playground:
-Move the high outer east side fence to separate the ‘adults with children’ section. The new fence location would align with the right side of the gate opening (as it is now) – a straight line running north/south to enclose the playground area that is only for adults with children. And signage that states that.
-Create a separate area on the East side of that ‘new’ high fence to create a larger seating area outsideof the ‘new’ fence where adults and others can sit both during and after playground hours. Use planters to create a garden feel. Have that area brightly lit to deter unsafe conditions.
– More downward lighting facing, in the playground too, would be a deterrent as well.
-If there was a decent space set aside alongside that playground, University Settlement staff, local residents bike food delivery people, our elders, and the public could use that adult seating area to sit in, have lunch, make the park area safer without risking getting ticketed.
-Yes it would shrink the children’s playground but would end the perception and the reality of adult’s without children misusing the playground and allow the police or PEP to insist that adults without children leave that area while still encouraging adults who need a space to use the area (possibly creating greater safety.
– Please leave the city-bike stand – again makes the park area safer.
– Create mitigations to prevent cars or motor cycles or skateboarders from using Rivington Streetway and install traffic calming measures to slow bikes and create an area for pedestrians only.
– PEP officer seated in the Rivington area.
– We’ve had a request for a needle disposal box near the MKGarden to prevent needles being thrown into the Garden edges (maybe after December 1st when the MTA swears it will be out of there.
Do you know if the Rivington lights were fixed yet? Jamil has been asking and we know it’s a DOT issue but given the MTA’s darkened and derelict looking area (with more rats again Dept of Health says) it is imperative for safety now and in the future.
Thank you to FABnyc for honoring ALL our neighborhood heroes – and Park heroes Kim Fong and Debra Jeffreys-Glass – during the 2022 LES Community Hero Awards*
And our honorees from 2021:
Kim Fong (K Webster presenter): Debra Jeffreys-Glass (Ryan Gilliam) presenter:
*”The LES Community Hero Awards are intended to recognize community members whose contributions have been deeply meaningful and yet are often the ‘unsung’ heroes of the neighborhood. The awards were created in 2014 as part of the first celebration of Lower East Side History Month in May, now an annual event.”
The Youth Explorers have been coming to Sara Roosevelt Park for many months now working on a plot that was originally built in the late 70’s/early 80’s. Four plots, one of which is the Hua Mei Bird Sanctuary Garden. For anumber of years the Tenement Museum staffers volunteered after work to care for the space. They rebuilt the gates. During the pandemic two of the gates were destroyed but one still exists – in need of repair.
Meet the Organizers: Sokie Lee (NYC Clean Volunteers – Let’s Clean New York) and Jason Chen (NYC Dept. of Sanitation, and UA3 (Community First).
Thank you to Tommy Chen for keeping track of the Sanctuary and its Birders for decades!
Thank you to Tommy Chen for keeping track of the Sanctuary and its Birders for decades!
And then back to work on their South Delancey Plot(s)
Debra Jeffreys-Glass (Ryan Gilliam) presenter:
