Sustainable Long Island has been awarded $7,500 from the Angela and Scott Jaggar Foundation to conduct a comprehensive analysis of recycling on Long Island. The analysis will consist of examining existing recycling laws and codes to clearly outline challenges and obstacles affecting the progression of recycling practices across Nassau and Suffolk Counties.

"Establishing a baseline of data on recycling is a critical first step before advocacy changes can be made," said Amy Engel, Executive Director of Sustainable Long Island. "Very little information exists about the rates of recycling throughout Long Island, the policies that govern it, and what more can be done to encourage and facilitate the practice."

The analysis will look at ways to reduce the waste stream itself, highlight impediments to recycling markets, and look at best case practices and success stories from other parts of the country from which to learn. The information gathered will allow stakeholders and decision-makers to examine Long Island's recycling system through a comprehensive lens.

The analysis and review of existing recycling laws/codes on Long Island will gather data from numerous secondary sources, including the US Environmental Protection Agency, Waste Reduction and Management Institute, research teams from Long Island University Post and Stony Brook University, and data from Long Island's 13 towns and two cities.

Recycling can be a way to reduce reliance upon landfills and incinerators, greatly reducing their usage and alleviating the burden on affected communities. It is the hope that thorough research will lead to dialogue, which will then lead to policy change, market change, and finally, positive impact on a multitude of Long Island communities.

Sustainable Long Island has been awarded $5,000 from New York Community Bank Foundation to support two community gardens in Nassau County, one each in New Cassel and Roosevelt. Sustainable Long Island will partner with local community groups to establish these gardens and work with participating individuals and families to teach them how to cultivate, grow, and sustain a community garden.

Involved community members will benefit by literally 'reaping what they sow' in having fresh, healthy produce to eat at home. Recipes for the produce grown will be provided, along with nutritional information and health benefits of the foods grown. In addition, part of these projects will include teaching families how to preserve food to last after the growing season.

Most community gardens are located in Low-Moderate-Income (LMI) communities as determined by U.S. Census data. According to the Stony Brook University Nutrition Department, which operates 10 of the most successful community gardens on Long Island, these gardens feed an average of 1,500 people each. Additional benefits include creating a sense of place, reducing crime, and teaching nutrition and healthy eating habits to families who reside in these areas, often with higher than average rates of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.

For more information on community gardens, visit www.longislandcommunitygardens.org. For information on Sustainable Long Island's successful track record building community gardens, visit www.sustainableli.org.

Last week, the City of  Long Beach and Sustainable Long Island held an engagement session with leaders of local arts groups to discuss the formation of the Long Beach Council for the Arts. 

The meeting consisted of small group activities that solicited feedback on how a Council for the Arts can enhance the Long Beach community by bringing together arts organizations and artists. Group activities looked to identify the Arts Council's vision and objectives, programming, and involved stakeholders, as well pinpoint strategies to educate the public about the Council and measure its success and effectiveness.

With results still being analyzed, it was clear one of the main goals consistently expressed was to have a common space for artists to display work, host events, and offer information. Attendees also encouraged engagement and interaction between artists and the local schools. In addition, a majority of participants felt it would be beneficial to display artwork at local businesses where community members could roam from store to store in an "open gallery" setting.   

The purpose of the Council for the Arts will be to advise and make recommendations to the City Council and City Manager for new art programs, cultural activities and initiatives; promote public awareness of resources and educational programs available through local arts organizations; increase the display of artistic works in public places; encourage collaboration among the arts and arts-related organizations in Long Beach; and cultivate artistic ideas from the community to provide family friendly entertainment options and activities for residents.

(via Newsday) - Roslyn Savings Bank has become the first business to join Wyandanch Village, the mixed-use development at the heart of a massive revitalization effort in the hamlet.

A division of New York Community Bank, Roslyn Savings Bank has signed a 10-year lease for 1,600 square feet of space in the first of three buildings being constructed by developer Albanese Organization Inc., of Garden City.

Wyandanch Village is the centerpiece of the Wyandanch Rising redevelopment, an estimated $500 million public-private attempt to revitalize the downtown area near the Long Island Rail Road station.

Andrew Kaplan, NYCB executive vice president, said his company signed the lease with "eyes wide open" about the challenges faced by the economically distressed community.

"Sitting down with the leaders in the Town of Babylon and hearing what their vision was, that gave us great comfort in saying we're ready, willing and able to do this," Kaplan said. "We see that there's a lot of energy being put behind not just this project, but this community."

Roslyn would be the only stand-alone bank in the community, which has a Chase branch inside of a Compare Foods supermarket. Kaplan said his company and the town have applied to have Wyandanch approved by the state as a Banking Development District, a program designed to encourage the opening of bank branches in areas where there is a need for financial services. As such, Kaplan said Roslyn Savings employees will be doing extensive outreach to the community.

Read more here...

(via Newsday) - Advocates behind Long Island's Puerto Rican/Hispanic Day Parade opened a community center last Friday in Central Islip that group organizer Margarita Espada said aims "to unite the different communities and build dialogue and civic engagement" through the arts.

Group members and volunteers have been hard at work renovating a rented property at 63 Carleton Ave. that formerly was a cellphone shop -- making furniture, painting the walls of a large storeroom in the back, and sprucing up the surrounding grounds.

Those spaces will become an art gallery that will double as an instructional area; a performance space for theater, fitness and dance; and a community garden, group volunteers said. They hope to fund the endeavor through class fees and donations.

The arts center for Teatro Experimental Yerbabruja, the nonprofit behind the project, will opened with a small exhibit from local artists and a performance of traditional string music from Puerto Rico. To start, the center will house a few art classes.

"Art is a very powerful tool for social changes," said Espada, 48, a theater lecturer at Stony Brook University who is Teatro's founder and artistic director. The area encompassing Central Islip, Brentwood and Bay Shore, where many Latinos and other immigrants live, has lacked a gathering place for artistic activities, she said.

(via Newsday) - Advocates behind Long Island's Puerto Rican/Hispanic Day Parade opened a community center last Friday in Central Islip that group organizer Margarita Espada said aims "to unite the different communities and build dialogue and civic engagement" through the arts.

Group members and volunteers have been hard at work renovating a rented property at 63 Carleton Ave. that formerly was a cellphone shop -- making furniture, painting the walls of a large storeroom in the back, and sprucing up the surrounding grounds.

Those spaces will become an art gallery that will double as an instructional area; a performance space for theater, fitness and dance; and a community garden, group volunteers said. They hope to fund the endeavor through class fees and donations.

The arts center for Teatro Experimental Yerbabruja, the nonprofit behind the project, will opened with a small exhibit from local artists and a performance of traditional string music from Puerto Rico. To start, the center will house a few art classes.

"Art is a very powerful tool for social changes," said Espada, 48, a theater lecturer at Stony Brook University who is Teatro's founder and artistic director. The area encompassing Central Islip, Brentwood and Bay Shore, where many Latinos and other immigrants live, has lacked a gathering place for artistic activities, she said.