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

With thanks to MKG volunteers and Pam Ito for the Ladybugs!

Lady

Turtle Crew

Parks is set to return to CB 3 Parks Committee Meeting on Thursday June 13, 2024. but please double check with the CB3 Calendar

Delays beyond that date will mean no approval from the CB board until September (CB3 doesn’t meet in July/August).

NYC Parks presented the draft design (below) at the April Meeting of the Community Board 3 Parks Committee.

We think it’s a solid design, innovative and generous in many ways, and answers long-time issues with this section of Sara Roosevelt Park. The Parks Department and the Design team listened to the neighborhood, honored the park uses of 40 years, created workable compromises, and addressed long, long, long time park problems.

(like finally removing the cars from the Broome Streetway area the park!)

Brava!

We can see a few fixes are needed. Some are just practical things we’ve learned from working here and some are needed to ensure the continuation of our unique gardens and multi-use spaces.

The four -decade old presence of distinctive gardens, unusual sports options, an accessible shared multi-use space for local parents, children, all residents, community organizations and small businesses must be protected and maintained.

We want to honor our long-time community activist gardeners who kept our signature gardens cared for  as volunteers, some for almost 40 years.

The Chinese-American Planning Council, Sea of Galilee Church, Gus’s Bodega, Hua Mei Birders, Bike Polo, Bowery Football Club, City Relief – tourists, our 8 nearby schools – and everyone else who uses this park area has long understood we share it with a multitude of people and purposes.

Parks had (and with budget cuts – once again has) no gardeners here, but because the neighbors took command of this formerly abandoned park, these gardens, with the help and assistance of our NYC Park Managers (in particular Jamil Phillips), continue to this day.

Our responses below are gleaned from listening directly to the neighborhood that uses this park, the Hua Mei, de Britto and other gardeners who’ve been here since the 1980’s and the long time sports, community, cultural and performance groups (soccer, martial arts, tennis, volleyball, bike polo, unicyclists, Burmese Water Festival,  day-care centers, bike helmet give-aways, theater groups, Football club, etc.) who use this section of the park – making everyone safer (along with a PEP and 5th Pct Police presence as needed and possible).

Parks is set to return to CB 3 Parks Committee Meeting on Thursday June 13, 2024. but please double check with the CB3 Calendar

Delays beyond that date will mean no approval from the CB board until September (CB3 doesn’t meet in July/August).

We believe that with this design and the proposed fixes below we can ensure the continuation of our beloved and activated spaces while welcoming the upgrades and basic improvements (like water!!). Keeping us safer, healthier, more inclusive, and more beautiful.

We sincerely hope that there are no major changes to the design!

Because – those who live here – cannot afford to wait.

Our Analysis (from many listening tours!):

NYC Parks participation: virtual, in-park, via email (and other prior community engagements):

1^st meet-up (in-park) September 2022 Coalition (announced to all in our Update) to upgrade the Pit (drainage etc).

2^nd meet-up. April 2023. Parks held a virtual community meeting. Attendees “ranked the following issues of community importance: Security/safety, Active recreation, Garden & Planting, Maintenance, Amenities, and Circulation” – according to the Parks Dept). Sara Roosevelt Park Community Coalition (SRPCC) and the Alliance were in attendance.

3^rd meet-up. September 2023. Parks participated in an in-park event to gather more input on wishes for this section from nearby residents, small businesses, and park goers to ensure participation of those who may work evenings or who have no internet access, flyers were in the three languages used in this neighborhood. Interpretation was available for those present. NYS Sen. Kavanagh’s rep Emily Leng and the SRPCC organized the event.

Tabling by: Congressman Goldman’s rep John Blasco, State Senator Kavanagh/Emily Leng, Assembly Member Lee/local rep Fannie Ip, Council Member Marte, The Chinese Progressive Association/Mae Lee, University Settlement, Sara Roosevelt Park Community Coalition Debra Jeffreys-Glass/K Webster, M’Finda Kalunga Community Garden Bud Shalala/Sandy Pliego, Mayor’s Office of Community Engagement, NYC Parks Max Goodstein, Ricardo Hinkle, and Design Team Crystal Xing

Invitees – SRPCC email list all were invited.

4^th Parks design team made themselves available after the in park event to accept other suggestions. Invitations sent out again to all major stakeholders. Including the Alliance.

5^th Other prior community engagements – The Chinatown Working Group plan of 2010, impromptu tabling on Broome by SRPCC, University Settlement’s ROAR festival Ribbon Plot tabling.

We keep all the emails we send out to community organizations and individuals (blind copied but we keep those Updates on file including all those addresses we send to).

Thus, we know that every major stakeholder organization was included.

It is our role as stakeholder organizations to alert anyone we think may be most affected by the park’s design in a timely way to the best of our (limited) abilities. We, as a collective effort, may not reach everyone – but we know it is our job to try.

M’Finda Kalunga Community Garden has been celebrating Juneteenth since 2004 with music, food, artmaking, and community education on Black history.  M’Finda Kalunga (‘Garden at the Edge of the World’) was named by Bob Humber and garden founders to honor the unmarked adjacent Chrystie Street African Burial Ground.

Juneteenth – “Honoring Our Past, Present, and Future”

Where: M’Finda Kalunga Community Garden – Sara Roosevelt Park at Rivington Street

When: Saturday June 22nd (1pm-4pm)

Program includes

• Opening ceremony led by Dennis RedMoon Darkeem
• Unveiling of ‘Halo’ by Immanuel Oni, a new installation commemorating the Chrystie Street African Burial Ground

‘Halo’ is commissioned by FABnyc with support from the National Endowment for the Arts.

• Performance by Resistance Revival Chorus
• Honoring activist and community ‘father’ Bob Humber for his four decades of service to the park
• Art and poetry by students from Forsyth Satellite Academy High School
• R & B and Blues performer Bobby Bryan; drumming by Healing Drum Circle 
• Activities from the Tenement Museum, FABnyc, Sara Roosevelt Park Coalition, and others

Please consider joining us as we celebrate Juneteenth and Black history in the Lower East Side – and in our larger effort to create inclusive community and connection in Sara Roosevelt Park.

Red Bud Tree in front of the BRC Senior Center

Houston bball, Tessa’s plot and feeding hungry people.

The Multi Use Area (aka The Pit) Full court game and one-to-one soccer lesson.

Hua Mei Birders

New plantings at Chrystie/Grand to Broome:

de Britto Garden

M’Finda Kalunga Garden’s Bocce players tend to a tree limb broken off by an angry passer -by:

Hard work, a united community, a beautiful earth and a beautiful song for a beautiful life. 

NYC Parks Department’s Jami Phillips

Partnership for Parks Ashley Keunneke

Chinatown Partnership’s Wellington Chen, Rosie Derong Li (key organizer) Weng Cheng, and volunteers

M’Finda Garden, Sara Roosevelt Park Community Coalition and neighborhood’s: Kate Fitzgerald, Bob Humber, Debra Jeffreys Glass, K Webster (key organizer), Rainer Keller, Paul Fox, Davis Tsang-Fox, Cheryl Wolf, Tom Wolf, And volunteers

Vivian’s  Sol Sharp Music and volunteers to hear the song 

Chinese Progressive Association: Mae Lee & Kyra

Fifth Precinct’s Youth officers: PO Randy Chan & PO Shaneeka Smith & Youth Explorers)

Keisha Midouin 50 Bowery and volunteers

Nagi Alamri – GF55 Architects

Thank you all.

Watering the next Day. (we need a water source in this section of Sara Roosevelt Park!!!)

Here are the Gardeners who tend these areas of Sara Roosevelt Park – All but one group are made up entirely of volunteers working closely with NYC Parks Staff.

Kate Fitzgerald, Tessa Huxley, Rob Watson, K Webster, Bob Humber, The M’Finda Kalunga Gardeners, The Hua Mei Gardeners, The de Britto Gardeners, AudubonNY Gardeners, The Hort, The Ribbon/Sunflower plot Gardeners – and recently Chinatown Partnership and volunteers!

Elected officials came to listen to neighbors on their hopes and wishes for Sara Roosevelt Park Grand to Delancey section.

AND to get housing displacement information!

Everyone was invited and welcomed to participate. Everyone!!

Thanks to Senator Kavanagh, Assemblymember Lee, Council Member Marte and John Blasco representing Congressman Goldman!

And to the

Mayor’s Office of Community Engagement, NYC Parks Max Goodstein, Ricardo Hinkle, and Design Team’s Crystal Xing