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Latest News: New Proposed Rules for Community Gardens, Public Hearing on August 10th at 11am | |
Community gardens are currently a hot issue in New York not only because gardening season is upon us, but also because a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) that has governed community gardens in New York for the last 8 years is set to expire in September 2010. On July 8, 2010, NYC Departments of Parks and Recreation and Housing, Preservation and Development (HPD) both issued new proposed rules for community gardens on their land that would take effect once the agreement expires.
Many garden advocates do not believe that the proposed rules offer meaningful protection for gardens or the same level of protection as the 2002 Community Gardens Agreement. They fear that without an appropriate replacement agreement or legislation, community gardens will not be protected and that all gardens on NYC property may be developed, particularly if future mayoral administrations are not as friendly to gardeners as the current one. The Hunter College Health Eating and Active Living (HEAL) Policy Group has put together a policy brief on the issue for the NYC Food & Fitness Partnership. Here's a link to the full brief.
What you can do now:
1. Attend the public hearing on the proposed rules on August 10, 2010 at Chelsea Recreation Center at 430 West 25th Street in Manhattan at 11:00 a.m., and speak in favor of protection for community gardens. If you would like to testify, please notify Associate Counsel, Laura LaVelle via email or telephone at 212-360-1335 or email at by August 9.
2. Spread the word! Call 10 fellow gardeners or friends and urge them to attend the public hearing. The whole community should be out to support community gardens - teachers, youth, farmers market managers/sellers/buyers, businesses, residents, etc. Gardens are a vital community resource whose benefits extend beyond just the gardeners themselves.
3. Submit written comments on the proposed rules if you cannot attend the public hearing in person. Written comments must be submitted on or before August 10, 2010.
- Online at NYC Rules
- Written comments on the HPD rules should be sent to Mary-Lynne Rifenburgh, 100 Gold Street, Room 5Q-2, New York, NY 10038.
- Written comments on the Parks Department rules should be sent to the General Counsel, Mr. Alessandro G. Olivieri, Department of Parks and Recreation, The Arsenal, Central Park, 830 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10065. Comments must be submitted on or before August 10, 2010.
4. Ask the Mayor to use his executive power to dedicate city land for permanent use as gardens. You can email the Mayor here or call 311.
5. Attend the New York City Community Garden Coalition's information meetings about the proposed rules! Sign up for their email list and find out about their meetings on their website.
6. Show up for NYCCGC's press conference on the steps of City Hall on August 4th from 9:30am-10:30am! Enter the City Hall steps area by passing through metal detectors on the East or West entrance of City Hall inside City Hall Park. |
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Time is Running Out to Pass Child Nutrition Reauthorization! | |
There is little time left to persuade our Congress Members to move on CNR before the end of the Congressional year. The House is already on August recess and the Senate will recess Friday, August 6th. Both chambers return to DC on September 13th, only 17 days before the deadline to pass CNR legislation.
House: On July 15, the House Education and Labor Committee passed their Child Nutrition Reauthorization Bill, the "Improving Nutrition for America's Children Act" ( H.R. 5504). The bill contains $800 million a year or $8 billion over ten years worth of improvements for programs like school meals, WIC, and summer and afterschool feeding programs. While it's not as much funding as many advocates hoped for ($10 billion), it is still the biggest new investment in child nutrition programs in decades, and represents approximately a 5% increase in funding for programs overall. However, funding sources have not yet been identified. Funding sources will need to be identified before it can go to the full House for a vote.
Senate: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) asked for the unanimous consent of his Senate colleagues to consider S. 3307, the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, before the August recess. This bill invests only an additional $4.5 billion over ten years - much less than ideal, and less than half of the President's request. Yet this still represents an unprecedented investment in child nutrition programs and will soon bring us closer to our ultimate goal of feeding more kids better food.
What you can do now: 1. Please call and/or email Senators Gillibrand and Schumer and ask them to urge immediate passage of S 3307. Find their contact info here.
2. Please call your Representative to urge House leadership to find appropriate offsets to fund this legislation and move it to the floor immediately upon the House's return from August recess. Find their contact info here.
3. In-district meetings: NYC for CNR is arranging meetings during August recess with two NYC Reps on big Congressional Caucuses to ask them to urge fellow Caucus members to get the bill to a vote as soon as the House returns to DC. We welcome constituents of the following Reps to come to these meetings, so please Kristen Mancinelli if you live in either of their Districts: - Nydia Velasquez, Chair of the Hispanic Caucus. Areas in her district: Brooklyn (Bushwick, Greenpoint, Red Hook, Sunset Park and Williamsburg neighborhoods), Queens (Maspeth, Ridgewood and Woodside neighborhoods) Manhattan (part of Manhattan's Lower East Side, East Village and Chinatown)
- Ed Towns, Senior member on the Congressional Black Caucus, and former Chair. Areas in his district: East New York, Canarsie, Brownsville, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Cypress Hills, Clinton Hill, Mill Basin, Midwood, downtown Brooklyn, Boreum Hill, as well as parts of Fort Greene and Williamsburg.
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| Community Gardens Resources |
If you want to learn more about community gardens in New York City, check out OASIS which provides a wealth of information online including maps of community gardens.
NYC Green Carts Program Seeking New Vendors!
The NYC Green Cart program is seeking new vendors! NYC Green Carts are mobile food stands that exclusively sell fresh fruits and vegetables in the areas that need them most. In the fall, the NYC Dept. of Health and Mental Hygiene will be accepting new applications to be on the Green Cart waiting list for a Green Cart permit! To operate a Green Cart, vendors must have a valid mobile food vending license and a Green Cart permit. Each Green Cart permit allows a cart to operate in one New York City borough only. Within each borough, Green Carts can operate in certain designated areas. All the information you need is also on the Health Department's website.
Please contact Peggy Leggat or 212-676-2022 for more information on how to get started. |
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NYC Dept. of Health Releases Report on Cycling and Driving in Bedford-Stuyvesant |
With more than 650 miles of lanes on streets and in parks across the city, more and more New Yorkers are taking up cycling to commute to work, run errands, get some exercise or just to have fun. To learn more about how street bike lanes are being used in North and Central Brooklyn, the Health Department conducted a study in Bedford-Stuyvesant of cyclists and motorists from these neighborhoods. The report's findings show that Bedford-Stuyvesant's lanes are being used by many North and Central Brooklyn cyclists, but more can be done to improve their safety. The full report, is available here or calling 311. Some specific findings: - Of the more than 2,400 cyclists that were observed riding in Bedford-Stuyvesant, a vast majority (80%) were male, and of the cyclists that were interviewed, most lived in North and Central Brooklyn (69% of 324).
- Nearly all cyclists interviewed (95%) prefer riding on streets with bicycle lanes and most (65%) cycle as a means of transportation.
- 9 in 10 cyclists observed rode primarily within bike lanes.
- 10% of motorists were observed driving in a bicycle lane, and on average, parked or idling vehicles blocked the bike lane for six minutes per hour.
- More than 70% of cyclists were observed not wearing helmets, and 18% were riding against the flow of traffic.
The NYC Food & Fitness Partnership is working together with the Health Department's Brooklyn District Public Health Office (DPHO) bring together a community advisory group this summer to promote safe cycling in North and Central Brooklyn. For more information please contact Phil Noyes.
CDC's State Indicator Report on Physical Activity 2010
Report Explores 15 Years of Bicycling and WalkingA 15-year status report detailing the trends and changes in bicycling and walking was recently released by the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center and the Federal Highway Administration. The number of walking and bicycling trips has increased, accounting for 11.9% of all trips. In regards to safety, the nation has witnessed a decrease in pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities and injuries. As Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood points out in his blog, Americans want and need safe transportation choices and there's still much more we can do to make walking and bicycling safer and more common. |
| Kids Ride Club |
The Kids Ride Club is a partnership between Woodhull Hospital, Recycle a Bicycle, I.S. 318, P.S. 257, New York Cycle Club and HealthFirst, Inc. and introduces youth ages 10 and up to cycling through a series of 18 structured bike rides with adult mentors and encourages them to incorporate regular physical activity into their lives. For a schedule, permission slips, and more information about how to get involved, please visit RAB's website.
For the past 6 years, Punk Rope, a small New York City-based corporation, has been actively collaborating with the public and non-profit sectors to bring fun and effective fitness programs to children and adults. In November 2009, it created Hopping for Health, a school-based rope jumping program, which targets children in grades K-12. The program debuted at the PSAHPERD Convention in Pennsylvania and since then Hopping for Health workshops have been delivered to a handful of schools in New York City and was part of the Dept. of Education's physical education professional development day. For more information on Hopping for Health contact Tim Haft or 646-654-0668 or visit the Punk Rope website. |
GRANTS AND FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES | |
| Want a Garden? |
Through its partnership with Weight Watchers' Lose For Good Campaign, Share Our Strength donates edible gardens to schools, community centers, and other organizations that serve children at risk of hunger. These "Lose For Good Gardens" serve as teaching tools that help familiarize and educate children about the healthy foods needed to thrive. They are looking to plant a new garden in NYC! The garden will feature a fully-enclosed structure with raised planting beds, wide and level walkways, an embedded watering system; 100 percent organic soil and mature vegetable/herb plants to fill the garden. Additionally, the grant recipient will receive a starter kit of tools, kids' gloves, and buckets; a collection of resources including recipes, curricula and teaching ideas; as well as $1,500 in grant funds over a three-year period to start and maintain the garden. If your school, community center or other organization, please contact Nicole Fitzgerald.
Funds for the Coalition for a Healthier Community
Deadline: August 13, 2010 The purpose of this funding is to support the implementation of evidence-based health interventions through a public health systems approach which is gender-based, cost beneficial and sustainable that address a health issue identified by the community as adversely affecting the health of its women and girls. Grant Awards: $100,000 per grant For more information, click here.
Grants to Build School Breakfast Programs Deadline: August 15, 2010 Grants of up to $3,000 will be awarded to General Mills Foodservice has committed a total of $100,000 to help schools with students in grades K-12 build their breakfast programs through the National Dairy Council's Child Nutrition and Fitness Initiative Breakfast Grant program. Schools currently participating in the National Dairy Council's Fuel Up to Play 60 program and seeking to expand their breakfast programs can apply to receive up to $3,000 in funding each. For more information, visit their website.
Healthy Eating Research 2010 Rapid-Response Grants
Deadline: September 1, 2010 Healthy Eating Research grants will support time-sensitive and opportunistic studies on emerging or anticipated changes in food-related policies or environments that can only be conducted during a short window of opportunity and are needed to inform policy debates for local, state or national action. Grant Awards: up to $150,000. Download the 2010 call for proposals or apply for a grant here. Healthy Sprouts Awards to Support Youth Gardening ProgramsDeadline: October 1, 2010 The Subaru Healthy Sprouts Award, which is administered by the National Gardening Association and sponsored by Subaru of America, recognizes and supports youth gardening programs that provide education about the environment, nutrition, and hunger issues in the United States. A $500 gift certificate to the Gardening with Kids catalog, educational materials, and a gardening package from NGA will be awarded to a school or organization planning to garden in 2011 with at least fifteen children between the ages of three and 18. For more information, visit their website.
Bread Brands Announce Inaugural Get Ingrained Grants ProgramDeadline: October 4, 2010 Two grants of $15,000 each will be awarded to individuals or groups in the United States committed to bettering the health of their neighborhoods, towns, or cities. To be considered for a grant, entrants must submit a brief essay describing a personal or organizational mission to improve health and wellness in their community through nutrition-based initiatives. The company will choose five finalists to be posted on the program's website, and will then invite the public to vote to select the two grant winners.
Community Tool Box Announces Global Prize Contest for Community Innovations
Deadline: October 31, 2010 Grants of up to $5,000 will be awarded to any group working to address community health, education, urban or rural development, poverty, the environment, social justice, and other related issues of importance to communities. Any group that has engaged in any aspect of community health and development effort - from planning to sustainability - between 2008-2010 can apply. Applicants must be willing to share the group's innovative and promising approach with others. An international panel will review the applications to select finalists. Public voting on the finalists will determine the grand prize and second prize winners. For more information, visit their website.
The Mount Sinai Eating and Weight Disorders Program Recruiting Participants
If your child is 13-17 years old and is medically stable, you and your child may be eligible to participate in a research study at no cost to you. Evening appointments are available. For more information please contact Rebecca Lo Presti at (212) 659-8724.
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| Hattie Carthan Playstreet! |
Dates and Times: August 7 and August 21 - 10am-3pm
Location: Clifton Place bet Marcy & Nostrand Avenues, next to Von King Park and Hattie Carthan Community Farmers' Market.
Hattie Carthan Garden will host a PlayStreet in Bed Stuy! Clifton Place will be closed to traffic and will host a full schedule of family activities including African drumming, dance, Shape Up aerobics, childrens' games and MORE!!! For more information about this and other Playstreets this summer across New York City, click here.
Summer Streets are BACK!
Dates: August 7, 14 and 21 New York City's greatest car-free event is just around the corner. For the 3rd year in a row, Park Avenue and connecting streets from the Brooklyn Bridge to Central Park will be CLOSED to motor vehicles from 7am to 1pm. This year, not only can you walk, ride, sit, relax, dance, play and lounge, but you can also swim! Clean, unused shipping containers will be transformed into code-complaint swimming pools complete with life guards and pool deaks. Pools will be located near the Grand Central viaduct and free entry bracelets will be handed out for time slots on a first come, first served basis. Transportation Alternatives will have bike valet stations at Uptown, Midtown and SoHo locations and will also be organizing group rides to Summer Streets from Brooklyn and Queens.
Just Food CSA workshopsEach month, Just Food hosts a different workshop that pertains to the development of your CSA. These workshops are helpful to new CSAs and also pre-existing ones. All workshops are held at the Just Food office (1155 Avenue of the Americas between 44th Street and 45th Street, 3rd floor) from 6:00pm to 8:00pm unless otherwise noted. To RSVP for a workshop, please e-mail Paula.
Community Building - Brainstorm ideas on how to develop more community among your CSA members
Monday, August 9, 2010 Incorporating Policy and Advocacy into Your CSA - Explore possibilities for encouraging your members to be involved with food and farm policy issues.
Monday, September 13, 2009
Annual Queens Community Bike Sale
Date and Time: August 12 - 4-7pm
Location: Recycle-A-Bicycle's Long Island City Workshop, 5th Street and 46th Avenue in Queens.
Join Recycle-A-Bicycle's (RAB) Summer Youth Employment Participants for the Annual Queens Community Bike Sale! Bikes were prepared by RAB youth and will be for sale at affordable prices. All proceeds directly support RAB's youth programs.
NYC Community Garden Coalition General Meeting
Date and Time: Thursday August 20 - 6:30-8:30pm
Location: Garden of Happiness, 2156-2160 Prospect Avenue, Bronx, NY 10457
Come get an update on the community gardens public hearing and learn about next steps to protect community gardens. For more information, visit their website.
Carrotmob on Village Mart!
Date and Time: August 21, 2010 - 12pm to 4pm
Location: Village Mart
A new way to give back: Shop. Let's reward bodegas who are committed to providing Bed-Stuy with healthy and locally grown food. Join us on Saturday, August 21st from 12 to 4pm in support of Village Mart, located at 310 Nostrand Avenue between Lafayette and Clifton Avenues. Find out about the Healthy Bodega Initiative, enjoy samples from the cooking demo, meet your neighbors, and buy good food.
Transportation Alternatives Brooklyn Volunteer Committee meetingDate and Time: August 26th, 7pm Location: Cobble Hill Community Room, 250 Baltic Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201 For more information, visit their Google Group!
NYC Century Bike TourDate: September 12, 2010 The country's only all-urban 100-mile bike tour! You can choose your own adventure ranging from 15-mile routes to the full 100 miles. Sign up before August 22, 2010 and you will be eligible for the Express Start on Ride Day. The Express Start allows you to start the ride in Central Park, Manhattan or Prospect Park, Brooklyn without having to check-in first.
Park(ing) DayDate: September 17, 2010 Park(ing) Day is an international event that lets communities reclaim parking spots and transform them into people-friendly public spacese for one day a year - be it a make-shift outdoor yoga studio, playspace for kids, outdoor reading room or bike parking - it's up to you! Transportation Alternatives provides you with all the information you need to reclaim and redesign your own personal piece of the street. Visit the Park(ing) Day NYC Blog for up-to-date information and how to register your spot. Contact Alyssa for more information.
14th Annual CFSC Conference: Food, Culture, & Justice: The Gumbo That Unites Us All
Dates: October 16-19, 2010
Location: New Orleans, LA
Registration is now open for the 14th Annual Community Food Security Conference.
The Young Farmers Conference
Dates: December 2 - 3, 2010 This December, Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture will present its third annual Young Farmers Conference: Reviving the Culture of Agriculture, a program especially for young and new farmers. This year's event will be a forum for over 200 participants to learn from agricultural luminaries, peers, and advocacy organizations through workshops, keynotes, and panel discussions. Call for Workshop and Presentation Proposals: July 23-Sept 3. Interested in presenting at this year's conference? Click here for more details and information on how to apply. |
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Make News!
If you or your organization would like to be a part of the next upcoming newsletter, please send your stories, pictures or events to newsletter@nycfoodandfitness.org | |
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