Apples Return to Big Apple: Pals Planting Once-Native Species in City by John Lauinger - NY Daily News

Read original...

David Kistner of Bayside (r.) gets help planting a Newtown Pippin apple sapling from fifth-graders at PS 86 in Jamaica. Kistner and a pal are planting 100 of the trees in the city. Pokress for News

An entrepreneur and a journalist have teamed to bring the Newtown Pippin apple - a Colonial-era delicacy - back to its Queens roots.

But David Kistner of Bayside and Eric Baard of Long Island City need a little help from Elmhurst residents.

Kistner, 37, a cancer survivor who owns Green Apple Cleaners, an eco-friendly dry cleaning service, has paid for more than 100 Newtown Pippin saplings to be planted throughout the city.

The Newtown Pippin, which bears green apples, was first cultivated in present-day Elmhurst in the early 1700s, and was a favorite snack of Thomas Jefferson.

Baard, 40, who writes a nature blog and is the founder of a community boathouse along the East River, convinced his pal Kistner to help bring the species back to the city in numbers - an endeavor that is part philanthropy, part clever advertising.

"Before the Big Apple was the Big Apple, this was the big apple," said Kistner. "But, then, it lost its way, and we are just trying to help bring it back."

Kistner founded his company in 2006, after learning of the harmful effects of traditional dry cleaning methods.

With help from the city Parks Department, the trees are being planted in Queens in places like Two Coves Community Garden in Astoria, King Manor Museum in Jamaica, Intermediate School 73 in Maspeth and the Queens Botanical Garden in Flushing.

"We look forward to a harvest in a couple of years that we can share with the community," said Lynne Serpe of Two Coves.

But Kistner and Baard have thus far fallen short of their goal of rooting a Newtown Pippin in its historical home turf.

"That would be a thrill for us," said Baard, who now works for Kistner's company.

Baard thinks the "most wonderful location" would be at the new Elmhurst Park - site of the former Elmhurst Gas Tanks.

But the Parks Department generally avoids placing "fruit-bearing trees in public parks because they require a specific kind of care and maintenance," said agency spokeswoman Cristina DeLuca.

So Kistner and Baard are hoping someone in Elmhurst can suggest a suitable plot.

"Any tree in Elmhurst would be great, but an apple tree is a good idea," said Rosemarie Daraio, of the civic group Communities of Maspeth and Elmhurst Together.

Robert Singleton, a past president of the Greater Astoria Historical Society, is a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Newtown, which planted two Newtown Pippins for its 350th anniversary in 2002.

"It's a wonderful cause," he said of Kistner and Baard's Elmhurst search. "Queens has so few opportunities to enjoy its heritage."

Ridgewood Residents Give Input on Reservoir by Nathan Duke - YourNabe.com - Ridgewood Ledger

Read original...

Community Board 5 District Manager Gary Giordano speaks to Ridgewood residents about plans for Highland Park’s Ridgewood Reservoir at a meeting last weekend. Photo by Nathan Duke

Western Queens residents and community leaders gathered Saturday to etch out their own ideas for major improvements to the Ridgewood Reservoir at Highland Park as the finalized plan for a preliminary upgrade nears completion.

Mark K. Morrison Associates, the landscape architect for the reservoir’s $50 million upgrade, will soon complete three different options for developing the park and then a final plan could be chosen by the end of the summer, Morrison said. A construction date for the project has not yet been set.

The three options for the reservoir include a plan to convert at least one of the park’s three dry basins into artificial−turf ballfields, another that would preserve the site solely as a nature preserve and a third that would be a combination of the two proposals.

In the meantime, plans for an interim $7.5 million upgrade of the park could soon be ready to go before Community Board 5, city Parks Department spokesman Kevin Quinn said. That project, which would take a year and a half to complete, would refurbish the park’s rim, including staircases, a perimeter path and a trail between two of the basins, as well as adding new lighting and fencing, he said.

Ridgewood community leaders discussed their own ideas on how to develop the reservoir last weekend during a listening session held by the Parks Department at the neighborhood’s IS 77 on Seneca Avenue.

CB 5 passed a board resolution last month asking that $10 million to $15 million of the reservoir’s budget be used toward refurbishing ballfields, which are in various states of disrepair, at Highland Park. The park is shared between Queens and Brooklyn.

“We’d like to see the ballfields at Highland Park get upgraded,” CB 5 district manager Gary Giordano said at last weekend’s meeting. “That would enable us to do what is our dream: to make the Ridgewood Reservoir overwhelmingly a natural preserve with open space.”

Giordano said there would be a final listening session held by the Parks Department on the reservoir’s upgrade in Brooklyn. That session will be used to review all information gathered at previous meetings on the project.

The Ridgewood Reservoir was constructed in 1858 to serve Brooklyn. Its three basins comprising the 50−acre reservoir site were last used during the drought of 1965 and were drained in 1989.

A Green Future?: Jamaica Bay Marsh Loss In Decline Thanks To Army Corps Restoration by Michael Lanza _ Queens Tribune

Read original...

Conservationists like Bill Dunphy, who helps remove abandoned boats from the bay, have struggled for years to prevent decline at the marshes.

Jamaica Bay is going to the birds. And that's a good thing.

Officials gathered at the bay on the eve of Earth Day to announce that the City’s only wildlife refuge had grown for the first time in decades.

“These marshlands are the very foundation of this ecosystem,” said U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner (D - Kew Gardens). “They are havens for insects, attract clams and support fish and birds. For years, concerned residents and environmentalists have warned us that they are disappearing. We can say now that the marshlands are coming back.”

The bay is home to 325 species of birds, 91 species of fish and 214 species of special concern – including some classified as threatened and endangered. The salt marshes also serve as natural levies for the City – breaking down storm surges and protecting against coastal flooding.

Conservationists have struggled for years to stanch the loss of marshlands, which are dissappearing at a rate of 44 acres every year. And for the first time, they are seeing glimmers of hope. The marshes expanded by 15 acres this year.

The increase was thanks to a $16 million Army Corps of Engineers project to restore Elder’s Point, a small island in the northern portion of the bay where 48 acres of marshland were rebuilt. The engineers replaced 240,000 cubic yards of beach soil and transplanted more than 750,000 native plants into the depleted area.

“We’ve now tried to expand by quite literally growing grass elsewhere, planting it in acres in this area and trying to see if it holds,” Weiner said. “And the answer so far is: yes it’s holding.”

Jamaica Bay is home to 325 bird species. Pollution and erosion have threatened the bay’s ecosystem for decades.

Jamaica Bay’s marshes have suffered for years under the twin threat of rising sea levels and water pollution. Nearby water treatment plants dump more than 15,000 kilograms of nitrogen every day into the surrounding waters, according to the National Parks Service, killing the marsh plants that form the foundation of the wetlands’ ecosystem and strengthen island beaches against erosionary forces.

“This is a jewel. And it’s a jewel that disappearing little bit by little bit,” Weiner said. “We have to stop the man-made reasons that we have this problem. We have to stop dumping nitrogen in the water here as we process our waste water. We have to do something about global climate change that’s causing the water levels to rise. And generally speaking we have to be better stewards of the earth if we expect to be better stewards of Jamaica Bay.”

To combat those threats, Weiner announced plans to hold and improve on this year’s gains.

Paramount among them is an effort to reduce nitrogen emissions by 60 percent using $431.5 million allocated to the state for environmental initiatives through federal stimulus funds. The money will fund plans to retrofit four coastal sewage plants, significantly reducing their nitrogen output.

Meanwhile, engineers will continue to build on their success at Elder’s Point. An additional $9 million was allocated for restoring nearly 100 acres of marshland over the next few years. The engineers will build 60 acres of marsh using 250,000 cubic yards of sand on Yellow Bar Hassock, 34 acres of marsh using 200,000 cubic yards of sand on Elders Point West and study additional restoration options for sites around the bay.

“We have to reverse the trend of what we’re losing each year,” Weiner said. “We’re going to have to do more work here to keep up with the loss that we have.”

More than 2,000 acres of marshes have disappeared from the bay since the decline began in 1924. And while Weiner acknowledged that restoring the marshes would be a long and expensive slog, he said the alternative is unacceptable.

“We’re putting our finger in the dike right now,” he said. “It’s a race – we are putting in 50 acres and losing 44. It’s not a great success, but it sure beats the alternative.”

Peter Pan at St Mary Gate of Heaven, Ozone Park on May 15th & 16th - 7:30 pm...

Press Release

A cast of 70 performs the musical adaptation of the play by Sir James M. Barrie...

"Peter Pan"

Produced and Directed by Frank Gulluscio and Vinny Napolitano

Friday May 15th and Sat May 16, 2009 at 7:30 pm

St Mary Gate of Heaven School Gym

St. Mary Gate of Heaven School
101-20-105th Street Ozone Park , NY 11416

For additional info and tickets: 718-846-0689

Residents Propose Park Redevelopment Plans for Highland Park and Ridgewood Reservoir - NY1

Watch video report...

Lou Widerka

NY1 VIDEO: Community residents brainstormed and presented their plans and suggestions for the redevelopment of Highland Park and Ridgewood Reservoir this weekend.

9 in Queens, Including Educator, Charged with Cutting Holes in Fences, Driving Off with Luxury Cars by Nicole Bode and Larry McShane - NY Daily News

Read original...

A middle school assistant principal was among nine arrested for stealing luxury SUVs, officials said. Above, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown. Anderson/News

A brazen band of Queens car thieves stole 16 luxury SUVs from local dealerships, swiping some by simply driving them through holes gouged into a chain-link fence, officials said Friday.

A nine-month probe dubbed "Operation Lockbox" produced nine arrests - including a Brooklyn middle school assistant principal, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said.

The car theft ring, focusing on BMWs, Mercedes-Benzes and Lincolns, made off with late-model SUVs worth more than $400,000.

The clever crooks' favorite target was the Recon Motors storage facility in Whitestone, where they easily dodged security to drive SUVs off the lot like buyers taking a late-night test drive, officials said.

Members of the ring used wire cutters to slice an enormous hole in the chain-link fence farthest away from the front gate security booth and then cruised into the night, authorities said.

The facility was not equipped with security cameras, and the thieves drove the cars through the parking lot of an adjoining business.

"They saw a weakness, and they exploited it," said Deputy Inspector Charles Talamo, head of the NYPD Auto Crimes Division.

In other cases, the thieves actually took the luxury vehicles for test drives and stole the dealer's keys - returning later to drive away with the SUVs.

Brown said the thieves "leisurely window-shopped" at nine dealerships in Queens, Brooklyn and on Long Island for the exact makes and models they wanted. The crew would create new VIN numbers for the vehicles before resale.

The arrests were the result of a joint NYPD-Queens DA probe. Talamo said the police were sometimes aware of the thefts before the dealerships.

The ring's accused mastermind, 54-year-old Melvin Pinckney of Brooklyn, was ordered held on $100,000 bail on a variety of charges.

He and co-conspirators David Jimenez, 40, and Alexander Gil, 34, both of Brooklyn, each face up to 15 years in prison.

Lisle Jackson, 54, was reassigned from his job at Middle School 61 in Brooklyn after he was released without bail. The 12-year veteran of the New York schools planned to supplement his $96,405 annual salary by re-selling the stolen SUVs to new buyers, officials said.

lmcshane@nydailynews.com

Happy 90th Birthday to Pete Seeger (May 3rd, 1919) - Where Have All the Flowers Gone?

From Wikipedia: Peter "Pete" Seeger (born May 3, 1919) is an American folk singer, and a key figure in the mid-20th century American folk music revival. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, he also had a string of hit records during the early 50s as a member of The Weavers, most notably the 1950 recording of Leadbelly's "Goodnight, Irene" that topped the charts for 13 weeks in 1950.[1] In the 1960s, he re-emerged on the public scene as a pioneer of protest music in support of international disarmament and civil rights and, more recently, as a tireless activist for environmental causes.

As a song writer, he is best known as the author or co-author of "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?", "If I Had a Hammer (The Hammer Song)" (composed with Lee Hays of The Weavers), and "Turn, Turn, Turn!", which have been recorded by many artists both in and outside the folk revival movement and are still sung throughout the world. "Flowers" was a hit recording for The Kingston Trio (1962), Marlene Dietrich, who recorded it in English, German and French (1962), and Johnny Rivers (1965). "If I Had a Hammer" was a hit for Peter, Paul & Mary (1962) and Trini Lopez (1963), while The Byrds popularized "Turn, Turn, Turn!" in the mid-1960s, as did Judy Collins in 1964. Seeger was one of the folksingers most responsible for popularizing the spiritual "We Shall Overcome" (also recorded by Joan Baez and many other singer-activists) that became the acknowledged anthem of the 1960s American Civil Rights Movement, soon after folk singer and activist Guy Carawan introduced it at the founding meeting of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in 1960.

The Kent State Four - May 4th, 1970 - RIP

On May 4th, 1970, four Kent State students were killed by Ohio National Guard troops during a non-violent campus protest of the Nixon administration's illegal invasion of Cambodia.


Killed (and approximate distance from the National Guard):

• Jeffrey Glen Miller 265 ft (81 m) shot through the mouth - killed instantly
• Allison Krause 343 ft (105 m) fatal left chest wound
• William Knox Schroeder 382 ft (116 m) fatal chest wound
• Sandra Lee Scheuer 390 ft (120 m) fatal neck wound

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
Ohio Live (1974)

OHIO

Tin soldiers and Nixon coming,
We're finally on our own.
This summer I hear the drumming,
Four dead in Ohio.

Gotta get down to it
Soldiers are gunning us down
Should have been done long ago.
What if you knew her
And found her dead on the ground
How can you run when you know?

Gotta get down to it
Soldiers are gunning us down
Should have been done long ago.
What if you knew her
And found her dead on the ground
How can you run when you know?

Tin soldiers and Nixon coming,
We're finally on our own.
This summer I hear the drumming,
Four dead in Ohio.

Kissena Corridor Park West Still Not Restored to Parkland By New York Hospital Queens (NYHQ)...

Two and a half acres of park land in Kissena Corridor Park was allocated to NYHQ as a temporary parking. The hospital is now using a parking lot in Flushing Meadows Park and the 2.5 acres has not been restored to parkland.


There is also construction rubble from the Hospital that has been dumped into adjacent areas in the park.


"Steve Mills, CEO of NYHQ, has promised they will vacate and restore the parkland as soon as the parking garage is built," Liu said, adding the volunteer conservancy of Kissena Corridor Park drafted the language for the letter, not NYHQ.



See Accompanying Photos and visit the following links for additional info...

http://queenscrap.blogspot.com/2008/10/show-us-money-nyhq.html


http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/Q300/pressrelease/19962


http://ridgewoodreservoir.blogspot.com/2008/10/daily-news-article.html

All Photos by: Manny

Jamaica Bay's Earth Day Success Story by Lisa Fogarty - Queens Chronicle

Read original...

Congressman Anthony Weiner points to diagrams that show a significant loss in salt marshes at Jamaica Bay within the last 60 years. (photo courtesy Anthony Weiner)

Queens residents — as well as local birds, fish and hundreds of endangered species — have an added reason to celebrate this Earth Day. Congressman Anthony Weiner (D-Brooklyn and Queens) announced Tuesday that 50 acres of threatened marshland in Jamaica Bay have been restored and, thanks to his new four-part plan, wetlands rehabilitation is about to become a paramount priority.

Jamaica Bay’s 26,645 acres of salt marshes, which are home to 91 species of fish, 325 species of birds and 214 other species that include threatened and endangered animals, also play a major role in mitigating wave, wind and flood damage to its surrounding residents. Over the last 60 years, however, the marshes have begun to erode, mainly because of rising nitrogen levels that could be attributed to several factors, including their proximity to Kennedy International Airport and Jamaica Bay’s Wastewater Treatment Plant, Weiner said.

“We’ve had a rough patch for the salt marshes of Jamaica Bay. We’ve gone through this period where they’ve been disappearing little by little and that is bad news,” Weiner said. “We all understand the ecosystem requires a strong foundation. The foundation of the ecosystem of Jamaica Bay and the wildlife that live here are the salt marshes and marshland.”

Between 1924 and 1994, more than 1,800 acres of salt marsh disappeared, at an average rate of about 26 acres per year. That rate of loss increased between 1995 and 1999, with 220 acres of marsh being depleted at an average rate of 44 acres per year.

In 2006, Weiner addressed the issue by helping to fund a $16 million Army Corps of Engineers project to rebuild Elders Point East, just one of the marshlands in Jamaica Bay. The plan proved a success. Engineers were able to recover 43 acres of wetland by adding beach and transplanting more than 750,000 native marsh plants into the barren area. Last year, for the first time in history, Jamaica Bay actually gained more marshland than it lost, Weiner reported.

But the effort to restore Jamaica Bay is an ongoing challenge, said Barry Sullivan, Gateway National Park’s general superintendent. Sullivan lauded Weiner’s efforts, but noted that at the same time 43 acres were replaced at Elders Point, the Bay lost about 40 acres.

“While we made a net gain, the net gain is really fighting an uphill battle,” Sullivan said.

Weiner’s new four-point plan involves using federal stimulus funds to reduce nitrogen levels in Jamaica Bay by 60 percent in 10 years, with a reduction of 20 percent in the next three years. In order to accomplish this goal, the congressman proposes appropriating a portion of the $200 million the city will receive from the Clean Water State Revolving Fund to modernize the four sewage plants surrounding Jamaica Bay. Experts say the plants are responsible for dumping more than 250 gallons of nitrogen-rich wastewater into Jamaica Bay each day.

Weiner also plans to build on the success of the Elders Point East project by requesting $9 million to provide engineers with the resources they need to build up 60 acres of marsh on Yellow Bar Hassock, a nearby wetland. The National Park Service predicts Yellow Bar will be entirely lost by 2020 unless efforts are made to restore growth in the area.

The fourth point in Weiner’s plan calls for engineers to double the number of saltwater cordgrass and salt marsh plant hammocks replanted in both Yellow Bar Hammock and upcoming Elders Point West.

Weiner and Sullivan admit the project cannot restore the marshlands back to their original state. Global warming, human neglect and rising sea levels share the burden of blame for the erosion of wetlands, Sullivan said.

Still, engineers have the ability to reverse the trend, they said. Gateway National Recreation Area attracts 10 million visitors a year and is the third most visited park in the country — a veritable urban oasis, Weiner said.

“It’s easy to forget that New York City, with airplanes going out by the dozens every day, with concrete beneath our feet, the honking of horns, that we are standing in the most visited urban national park in the country,” Weiner said. “This is a jewel, and it’s a jewel that’s disappearing little bit by little bit.”

Jamaica Ave. Biz Owners Hit Meter Fee Windup by Lisa L. Colangelo - NY Daily News

Read original...

TIMES ARE TOUGH along Jamaica Ave., a once-bustling shopping strip in Woodhaven that is now dotted with shuttered stores.

So when merchants there found out that parking meter fees were hiked to 25 cents for 20 minutes, instead of 30 minutes, they were shocked and angry.

"This is a blatant attack on small businesses," said Maria Thompson of the Greater Woodhaven Development Corp.

Shop owners fear that customers, unaware of the new fees, will get slapped with parking tickets.

"I have people coming in from Long Island to shop," said Steve Esposito, who owns the Orthopedic Shoe Clinic on Jamaica Ave. "If they get a ticket, they aren't going to come back."

Matthew Xenakis, owner of Park Place Greenery and Florist, said one of his wholesalers thought he had 30 minutes - and got slapped with a $35 ticket.

"I felt bad," he said. "I gave him the money for the ticket."

Rep. Anthony Weiner and state Sen. Joseph Addabbo met with business owners last week to address complaints that they had no warning about the change.

"Parking spaces are precious things," Weiner said. "You can't use that pressure to balance the city's books."

But city Transportation Department officials said the change was announced very publicly by Mayor Bloomberg this year.

"Most meter rates have remained unchanged since 1992, when the city changed the rate for many meters to 25 cents for 30 minutes," said Transportation Department spokesman Seth Solomonow.

"Also, the new rate will not affect the approximately 8,000 single-space and 3,200 muni-meters, which are already set for higher rates citywide - roughly 40% of all spots in the city."

The change started in February, and are being phased in throughout the city, Solomonow said. Queens work was recently completed.

Some merchants are in favor of the rate hike because it creates more turnover in parking spots. But Addabbo said it hurts consumers and merchants alike.

"Raising fees and decreasing time doesn't help our shoppers," said Addabbo as he stood across the street from Jason's, a party and variety store that closed recently after more than 60 years in business.

"To see a store like Jason's go is just sad. My father took me there as a kid."

lcolangelo@nydailynews.com

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/queens/2009/04/20/2009-04-20_parking_tickets_in_store_.html#ixzz0EVQPVyKz&B

DOT to City Drivers: Take a (Meter) Hike! by Noah Rosenberg - The Queens Courier

Read original...

Congressmember Anthony Weiner (left) and State Senator Joe Addabbo (right) met with business owners and representatives of the Greater Woodhaven Development Corporation to discuss parking meter rate hikes along Jamaica Avenue.

Parking along Jamaica Avenue in Woodhaven has long been a nightmare and a recent meter rate hike along the avenue and elsewhere in Queens has made matters even worse, area business owners say.

The New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) recently completed the reprogramming of close to 18,000 parking meters in Queens and expects to make meter changes citywide by the end of June. The changes, according to the DOT, affect 60 percent of city meters that, for the most part, have remained at the same rate of 25 cents per 30 minutes since 1992.

The city estimates that increasing the rates for single space parking meters to a quarter for 20 minutes will generate $16.8 million toward closing the budget gap for fiscal year 2010.

However, Steve Esposito, the President of the Greater Woodhaven Development Corporation (GWDC), thinks the rate increases were driven by a different motive.

While he would not disclose his source, Esposito, who is also an owner of the Orthopedic Shoe Clinic on Jamaica Avenue, said he has heard that the city expects to generate more than $60 million in parking fines alone, as a direct result of meter rate hikes that he says have not been well publicized.

“That was dirty and underhanded right then and there,” Esposito said, claiming that the DOT provided no notification that it had increased parking rates.

State Senator Joseph Addabbo and Congressmember Anthony Weiner recently took a trip down to Jamaica Avenue to meet with concerned residents and business owners and neither of the elected officials saw any signage.

In light of the fiscal situation, Addabbo said a few days after his press conference on the avenue, “Most people would be understanding of the issue if they were given proper notice.” But, he added, “Without giving notice, it sort of traps the residents and traps the store owners.”

“Once again we’re trying to balance the budget book on the backs of the working people,” Addabbo said, noting that there has been an increased presence of ticket agents on Jamaica Avenue since the meters were reprogrammed.

The DOT maintains that meter rate increases were “widely reported citywide.” Agency spokesperson Monty Dean noted that inserts indicating the new rate were installed as each meter was reprogrammed. In fact, Dean added that many businesses see meters as a plus and think higher rates may lead to increased turnover in front of stores.

But Esposito is not buying it.

“Basically what’s going to happen,” he said, “is that people are so used to 50 cents for an hour they’re going to put two quarters in and walk away without looking.”

Esposito is calling on the city to “at least take responsibility for the tickets they gave” before shoppers were aware of the increases, and he says the GWDC will take up the issue with the community board.

In the meantime, he and GWDC Executive Director Maria Thomson have printed out flyers for each of the 200 stores along Jamaica Avenue in Woodhaven, alerting shoppers to the increased meter rates. But business owners realize that flyers may help reduce parking fines but do nothing to lure people into their stores.

“The economy’s not getting any better,” said Rich Dougherty, an Assistant Manager at Radio Shack on Jamaica Avenue. “People come in then realize they have to go feed the meter and they don’t come back.”

What a Dump That Fresh Creek Nature Preserve is, Canarsie Cries by Jeff Wilkins - Daily News

Read original...

This can't be what Mother Nature intended.

Years of illegal dumping and unchecked weed growth at the Fresh Creek Nature Preserve in Canarsie have turned the once-beautiful stretch of waterfront park into a polluted wasteland of garbage and dead trees, residents charged.

"This is not a nature preserve," said Maria Garrett, 52, whose house sits next to an overgrown section of the preserve on E. 108th St. "It's a hospice where nature comes to die. It's a nature graveyard."

Spanning 74 acres of salt marsh along Jamaica Bay, the litter-covered shores of Fresh Creek are strewn with everything from liquor bottles to broken baby carriages.

Mussels grow out of tires left on the beach. Nearby are two burned-out cars submerged in water.

"If it was us not taking care of our property and leaving garbage everywhere, we'd get a ticket," said Garrett. "Who's giving the city a ticket?"

Garrett, her neighbors and local activists will host a two-day cleanup starting today, picking up the garbage and cutting back overgrown weeds that are killing trees.

"They want everything to go green. Well, we're going brown," said Garrett, as she made her way through 10-foot high vegetation. "Look at this stuff. They could film an episode of that show 'Survivor' right here in Brooklyn."

Garrett said the decision for the cleanup came after letters and calls to city officials went unanswered.

Further inland, the remnants of an illegal chop shop are still visible. Glass from broken windshields, floor mats, carburetors and gas caps are embedded in soil blackened by tire fires. In one spot, a tree grows out of an old washing machine.

"This park is not an asset to the community," said Geoff Croft of NYC Park Advocates. "This park is a liability.

The city maintains that the park is routinely cleaned.

"Since 2006, we have removed 44 vehicles from the park," Parks Department spokesman Phil Abramson said via e-mail. "In 2008, we removed 16 containers of debris, nearly 350 tires and, to help prevent future vehicular access, we added more berms, soil and woodchips."

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/brooklyn/2009/04/25/2009-04-25_city_auto_fix_trashed_park_nabe_cries.html#ixzz0EPWWhcLy&B

Rotary Club Open House - Queens Chronicle

Read original...

The Rotary Club of Southwest Queens invited the community to join them at an open house on Tuesday evening at Prima Pasta and Cafe.



Rotary Club members Peter Modica, left, Stuart Schneiderman, Joe Trotta and Frank Gulluscio represent a cross-section of the community that includes business owners, executives, managers and political leaders. The club has helped raise money and awareness for several nonprofits, including New York Families for Autistic Children. Last year, its members donated $500,000 to S.T.A.R.S., a nonprofit youth organization in Howard Beach.

Howard Beach Civic Meets - Queens Chronicle

Read original...


More than 40 residents gathered Tuesday night at Saint Barnabas Church to take part in the first meeting of the new Howard Beach Civic Association.
Among the guest speakers were Councilman Eric Ulrich, standing, who talked about the city’s budget and funding cuts; Larry Love, a representative from Assemblywoman Audrey Pheffer’s office, who spoke about the Assembly’s influence on the budget, and Pat McCabe, an aide to state Sen. Joe Addabbo Jr., who discussed the Senate’s budget.

Community Board 10 Chairwoman Betty Braton also contributed with a presentation on the history and importance of community boards. The Howard Beach Civic meets every last Tuesday of the month at 7:30 p.m. at Saint Barnabus Church, located at 159-19 98th St. For more information, email hbcivicassn@aol.com.