Not just for Tree-Huggers: Street Tree Tour Sunday, 5/2

RESCHEDULED: The Tree Tour has been rescheduled for the rain date of Sunday, May 2, same times and location.

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340 Argyle Road, Beverley Square West, April 2007


Sustainable Flatbush's 3rd Annual Spring Street Tree Walking Tour will be Sunday, May 2. I'm proud to once again be one of your guides.

Sustainable Flatbush Street Tree Walking Tour, Arbor Day 2009. That's me in the middle, next to the tree. Photo by Keka (Flickr)


Tours start at 11am and 12noon from Sacred Vibes Apothecary, 376 Argyle Road, between Cortelyou & Dorchester Roads, and loop through the historic neighborhoods of Beverley Square West and landmarked Prospect Park South. In addition to architectural beauty, the area boasts a rich variety of street trees, as well as ornamental trees and shrubs.


View Sustainable Flatbush Spring 2010 Street Tree Walking Tour in a larger map

On the tour, you can see:

• Acer platanoides, Norway Maple
• Aesculus hippocastanum, Horsechestnut
• Amelanchier, Serviceberry
• Betula nigra, River Birch
• Cercis canadensis, Redbud
• Cornus florida, Flowering Dogwood
• Cryptomeria japonica, Japanese Red Cedar
• Ginkgo biloba, Ginkgo
• Gleditsia triacanthos, Honey Locust
• Liquidambar styraciflua, Sweetgum
• Metasequoia glyptostroboides, Dawn Redwood
• Pinus strobus, White Pine
• Platanus x acerifolia, London Plane
• Pyrus calleryana, Flowering Pear, Callery Pear
• Quercus palustris, Pin Oak
• Quercus robur 'Fastigiata', Columnar English Oak
• Sophora japonica, Japanese Pagoda Tree, Scholar Tree
• Tsuga canadensis, Eastern Hemlock
• Ulmus americana, American Elm

... and many more.

The suggested donation for the tour is $5. From the Sustainable Flatbush Web site:

The First Annual Great Flatbush Plant Swap, Saturday, April 24

Got some perennial divisions or extra seed-starts you don't need? Looking to start a new garden, and want some free plants? Looking to meet your gardening neighbors and pick up some tips?

Not the most ideal weekend to be digging in the garden, but if you're lifting, removing or dividing perennials, or have extra seed-starts, bring them to the First Annual Great Flatbush Plant Swap next Saturday, April 24, in front of the Flatbush Food Co-Op.

Co-sponsored by the Flatbush Food Co-op and Sustainable Flatbush, this is an opportunity to share or swap plants, meet your gardening neighbors, and get some free plants.

When: Saturday, April 24, 12noon-3pm, Rain or Shine
Where: Flatbush Food Co-op, 1415 Cortelyou Road, corner of Marlborough Road


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Links

Plant Swap at Flatbush Food Co-op on April 24th!, Sustainable Flatbush
Flatbush Food Co-op

Spring Cleaning on Cortelyou Road

The daffodils are pushing up along Cortelyou Road and they would be so much prettier if they don't bloom in the midst of garbage! Join Sustainable Flatbush and your neighbors from the Beverley Square West Association to help clean up the tree beds.

When: Sunday, March 21st
Where: Meet up at 10am in front of the Library, near the Greenmarket tent, at the corner of Argyle and Cortelyou Roads.
If you miss the meet-up, look for us along Cortelyou Road between Coney Island Avenue and East 16th Street.

Bring gloves and rakes if you have them; we will also have some to share. Children are welcome to join us!

Cortelyou Road Park, Park(ing) Day NYC

Park(ing) Gnome, Cortelyou Road Park, Flatbush, Brooklyn, 16:42 (4:42 pm)

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Worms!, 16:26 (4:26 pm)

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Bulldog Puppy, 15:27 (3:27 pm)

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Solar-powered Boom-box Experiment, 13:24 (1:24 pm)

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Ronny Wasserstrom and his amazing egg-juggling egg puppet, 12:54

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Biophilia in action, 11:29

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Cortelyou Road Park, Flatbush, Brooklyn, 11:09


An international event, with 55 sites this year in NYC, Park(ing) Day highlights the public space that is devoted to streets and parking. For one day only, groups transform a parking space into a public park. These creative and active sites suggest alternative purposes for such space that can benefit more people in a wider range of uses than storing an empty personal transportation vehicle.

Cortelyou Road Park is a project of the Livable Streets initiative of Sustainable Flatbush. As the Director of the Urban Gardens & Farms initiative of Sustainable Flatbush, I loaned much of my garden furniture and container plants to help transform a parking space on busy Cortelyou Road into a garden room.

We're having a great time, and the day is not quite half over as I write this first post of the day. I'll be trying to update during the day. You can also follow me today on Twitter.

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Slideshow

Cortelyou Road Park, this Friday, 9/18

Cortelyou Road Park, Flatbush, Brooklyn, Park(ing)Day NYC 2008


On Friday, September 18th, from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM, a park will be born: Sustainable Flatbush will transform a single 8’x15’ parking spot into a green space, complete with grass, plants, and seating. “Cortelyou Road Park,” in front of the Cortelyou Branch of the Brooklyn Public Library, at the corner of Cortelyou and Argyle Roads, in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn, is one of 50+ sites around New York City participating in Park(ing) Day, an international event.

I'm participating again this year. We'll be recreating a garden room in the parking spot, like we did last year, as you can see in the photo above.

Flatbush Frolic 2009

Sunday, I tabled for Sustainable Flatbush at the Flatbush Frolic. For the second year, Sustainable Flatbush presented an Environmental Fair at the Frolic, partnering with organizations that represent their four main initiatives: Energy Solutions, Livable Streets, Zero Waste, and Urban Gardens & Farms.

Now in its 33rd year, the Flatbush Frolic is one of a handful of street fairs that stands out from the hundreds NYC hosts annually. The Frolic is locally organized, and features local businesses and organizations.

Because I spent most of the day tabling, I didn't get to see much of the Frolic, but here's some of what I did see.

Flatbush Daffodil Project, Fall 2008

WHAT: The Flatbush Daffodil Project was founded in 2007 by Flatbush Gardener and Stacey Bell and this year is co-sponsored by Sustainable Flatbush.

We have 1,650 daffodil bulbs and they are going in the ground! Come do some real community gardening with your neighbors, plant daffodil bulbs in tree pits and along the streetscape.

Here's the complete schedule of streets to be planted:

11/2 - Cortelyou Road
11/8 - Newkirk Avenue
11/9 - PS 139 and PS 217

WHERE:
November 2,9: meet in front of the clock on Cortelyou & Rugby Roads
November 8: meet in front of PS 217, Newkirk Avenue between Stratford
Road & Coney Island Avenue

WHEN: November 2, 8 and 9. 10AM to 1pm.

WHY: Plant bulbs in the fall, enjoy the flowers in the spring!

Related Posts

Links

A recent history of Cortelyou Road

Cortelyou Road, North side, looking East from Westminster Road, September 2006, before the new streetscape was put in place in Spring of 2007.


Neighbor, friend, and local real estate agent Jan Rosenberg writes of changes in our neighborhood in the online journal NewGeography:

Twenty some years ago my husband, 2 young sons and I moved from our cramped 16-foot wide attached row house in Brooklyn’s trendy Park Slope to a free-standing, 7-bedroom Victorian house in the Ditmas Park section of Flatbush with stained glass windows, pocket doors, original wood paneling, a back yard, front porch, driveway and 2-car garage in a little-known, tree-lined neighborhood about 10 minutes away – on the other, high-crime side of Prospect Park.
- Gentrification from the inside out in Brooklyn's Ditmas Park

I know everyone's tired of hearing it from me, but this is not Ditmas Park. It's Beverley Square West and Ditmas Park West. Or Victorian Flatbush. Or just plain Flatbush. I suspect the editors provided the title, not Jan.

We're newcomers to the neighborhood. We've only been here since the Spring of 2005. Most of our neighbors have been here much longer than that, even longer than Jan's "twenty some" years. Jan summarizes what we hear from the "old-timers:" not so long ago, moving to this neighborhood was a pioneering act:

When crime exploded in the 1960s and welfare tenants were moved into some of the apartments, much of the middle class – white and black – fled. By the early 1990s many assumed that nothing could be done about the collapse of the quality of life. It wasn’t unusual for police officers in that era, many of whom lived in suburban Suffolk County, to respond to crime victims condescendingly by asking, “What do you expect if you live in a neighborhood like this?”

Little changed even after the extraordinary Giuliani/Bratton efforts brought down crime, little changed in the mid-1990s. The district’s once thriving shopping street, Cortelyou Road , still had no bank, no coffee shop, no diner, no sit-down restaurant, no children's store, no real estate office.

The "from the inside out" part describes the efforts by Jan and other long-time residents to build community through a variety of means. Jan focussed her efforts on the 7 blocks of Cortelyou Road, from Coney Island Avenue to East 17th Street, that are zoned to allow commercial use. She credits other neighbors, as well, with transforming Cortelyou Road into our Main Street:

One incredible woman, Susan Siegel, decided she wanted to bring a farmers market to the neighborhood. She worked on this full time, and a year later it opened! Some Cortelyou grocers objected to having it on their strip; a few vocal homeowners objected to unlocking a public school yard and using it to house the market. Ironically the fight over the market swelled into a local “pro-development” movement, made up of people alive to the new possibilities, and sparked a neighborhood newsletter.

Once it opened in 2002, the Farmers Market became an informal community center, a literal common ground, for our neighborhood. The Market became a place where the full range of neighborhood residents could come together to buy fresh fruits and vegetables and to catch up on what’s happening in the schools, the playgrounds, and stores including a highly successful organic food co-op. Until then, only the homeowners were organized but now new co-op owners, home owners, and renters all came, mingling freely with each other, and with “veterans”, in a way that had not previously been the case.

Red Jacket Orchards, Greenmarket, Cortelyou Road, July 2007


Although Jan doesn't mention it in her article, the transformation of the Cortelyou Road streetscape resulted from many years of organizing and planning from several different sources, including the Flatbush Development Corporation (FDC). FDC has been active since arson for insurance fraud was a serious concern for the neighborhood, unthinkable today, when the same homes that might have been torched 20 years ago are going for over $1 million. FDC sponsors the annual Flatbush Frolic, which takes place on Cortelyou Road, and has been running for 31 years.

Cobblestones, Cortelyou Road, South side, West of Stratford Road, march 2007. That's Coney Island Avenue in the background.


The new clock at night, in April 2008, shortly after it was installed this Spring, on the grounds of P.S. 139 at the corner of Rugby Road.


Even before we moved into the neighborhood, James Heaton's Flatbush Residents Email Network Database - FREND - served as an introduction to the cultural landscape and issues of the neighborhood we were adopting.

Jim Heaton, a local advertising executive initiated an online newsletter, FREND, [which] served to “connect” nearly a thousand people and families to the new initiatives, particularly around the Farmers Market and crime ...

The successor to FREND is The Flatbush Family Network, started by two other neighbors:

The on-line contribution really blossomed in 2003 when Ellen Moncure and Joe Wong revived the Flatbush Family Network (FFN) . This site has become an invaluable source of neighborhood and childrearing information for the many young families who live here. For many people moving into this neighborhood, FFN provides an initial introduction and orientation to life in this neighborhood. For those who live here, it’s a convenient, ongoing source of information and support.

Related Content

Cortelyou Road Park, Park(ing) Day NYC 2008, September 2008
The Daffodil Project is in bloom on Cortelyou Road, April 2008
Cortelyou Road (Flickr Collection)

Links

Gentrification from the inside out in Brooklyn's Ditmas Park, NewGeography
Changing Ditmas Park, Ditmas Park Blog
Race, Class and Gentrification in Ditmas Park, Brownstoner

Cortelyou Road Park, Park(ing) Day NYC 2008

Cortelyou Road Park, Park(ing) Day 2008


For the second year, Sustainable Flatbush created Cortelyou Road Park, a mini-park-for-the-day on Cortelyou Road in Flatbush that was one of 50 such sites across New York City.

For our park, I loaned furniture and container plants from my garden to recreate a garden room on Cortelyou Road. The grass was sod donated by Transportation Alternatives (T.A.). The Flatbush Food Co-op donated a gift basket to be raffled off, and kept us stocked in popcorn and chips. Vox Pop donated urns of coffee.

Setting up





JUMP!


Finger painting



Drawing


Bounty donated by the Flatbush Food Coop


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Related Content

Flickr photo set

Links

Park(ing) Day 2008, Sustainable Flatbush
Flatbush Food Co-op
Vox Pop

Park(ing) Day NYC
Park(ing) Day
Eyebeam
Transportation Alternatives (T.A.)
The Open Planning Project (TOPP)
The Trust for Public Land
Cortelyou Branch, Brooklyn Public Library, 1305 Cortelyou Rd. at Argyle Road

Visit Cortelyou Road Park on Park(ing) Day, Friday, September 19

Cortelyou Road Park, Park(ing) Day 2007. Photo: Keka Marzagão


On Friday, September 19th, Sustainable Flatbush will transform a parking spot on Cortelyou Road in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn into a park, complete with grass, plants, and seating. "Cortelyou Road Park", located on the corner of Cortelyou and Argyle Roads [GMAP], is one of 50 sites around New York City – twice as many as last year – participating in Park(ing) Day, an international event.

"Park(ing) Day is an opportunity to create a community gathering space, and to make a statement about how we allocate public space," says Anne Pope, Founder/Director of Sustainable Flatbush. "In this neighborhood, despite all the beautiful homes and lawns and gardens, the amount of public green space per person is much lower than the city average."

Cortelyou Road Park will be open from 9AM to dusk and include activities for children and adults – a school and several day care centers are located nearby – and an art exhibition in the adjacent plaza of the local Brooklyn Public Library branch. "Using 160 square feet of concrete for temporary storage of an automobile benefits only its owner. If we can take that area and transform it into something magical that is enjoyed by dozens of people, maybe that's a better use of the space," says Pope. "I hope it gets people thinking about how public space can be allocated for the maximum benefit."

This year, park builders are putting new emphasis on site-specific designs that will reflect the social, cultural, and architectural contexts in which they're situated. This approach will also generate innovative proof-of-concept designs for permanent public space reclamation. Seating areas, art installations, and community engagement will all make the case for a more sensible and human-friendly distribution of available urban public space.

Also new is Park(ing) Day Redux, taking place on October 18th. This capstone exhibit will feature a rebuild of selected parking spots on a closed street in front of Eyebeam Art and Technology Center on West 21st Street, photos and media from the September event, and a mixer with the city's most imaginative public space interventionists.

Sustainable Flatbush brings neighbors together to discuss, educate, and advocate for sustainable living in our Brooklyn neighborhood and beyond. Their vision of a sustainable neighborhood includes equal access to healthy food and open spaces; preserving affordable housing (and the diverse population it enables) through innovative energy practices; and high-quality, resource-efficient transportation options (including cycling). As residents of one of the most culturally diverse neighborhoods in the nation, they strive to learn from each other and emulate global best practices in sustainability, whether that translates into cutting-edge technology or just living more simply.

Links

Sustainable Flatbush
Park(ing) Day NYC
Park(ing) Day
Eyebeam
Transportation Alternatives (T.A.)
The Open Planning Project (TOPP)
The Trust for Public Land
Cortelyou Branch, Brooklyn Public Library, 1305 Cortelyou Rd. at Argyle Road

Sycamore

Potted plants and gardening tchotkes on display at Sycamore


Not the tree, but a new flower shop/bar that opened last week around the corner from me. During the day, it will operate as a flower shop, evenings, as a bar. This new venture from the owners of The Farm on Adderley, Gary Jonas and Allison McDowell, replaces Cortelyou Vintage at 1118 Cortelyou Road in my neighborhood of Flatbush.

When the street front was renovated, they discovered the original stained and leaded glass lights of the store windows. They had been painted over, but were in otherwise good condition; they were restored with lots of cleaning, plus some replacements and repairs. The flower shop occupies just the front of the space, visible from the street.

Storefront, Sycamore, 1118 Cortelyou Road












The bar occupies the rest of the space.





The garden theme continues to the shelves behind the bar.



A backyard deck extends the space to the outdoors, likely to the dismay of the neighbors.



A wall of Boston Ivy, Parthenocissus tricuspidata


Every new business on Cortelyou Road is examined under the collective microscope of the community, sometimes on blogs, but mostly on email discussion groups and in casual conversation. This block of Cortelyou, in particular, has seen a lot of change in the 3-1/2 years I've lived in the neighborhood. As in other neighborhoods of Brooklyn, change highlights tensions between "old" and "new" Flatbush, especially around the issues of economic sustainability and neighborhood and cultural stability. With specialty roses at $2 a stem, not to mention beers at up to $8 and $10, Sycamore will amplify those concerns.

That said, this is, at least, a neighborhood enterprise. Gary and Allison live just two blocks away in Flatbush. The architect, Ole Sondresen, who also designed The Farm on Adderley, is also a neighbor of mine. They are investing their energy and creativity into the neighborhood where they live. That, I think, is a good thing.

Related Content

Flickr photo set
Cortelyou Road

Links

Ole Sondresen
Flatbush Vegan
Ditmas Park Blog
Brooklyn Paper

Frolic in Flatbush this Sunday, September 14

This is not your ordinary, generic, same-vendors-at-every-event street fair. For the second year in a row, the Frolic is organized completely by staff and volunteers from FDC and the Flatbush community.

Via press release.

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The Flatbush Development Corporation is proud to announce that the THIRTY FIRST ANNUAL FLATBUSH FROLIC neighborhood street fair is set to take place on Sunday, September 14, 2008 in Victorian Flatbush on Cortelyou Rd. between Coney Island and Ocean Avenues, from 11.00am to 6.00pm, rain or shine.

This year’s FROLIC theme is "Flatbush United Nation AKA F.U.N.: From Many Places, Many Shining Faces." The Cortelyou Road farmer’s market, a chili-cook-off, bake-a-rama, arts & crafts shows, environmental showcase, and Sports Challenge with Martial Arts, Gymnastics and Basketball Tournament will be just some of the attractions showing the diversity back of this stretch of former farmland in Brooklyn. “We want to celebrate with great local artists and music acts from the heart of Brooklyn, and capture the spirit of the community unity, with participants who’ve come from all over the world but who’ve chosen to live work and play here in Flatbush,” said Mannix Gordon, FDC’s director of economic development, who’s organizing the event.

With an annual headcount of over twenty thousand attendees, the FROLIC is the ultimate celebration of this unique Brooklyn neighborhood and all it has to offer: its history, diversity, character, Victorian architecture, tree-lined streets and its charming feel of Americana in the big city.

Fairground attractions will include a wide range of local food and retail vendors, children's rides and activities, and information booths detailing the neighborhood and its local businesses.

This year we’re proud to bring three stages of live music to Cortelyou. The main stage at Rugby road will showcase an eclectic mix of top Kid Rock, Hillbilly Blues, Reggae, Experimental Jazz, Hip Hop Soul and R&B acts.

- The Dirty Sock Funtime Band: the highest energy kids' rock band ever to break out of NYC

- Alegba & Friends w/Jeanine Truly and funky band; intense diva vocals and all-female horn players. Alegba & Friends Band: local roots reggae jazz superstars

- Sean Nowell Band Cerebral Music, but played with soul and feeling; ballads that somehow build into frenetic climaxes

- Tah Phrum Duh Bush & Coole High presenting Off the Dome Flatbush Hip Hop & Phat Beats

- 37 Deep Showcase: Radikal is a live fusion of SOUL, R&B, HIP-HOP, and World music

- The Waywords Hillbilly Blues for the New Millennium with Slim Dixon

- Carlos Jimenez Orchestra & The Latin Fever Dancers High Energy Horn Blowin, Roof raising Toe stomping Latin Jazz with the fabulous and famous dancers form Cortelyou Road.

At Stratford Road at the Western Stage, in front of the Vox Pop café, bookstore and performance space, performers from Victorian Flatbush will showcase the best the neighborhood has to offer. Jenny Hill & Liquid Horn [Brazilian Jazz] Demander [Indie Rock] is a post-sexy, post-punk, post-gregorian/ambrosian trio that sets fire., My Sister in 1994 (indie rock), Robbers on High Street – (indie rock), Andrew Thomas and the Believers (alternative) Rene Collins (reggae folk) Proud Simon (indie rock) a whirlwind of sounds and stories.

A Third stage at the Eastern end will have latin dance lessons all day, by Marisol of Latin Fever Dance Studio, DJ Copa and Tah Phrum The Bush will host an open-mic in the afternoon. Sure to please and get you dancing. And if that’s not enough check out Midwood Martial Arts all-day activities in the ‘Just For Kids’ area & the ‘Cortelyou Station’, Cynthia King Dance Studio and CASYM Steel Pan Orchestra B (Calypso), Traditional Pakistani, Chinese Music & More!!

Fairground attractions include: a carnival amusement park, baking contests, basketball tournaments, games of chance, double-dutch contests, Cortelyou Station martial arts exposition, interactive dance and arts & crafts. Environmental attractions sponsored by Flatbush Food Coop and Sustainable Flatbush will challenge you to think, act and promote green technology.

Stay tuned for more special events, guests, elected officials and public speakers.

FOR VENDING & GENERAL INQUIRIES: please contact Joyce or Jean @ FDC @ 718.859.3800

FOR MUSIC, PRESS & SPONSORSHIP INFORMATION: please contact Mannix Gordon @ 718.859.4831 mgordon@fdconline.org

Links

Flatbush Frolic Web site
Flatbush Development Corporation (FDC)

Weed Cortelyou some more this weekend

This weekend Flatbush residents have two more opportunities to weed, clean up, and mulch tree pits along Cortelyou Road:

• Saturday, July 12, 9am to 12 noon, between Rugby and Marlborough Roads. Meet at the clock at the northwest corner of Rugby and Cortelyou, by the school and playground.
  
• Sunday, July 13, 9am to 12noon, between East 16th and East 17th Streets. Meet at the corner of East 16th and Cortelyou.
  

One of the tree pits on Cortelyou Road between Rugby and Marlborough, across the street from the Food Co-op, June 28, 2008. The weeds were as high as the parking meter then. They're even higher now.


We will be there both mornings from 9am to 12noon or when that block is weeded, whichever comes first. No gardening experience necessary! We will show you what to do.

Bring your own drinking water, sunscreen, and gloves and be ready to get dirty.

Thanks to Flatbush Development Corporation for buying mulch for the tree pits! And many thanks to my neighbor, Tracey Hohman, for jump-starting this cleanup!

Related Posts

• Cortelyou Weeded (Partly), July 5, 2008
• Weeding Cortelyou, June 28, 2008
  

Links

• Flatbush Development Corporation
• Invasive and Noxious Weeds of the Northeast, USDA PLANTS Database

Cortelyou Weeded (Partly)

Before: Weeding Cortelyou


This morning I joined about a dozen neighbors to weed, clean up, and mulch the tree pits on Cortelyou Road between Argyle and Rugby Roads. Many hands made light work of the 15 tree pits on the north and south sides of this one block. We got them all done in about 2-1/2 hours.

They look great. If you visit the Greenmarket tomorrow, or visit the block during the week, take a look and thank your neighbors. Thanks to Tracey Hohman for organizing this. And thanks to Flatbush Development Corporation for buying mulch for the tree pits!

After: Cortelyou Weeded


Weeded and mulched tree pit


We could only do this one block. There's more to be done. If you're available to help out on upcoming weekends, please let us know by responding to the poll in the upper-right of the sidebar, or email me at the address in my profile.

Related Posts

Weeding Cortelyou

Links

Flatbush Development Corporation
Invasive and Noxious Weeds of the Northeast, USDA PLANTS Database

Cortelyou Greenmarket Update: Raffle and more farmers

From Stacey McCarthy, market manager:

This Sunday, July 6, at the Cortelyou Road Farmers Market, come by the information table to enter the FREE RAFFLE of Greenmarket goodies donated by our market's farmers. Presented in a stylish Greenmarket tote bag, the raffle items will be available to pick up next Sunday, July 13.

This week promises to be a full house with the arrival of VICTOR PAVIA of El Mirador Farms. Victor tells me he will have a good selection of lettuce, herbs, summer squash and SQUASH BLOSSOMS. Victor, like Jorge Carmona of Amantai Farms, is part of the New Farmer Development Program, which "identifies, educates, and supports immigrants with agricultural experience by helping them become local farmers and establish small farms in the region." Pick up a program fact sheet at the information table to learn more about the program that trains the next generation of our regions farmers.

Farmers in July 6:

• Hodgson’s, Walden, NY -- plenty of plants, rose bushes, herbs, and strawberries
  
• Red Jacket Orchard’s, Geneva, NY -- apples, CHERRIES, juices
• El Mirador Farm, New Jersey -- ZUCCHINI BLOSSOMS, lettuce
• Muddy River Farm, New Hampton, NY -- Lettuce, SUGAR SNAP PEAS, fennel, HERBS, BEETS
• Amantai Farm/Jorge Carmona, Breinigsville, PA -- Lettuce, cucumbers - perfect for pickling or eating as is, greens, zucchini, GREEN BEANS and YELLOW WAX BEANS, honey
• Bread Alone, Boiceville, NY -- bread, pies, muffins
• Meredith’s Bakery, Kingston, NY -- bread, pies, QUICHES, jams
  

Probably (!) coming on July 6: Knoll Crest Farm, Hyde Park, NY -- Eggs, chickens, and pasta

COMING SOON ... sometime in July: Valley Shepherd, Long Valley, New Jersey -- artisanal cave aged cheeses, plus yogurt

Weeding Cortelyou, Saturday, July 5, 2008

Update 7/7: See Cortelyou Weeded (Partly)Update 7/1: Please fill out the survey at the top of the sidebar to let us know if you're able to help weed this Saturday. Several folks have indicated that Saturday's not good for them, so if another date would work, please let us know that, too.

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A tree pit on Cortelyou Road needin' weedin'. Note that the weeds are as high as the parking meter.Next Saturday morning, July 5th, starting at 9am, join Flatbush residents, gardening and non-gardening alike, to help weed and clean up the tree pits along Cortelyou Road between Coney Island Avenue and East 16th Street.

Tired of looking at all the weeds in our beautiful new tree pits? Come and help us weed Cortelyou! Meet at the Cortelyou Library at the corner of Argyle Road on Cortelyou, on Saturday, July 5th at 9am. We will be there all morning. No gardening experience necessary! We will show you what to do.Bring your own drinking water, sunscreen, and gloves and be ready to get dirty.

Thanks to Flatbush Development Corporation for buying mulch for the tree pits! And many thanks to my neighbor, Tracey Hohman, for jump-starting this cleanup!Neighbor Stacey Bell planting Daffodils in Fall of 2007.If you have any questions, you can contact Tracey by email at thohman [at] verizon {dot} net, or contact me through the email in my profile, available in the sidebar.

Related Posts

Cortelyou Weeded, July 6, 2008Cortelyou Road

Links

Flatbush Development CorporationInvasive and Noxious Weeds of the Northeast, USDA PLANTS Database

Sunday, April 27: Sustainable Flatbush Street Tree Walking Tour

Updated 2008.04.21: Added Google Map.

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Westminster Road, Beverley Square West, looking north from Cortelyou Road


On Sunday, April 27, in celebration of Arbor Day weekend and Spring in bloom, join Sustainable Flatbush and others as we take a walking tour of one of our neighborhood's greatest assets: our street trees.

Experience the neighborhood's amazing wealth of street trees — including some that are more than 100 years old!

Throughout the tour, your street tree guide will:

• Identify trees and their characteristics
  
• Share interesting facts
  
• Explore local tree history
  
• Discuss the many ways street trees benefit the environment
  
• Explain how to obtain and care for street trees
  

and much more!

Newly Planted Street Tree on Cortelyou Road


Credit: Keka Marzagao


WHEN:
Sunday, April 27, 2008, Arbor Day Weekend, 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM

LOCATION:
Tours start and finish at 1414 Cortelyou Rd, the office of NY State Assembly Members James Brennan and Rhoda Jacobs. The tour will loop through the neighborhoods of Beverley Square West and the landmarked Prospect Park South Historic District.

DIRECTIONS:
Take the Q train to Cortelyou Rd. and walk one block west (left), toward Marlborough Rd., after exiting the station.

SPECIAL DETAILS:
The tour is just about a mile in length and will take place rain or shine.
Please dress appropriately for the weather and the walk.


View Larger Map

Tree identification with Trees NY at Greening Flatbush


ABOUT SUSTAINABLE FLATBUSH: Sustainable Flatbush provides a neighborhood-based forum to discuss, promote and implement sustainability concepts in Brooklyn and beyond.

Hydrant and Tree, 297 Westminster Road, Beverley Square West

Related Posts

Factoids: Street Trees and Property Values, December 2, 2007
Factoids: NYC's Street Trees and Stormwater Reduction, November 15, 2007
Basic Research: The State of the Forest in New York City, November 12, 2007

Links

Street-Tree Walking Tour next Sunday!, Sustainable Flatbush
Trees NY