I was really happy to see some honeybees over the past couple of days. Prior to this I had only seen a few bumblebees out pollinating the flowers in Tompkins Square Park. And I’ve been keeping a pretty close watch on the trees and plants there this Spring. I saw few pollinating insects on this year’s apple, pear and cherry blossoms. Nationwide it is reported that one third of all hives died off over this past Winter. To my mind NYC is probably a sanctuary against the bee die-off, as it is not likely that local bees are fed high-fructose corn syrup, and I think that the neonicotinoid pesticides (banned in Europe) are mostly used on crops.
Developer, Serge Hoyda broke into the fence surrounding The Children’s Magical Garden at Norfolk and Stanton Streets on the Lower East Side this morning. Long time garden’s advocate and activist, Aresh Javadi, explains the situation, and how this all might just be a ploy to get access to another plot in a swap with the city. But still the children’s Pizza Garden was trampled in the process.
A developer broke through the gate this morning and is currently digging up the garden. Location: Norfolk and Stanton Streets on the Lower East Side. Neighbors are protesting the police are between them and the workers.
I knew that the National Wether Service was predicting a thunderstorm, but I wanted to get out for a bit to my usual haunts, Tompkins Square Park. The light was lovely, so I opted to get soaked (I knew my camera would be safe in its bag when the rain came) and get some shots as the storm approached. I headed down B below the park before it actually started raining, announced by a great clap of thunder. I looked west on 5th Street and saw a great wall of rain approaching. I warned someone carrying bags of groceries, that the rain was half a block away. I don’t think he believed me until the rain hit him a few seconds later. I made it home wringing wet, it felt great.
This beautiful old Black Locust tree on the southeast corner of the park lost a good third of its height in sandy, but it is still impressive.
The leaning elm in the center of the park has been braced by an additional cable. It should be safe.
Another illustration for my tree map. The Hornbeam tree on the east side of the park was one of the first trees in the park that caught my attention at the start of this project. What struck me is the inflorescence, the green leafy flowery thing on the right in the illustration. It stays with the leaves throughout the entire season. I don’t yet know its function.
Update: I’m currently thinking that the cable is not frayed. It is an illusion from the restricted point of view. See below.
I’ve called 311 about this. What do you think. Does this cable look damaged to you. The elm tree next to the Krishna Elm has been drastically leaning for a long while. At one point two cables attached the two trees, supporting the leaning one on the east. Right now there is only one cable, and it looks frayed to me. The tree if it fell could possibly injure people sitting on the benches.
Taking a close look at a photo I took of the other side of the cable, the side attached to the Krishna Tree, I’m thinking that the cable is not frayed. I think what looks like fraying in the other photo is actually wire lashing on the cable. You can see it in this photo. The cable must be threaded through the eye, bent back and lashed back to itself with this wire. It’s the end of the lashing that looks like fraying in the first photo. But it still seems precarious to only have one cable supporting the great weight of this tree leaning over often occupied benches.
Free seed bombs from the People’s Puppets. Throw them in a vacant lot and maybe get a sunflower to grow.
Yo Soy 132 is a Mexican protest movement centered around the democratization of the country and its media. It began as opposition to the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) candidate Enrique Peña Nieto and the Mexican media’s allegedly biased coverage of the 2012 general election.[1] The name Yo Soy 132, Spanish for “I Am 132″, originated in an expression of solidarity with the protest’s initiators. Wiki
Gandhi statue is in the background.
Stealing the American Dream.
A World War II veteran who has observed May Day since 1937.
The rally centered around imigrant rights.
Jeffrey Berman sketching the scene, for a painting.
Another leafy icon for my map. Drawn from the just emerged leaves of the Dawn Redwood dedicated to Steve Jobs in Tompkins Square Park’s central lawn. tsptip.org/ This is mostly rendered in Inkscape, a vector based drawing program similar to Illustrator. It’s labor saving for drawings like this in that I can create one element of it and duplicate and warp it into shape, as opposed to drawing them over and over again. Also you can do things like change the colors globally or individually. It’s a very deep program, you could spend years learning all that it can do. And it is free.
A large turnout for CB3‘s Land Use committee meeting last night.
Fred Harris from NYCHA came to say that public housing is in financial difficulty as Federal support is drastically down in these political times where support for public anything is difficult to obtain. NYCHA wants to grant 99 year leases to commercial developers to their parking lots, playgrounds and parks (or as he called them “seating areas”. They propose that this is the only way that they can obtain the money to make needed repairs and preserve public housing. The proposal is here Only one person from the public spoke in favor of the leasing plan at this meeting.
Skeptical onlooker.
The council members for the most part seemed to agree with the opponents of NYCHA’s plans.
Rosie Mendez. District 2 – City Council Member was also critical of NYCHA.
An advocate for trees and sky.
Notes from Kathy von Hartz: I am speaking for Friends of Meltzer, which is a
group of neighborhood residents who live near Meltzer Tower and are opposed to the NYCHA
Infill Plan, especially as it relates to Meltzer with its 250 low income seniors and its adjacent
park.When Meltzer was designed over forty years ago, open space was left to compensate for
the 20 story tower in a low rise area. NOW NYCHA PROPOSES TO TAKE THIS OASIS AWAY
AND LEASE IT TO DEVELOPERS TO BUILD A LUXURY RENTAL TOWER.
Our opposition is based on issues of environmental justice. The senior residents deserve to be
able to enjoy their last years breathin fresh air and walking and exercising and sitting in the
shade of the trees. At Meltzer, the Infill Plan would detroy this park with 30 five story high trees
that are over 50 feel high. THESE TREES AND THE FRESH AIR AND SUNLIGHT AND OPEN
SPACE ARE NOT REPLACEABLE.
Moreover, there are environmental issues for the neighborhood. This is a community with a
high population density. Meltzer Park is an oasis for the residents and the entire community.
When you walk by the park in summer, the temperature of the air is lower by several degrees.
Friends of Meltzer would like your committee to make a motion to oppose NYCHA’S current
plan because it will diminish the quality of life for Meltzer’s residents and the entire community.
Why should a large ungainly structure be imposed on paark space that was designed to make a
plaza for people’s use? This is not compatible with zoning that makes the City more livable.
We love the mayor’s Million Trees Initiative. So why cut down 31 trees in their prime?
Friends of Meltzer would like your committee to include a motion to require NYCHA to hold a
public meeting….as was requested in a letter by most local, state and federal officials. They
also requested that the Infill Plan follow ULURP requirements so that the community can know
the specifics of the NYCHA Infill Plan and have the opportunity to comment, especially as
regards to environmental concerns.
Friends of Meltzer opposes the loss of Meltzer Park because it will affect public health, public
safety and air quality.
I didn’t catch their names but they are environmental lawyers who provided a list of questions that NYCHA needs to answer. The conclusion of the Land Use committee was that this leasing project need to be slowed down and studied and that they need to have answer for many environmental problems.
