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

From The Guardian:

“Aspern specifically takes in to account women and their needs…”

“Gender mainstreaming” is the practice of ensuring women and men are accounted for equally in policy, legislation and resource allocation. Proposed in 1985, it was enshrined as the UN’s global strategy for gender equality in 1995, but Vienna had adopted it years earlier. The city has since conducted about 60 gender-sensitive pilot projects and assessed another 1,000…

A] survey by the women’s organisation of the governing Social Democratic party led to a breakthrough revelation: roughly two-thirds of car journeys were made by men, while two-thirds of those on foot were by women. 

“They tried to think it all through, from how you get off the bus to get into your flat,” says Riss…[including] “eyes upon the street“…street lighting was improved…traffic lights were altered to prioritise pedestrians… seating was installed … pavement was widened, and ..areas were made entirely barrier-free, so as to better accommodate prams, wheelchair users and elderly people.”

The link between wider pavements, benches and gender…[ensures] equality of opportunity and access. For example, for an elderly person, a well-placed bench might make the difference between participating in the city and remaining at home.

“The redesign..parks… encourage … use by girls, whose number was dropping off from the age of nine. The addition of volleyball and badminton facilities countered boys’ dominance over the caged basketball courts… Improving lighting and footpaths added to their sense of security, encouraging them to linger.

In the absence of measures to ensure different users’ needs are taken into account, only those of the dominant group are served..”. 

“…Gender budgeting”, for example, introduced in 2005, requires each department to report twice a year on how their expenditure has benefited men and women equally. New housing projects must meet gender sensitivity criteria to be subsidised – a sort of checklist to ensure that mainstreaming is not dependent on individual interest.”

This morning long-time gardener, friend, beloved husband of Betty, and brilliant photographer and community partner passed away.

Play Fair for Parks

organized by New Yorkers for Parks

Audubon‘s ED Heintz:

BirdLink coming to Sara Roosevelt Park sponsored by NYC Audubon:

Lynn Kelly NYers4Parks firing up the crowd, Astoria Park Alliance, East River Park Alliance, Lower East Side Ecology Center, Sara Roosevelt Park and other Park organizations. Costa Constantinides NYC Council Chair of Committee on Environmental Protection, K Webster from Sara Roosevelt Park and Martha Lopez-Gilpin from Astoria Park, Sara Roosevelt Park’s Bob Humber and our former beloved gardener Sarah Aronson! DC 37 and more….

The Play Fair Coalition is asking for the following additions to the FY20 City budget:

Investing in Park Staffing and Maintenance Infrastructure:

• $10M means that once and for all, 100 City Park Workers and 50 Gardeners will have secure, stable green jobs.
• $4M provides an investment in natural forest care to help protect NYC from climate change.
• $65M would provide funding for more parks of all sizes to have full-time, dedicated staff to help keep things clean and green.
• About $8M would fund improvements for every GreenThumb community garden in the City.

Investments in Programming:

• $4M would fund more seasonal after-school programs and other programming for children and families.
• $9M means that natural areas and parks are better preserved, protected, and made safer.

More info here.

Check out FABnyc website

FABnyc is a team of artists, organizers, and planners working to sustain, preserve, and grow the cultural vibrancy of the Lower East Side neighborhood.

For further reading: NYC Environmental Review

Monsanto. Yesterday, a jury ordered the company to pay more than $2 billion to a couple in California who claim their cancer was caused by the company’s popular weed killer Roundup. The couple used it on their property for decades, and eventually were both diagnosed with the same type of cancer. They’re both now in remission but testified about the lasting damage caused. Now, a jury is awarding them $1 billion each in punitive damages, plus another $55 million in compensatory damages. Monsanto’s parent company plans to appeal the verdict.

• Not even close to over: This is the third lawsuit related to Roundup that Monsanto has lost in California and the largest payout so far. There are thousands of similar cases that are pending at the federal or state level.