Sustainable Long Island
June 2013
Sustainable Long Island Newsletter
The one-stop-shop...
For all Sustainable Long Island news! 
In This Issue
National Small Business Week - Sustainable LI supports small, local businesses
Networking Magazine 2020: Guide to Going Green - This month's featured advisory member
Farmers' Markets Season Underway - Fresh, affordable produce available across the region
APA LI: East End Conference - Long Range Resilience and Recovery Planning for Coastal Communities
Green Infrastructure Center Launches Green Guide - Evaluating and Conserving Green Infrastructure Across the Landscape
Citi Bike Launches in NYC - Could similar projects be implemented here on Long Island?
Fifth Year High School Fellowship - Sustainable LI now accepting applications
Sustainability Simplified - Mobile apps to help improve sustainability
NEWSLETTER SPONSOR
If you or your organization would like to become future enewsletter sponsors, please email [email protected] for rates and opportunities.
Board of Directors
Ruth Negrn-Gaines: President
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Kevin McDonald: Vice President

The Nature Conservancy   
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Charlotte Biblow, Esq: Secretary

Farrell Fritz, P.C.
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Lauren Furst: Treasurer   

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Russ Albanese

Albanese Organization Inc.
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Lennard Axinn

Island Estates   

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Robert Bernard

Capital One Bank 

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Dr. Calvin O. Butts, III
SUNY College at Old Westbury    

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Dr. Miriam K. Deitsch

Farmingdale State College,
State University of New York

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Pat Edwards

Citi Community Development     
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Amy Hagedorn
Hagedorn Foundation

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Jeff Kraut

North Shore - LIJ Health System

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Mitchell H. Pally

Long Island Builders Institute

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Dr. Robert Scott

Adelphi University 

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Ron Shiffman

Pratt Institute

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National Small Business Week  
Sustainable Long Island supports small, local businesses

Every year since 1963, the President of the United States has issued a proclamation announcing National Small Business Week, which recognizes the critical contributions of America's entrepreneurs and small business owners.  

 

Small, local businesses provide jobs and employment opportunities for our friends, family members, and neighbors, while also giving a boost to the local economy. Local merchants also pay taxes that help keep our schools open, our municipal and county services operating, and our own taxes lower.

 

Some shoppers may worry that they may not find what they're looking for unless they travel to big box stores or visit online warehouses. Yet, Long Island is home to over 90,000 local businesses grossing over $100 billion a year, which can provide plenty of items, services, and goods to choose from.


At Sustainable Long Island, we didn't just treat this past week as a time to promote and support small businesses - we do that each and every day throughout our various projects and programs.

 

In Long Beach, we continue to work with the City Manager's office on revitalization and recovery efforts. Our efforts include launching projects to bolster the City's small business recovery; preserve jobs; encourage tourism; and ultimately create a more economically vibrant community for all Long Beach residents and businesses. 

 

In Bethpage, we continue to work with the Town of Oyster Bay on the Downtown Bethpage Revitalization Project. The key goal of this Nassau County project is to provide the community of Bethpage with the tools to attract and maintain economically viable businesses in the downtown. The project core is the input to be received from key stakeholders in the community, as well as local officials and commuters that utilize the LIRR Station. 

 

In Hicksville, we continue to work with the Town of Oyster Bay on the Northwest Hicksville Brownfield Opportunity Area Step 1 Program. Along with the project team we are working with community members to develop a vision for future redevelopment for Northwest Hicksville; identify desirable and viable businesses and uses in the area; and generate ideas for potential redevelopment and improvements. 


Email us at [email protected] and let us know how you celebrated National Small Business Week.
Networking Magazine 2020:
Guide to Going Green    
June/July 2013 featured advisory member: Amy Engel

Networking Magazine has a robust advisory committee for its 2020: Guide to Going Green featuring local elected officials, university presidents, and leaders from the business and nonprofit industries. This month, Networking Magazine highlighted its newest member of the advisory committee: Executive Director of Sustainable Long Island Amy Engel. She shared some words on how in the months following Hurricane Sandy, we can all still do out part to "Go Green."

In the months following Superstorm Sandy, I think it is clear to all of us that the need to "Go Green" is no longer a catchy trend, it has become a very real necessity. Going green is also more than simply planting trees and driving hybrid cars. It's about living a sustainable lifestyle that can reduce our carbon footprint, lessen our dependence on foreign fuels, and decrease our reliance upon off-island produce.  The movement to go green is now, more than ever, about taking personal responsibility while making a difference and embracing a new outlook.

 

Nassau and Suffolk County residents can do their part by taking small steps, such as buying and eating locally grown produce; shopping at local businesses rather than large chains; utilizing public transportation and transit-oriented developments; and supporting efforts to improve water quality and reduce water pollution. These small, individual steps, when multiplied by the 2.8 million people that reside on Long Island, can truly have an important, positive impact on improving the sustainability of our environment and our economy.

 

Sustainable Long Island continues to lead the region in rethinking ideas and plans of action to go green; rebuilding partnerships among stakeholders working on sustainability initiatives; and renewing Long Islander's commitment to implementing green projects island-wide.


Farmers' Markets Season Underway   
Fresh, affordable produce available across the region

Many Farmers' Markets across Long Island are open and beginning to providing fresh, affordable produce to community members Islandwide! Since 2010, Sustainable Long Island has worked closely with numerous community partner organizations and the Long Island Farm Bureau to provide technical assistance to specific youth-staffed farmers' markets throughout Nassau and Suffolk Counties.

These markets traditionally operate in underserved communities, provide jobs to local high school students in each community, promote nutrition and education to residents, contribute to a sense of place, give community members a greater choice of fresh produce and healthy food options, and help boost the local and regional economy.

See below for a list of dates, times, and locations for Sustainable Long Island's partner markets. Also check out these listings in Nassau and Suffolk for dozens of additional markets across the Island!

Flanders Farm Fresh Food Market

David W. Crohan Community Center

655 Flanders Rd.

Flanders, NY 11901

Open Saturdays from 10AM - 2PM starting June 29 

 

Freeport Community Farmers' Market

Freeport Recreation Center

130 E. Merrick Rd.

Freeport, NY 11520

Open Saturdays from 11AM - 4PM starting July 13 

 

Greater Bellport Community Youth Market

Boys & Girls Club of the Bellport Area

471 Atlantic Ave.

Bellport, NY 11713

Open Saturdays 11AM - 4PM starting July 6 

 

Great Neck Community Farmers' Market

125 Community Drive (parking lot)

Great Neck, NY 11021 

Open Sundays from 9AM - 2PM starting July 14


New Cassel Farmers' Market

First Baptist Cathedral

212 Garden St.

Westbury, NY 11590

Open Saturdays 11AM - 4PM starting July 13 

 

Roosevelt Community Farmers' Market

Freeport-Roosevelt Health Center

380 Nassau Rd.

Roosevelt, NY 11575

Open Sundays 11AM - 4PM starting July 7 

 

Shiloh Community Farmers' Market

New Shiloh Baptist Church

221 Merritt Rd.

Wyandanch, NY 11798

Open Saturdays 1PM - 4PM starting July 13   

 

APA LI Section: East End Conference   
Long Range Resilience and Recovery Planning for Coastal Communities

The Long Island Section of the American Planning Association is hosting their annual East End Planning Conference in Riverhead on June 27th. 

 

There will be two panel discussions that will provide an overview of the best coastal resilience management practices recommended by FEMA and used by International coastal communities. Lessons learned from super storm Sandy highlighted the need for long range planning for community resilience in coastal communities. The session will include a spotlight on (and many photographs from) the Netherlands and techniques used for coastal flood management.

 

When: June 27th, 3:00 PM- 7:30 PM

Where: Suffolk County Community College Culinary Arts and Hospitality Center at 20 East Main Street in Riverhead

Guest speaker: Sean Walter, Supervisor, Town of Riverhead

Moderator: Dave Genaway, AICP, Town of Islip Planning Commissioner

Speakers:

  • Dorian Dale, LEED AP,  Director of Sustainability and Chief Recovery Officer, Suffolk County
  • Christine Thompson, President, Humanity Road, Inc
  • Bryan Starr, Community Planning and Capacity Building, Hurricane Sandy, FEMA-4085-DR-NY
  • David Berg, AICP, LEED, Associate, Cameron Engineering & Associates

Visit APALongIsland.org for more details and register today!  

 

Evaluating and Conserving Green Infrastructure Across the Landscape   
Green Infrastructure Center launches new guide

(via the Green Infrastructure Center) - The Green Infrastructure Center recently announced the publication of its ground-breaking guide to evaluating and conserving green infrastructure.


The guide, titled Evaluating and Conserving Green Infrastructure Across the Landscape: A Practitioner's Guide provides an historical overview of GI planning, as well as practical steps for implementing a GI plan in your locality. As well as providing the theory behind GI planning in a very accessible way, the guide is a practitioner's handbook full of useful tips, definitions of key terms, and step-by-step information on how to build a stakeholder committee, get public and professional input, and create maps that will aid in the GI planning process.

 

This ground-breaking and innovative guide provides invaluable practical information, from websites and GIS software programs, to how to deal with the nitty-gritty issues always raised with public involvement and local input. The guide provides the steps required to organize a planning initiative, including stakeholder engagement and expert consultation. It shows you how to evaluate and prioritize local natural assets, and provides a case study to help you understand the process. A whole chapter is devoted to ideas to build community support for a green infrastructure plan, set key messages, and decide on options for expanded community engagement.

 

So far, two versions have been created: one for Virginia and another for New York. Additional guides will be released later this year for North Carolina and Arkansas.

 

The New York Guide is available as a DVD or as a color print copy, but the print run is limited. The DVD is free to New York residents for a limited time. To preview a chapter of the New York Guide click here. Print copies of the full guide are available for $29.95.

 

To order a printed version of the New York Guide, fill out this PDF form with all your details and email it to [email protected].

Citi Bike Launches in New York City   
Bike share program largest in the nation

(via rep-am.com) - The nation's biggest bicycle-sharing program got rolling recently, as thousands of New Yorkers got their first chance to ride a network billed as a new form of public transit.

One rider pedaled along a lower Manhattan street on one of the royal-blue, quick-rental bikes, headed for a gourmet supermarket that's usually a 25-minute walk from his apartment. The medical executive doesn't own a bicycle because it's a hassle to haul one downstairs, find a place to lock it up on the street and worry about it, he said.

"This just makes it much more convenient," said the rider, who plans to use the bike system to get to work at a downtown hospital.

The privately financed program - called Citi Bike, after lead sponsor Citigroup Inc. - kicked off with 6,000 bikes at more than 300 stations.

Plans call for expanding it to 10,000 bikes docked at 600 places in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens. Riders now can unlock the three-gear, cruising-style bikes from any station, take them for 45-minute rides and return them to any rack.

"We now have an entirely new transportation network without spending any taxpayer money," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said at a news conference.

One of more than 500 bike-sharing systems around the world, New York's is the biggest in the United States. Fifteen thousand people already have signed up for New York's program, city Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Kahn said.

While many New Yorkers already do without cars, Bloomberg's administration has added hundreds of miles of bike lanes and promoted cycling as a healthy and environmentally friendly alternative to driving. Officials see bike-sharing as a big next step.

The city intends to split any proceeds with NYC Bike Share LLC, a company running the program. Citigroup is paying $41 million to sponsor it. MasterCard is paying an additional $6.5 million.

Citi Bike subscribers pay a $95 annual fee for unlimited rides of 45 minutes. Starting June 2, riders also will be able to buy a 24-hour pass for about $10 and a seven-day pass for $25; both allow for an unlimited number of 30-minute trips. The usage time is logged when a bicycle is returned to a dock, with additional charges if the bikes have been out past the allotted time.

 

What do you think Long Island? Could similar projects be implemented throughout Nassau and Suffolk County? Would it garner Long Islander's support? Let us know your thoughts by emailing us at [email protected].

 

Fifth Annual High School Fellowship  
Sustainable Long Island currently accepting applications
Members of the 4th Year HS Fellowship presenting at a
youth-visioning in Downtown Bethpage earlier this year
Sustainable Long Island is excited to announce the start of our Fifth Annual High School Fellowship program to begin this July!

 

The High School Fellowship program offers students an opportunity to learn about community and regional planning, civic engagement, and sustainable development. The Fellowship is open to junior and senior high school students who are interested in planning, sustainability, and public participation, and are also committed to making an impact within their communities. In previous years, Fellows have learned about brownfields, food equity, and environmental justice as well as how to engage their peers in local revitalization projects.

 

This is an exciting opportunity for young adults to get involved in projects taking place across Long Island and learn about pressing issues the region faces while thinking through innovative steps to address challenges to create positive economic, environmental, and social change.

 

For more information or to apply, please email Janice Moynihan, Community Planner and Educational Program Coordinator at [email protected] today!

 
Sustainability Simplified

Check out these unique mobile apps to help improve sustainability and lower environmental impact

 

greenMeter - For $5.99 this app helps users increase efficiency, reduce fuel consumption and cost, and lower environmental impact by computing their vehicle's power and fuel usage characteristics, as well evaluating their driving.  

 

National Green PagesUse this free app to access a directory of thousands of businesses that have made strong commitments to sustainable, socially just principles.

     

Cost2DriveThis free app enables better planning for road trips by calculating fuel costs and finding the cheapest gas en route.  

 

All apps available in your smart phone app store!

Together we can build a more
sustainable Long Island

 

These challenging economic times have magnified the problems we Long Islanders face each and every day. With our leaders warning us of tougher times to come, thinking regionally and acting locally is urgent. It is in all of our best interests to stay engaged and do what we can together to build a more sustainable Long Island.

 

Please consider making a tax-deductible gift to Sustainable Long Island that will help support our ongoing and future work within your Long Island communities; while helping advance economic development, environmental health, and social equity!

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Sincerely,

The Board and Staff of Sustainable Long Island