Upper Green Side

2009 on the Upper Green Side

Though it was unbelievably cold, many people braved the windchill and threat of snow to come to the last day of the East 82nd Street Greenmarket a few weeks back and line up (yes, there were lines!) for fresh produce, organic bread, and local wine – a true testament to how vital the market has become. Our little market that started three years ago with only 4 farmers’ stands has now grown to 8 diverse vendors of specialty items such as local wine, grass fed beef, lavender wares and many other local & sustainable goods.

In 2009, Upper Green Side continued to support local and sustainable food by maintaining a presence at our two local markets at 82nd and 92nd Streets. We educated many people about the simple ways they can “go green.” We held electronic and paper recycling events in cooperation with the City’s Office of Recycling Outreach and Education and local community partners. We also produced and launched the first eco-map of the Upper East Side, providing the community with a practical way to find green resources in their neighborhood. Upper Green Side also stepped up its transportation advocacy during the fall. In October we did a letter writing campaign to advocate for protected bike lanes and Bus Rapid Transit on First and Second Avenue that has already produced results: Recently, a coalition of 11 elected officials have joined our effort to support bringing protected bike lanes and Bus Rapid Transit to the East Side of Manhattan!

Thanks to everyone who came out to our markets, wrote a letter in support of better transit, recycled their old electronics, shredded some paper, or even just took steps to start living greener. Thank you again for a great 2009 and here’s looking forward to an even better 2010!

TreeCycle! Bring Your Holiday Tree to Mulchfest 2010!

On January 9th and 10th bring your holiday tree to a designated city park to be recycled into mulch that will nourish plantings across the city!  Watch your tree go into the chipper and become environment-friendly mulch.  And you can take some home for your own yard or garden!  Just don’t forget to remove all decorations from the trees BEFORE bringing them to a City park. You don’t want those cool NYC Transit ornaments to end up “fertilizing” your new street tree, now do ya?!

Participating parks on the Upper East Side include:

Carl Schurz Park (East End & 86th Street) and nearby Thomas Jefferson Park ( 114th Street & 1st Avenue, drop off only)

A complete list of participating Parks around the City can be found here.

More About MulchFest

MulchFest is an annual event held by the Department of Parks & Recreation that provides New Yorkers with the opportunity to bring their holiday trees to be recycled at designated sites across the five boroughs. At these sites we use “chipping machines” to turn dead trees into mulch. The mulch can then be placed in tree pits and horticultural areas to help conserve warmth and soil moisture throughout the winter. Mulch also helps inhibit the growth of weeds. Parks encourages New Yorkers to help the environment and their community by participating in this event and taking home some mulch for use on trees in their community!

The (Polluted) Air Up There

According to a new air quality study released last week, the Upper East Side has some of the most polluted air in the entire City. The City’s first Community Air Survey (pdf) used highly technical sensors to monitor the level of four types of air pollutants (fine particles, Nitrogen Oxides, Elemental Carbon, Sulfur Dioxide, and Ozone, which have been linked to a variety of health problems such as asthma) in over 150 locations throughout the five boroughs. Download the full report here (pdf).

Though many people may be shocked (and even a bit appalled) to hear that the once-perceived rarefied air of the UES is in fact some of the City’s dirtiest, the news should sadly come as no surprise. The neighborhood has long been home to a high concentration of older buildings, many of which still house old boilers and furnaces that burn a heavy grade of heating oil. In fact, the study showed that Community District 8, whose boundaries reach from Fifth Avenue to Roosevelt Island and from 59th to 96th Street, had significantly high levels of sulfur dioxide, a byproduct of burning heavy heating oil. In addition, crushing congestion from two nearby bridges and regular street traffic of taxis, cars, and trucks do more than their fair share to contribute particulate matter and other toxins to the district’s poor air quality.

The survey’s findings, released coincidentally with the holding of the Copenhagen climate talks, should serve as a wake up call to City leaders and residents that now is the time to act. We cannot continue to rely on heavy oil to heat our homes and car-centric transportation planning that cause health problems in the short term while contributing to global warming in the long-term.

Upper Green Side is currently working together with local community groups and stakeholders to help clean our polluted air. We will be rolling out some new programming and events in 2010 focused on greater building efficiency and the steps people can take to make an immediate difference. There will also be opportunities for volunteers to directly assist in our advocacy efforts. Stay tuned as we work together to clean our air and make our neighborhood a healthier, safer place to live!

Snow Day!

Quite a little snowstorm we had over the weekend. Hope everyone was able to enjoy the snow safely!

East River Greenway Initiative

The East River Greenway Initiative seeks to create a well maintained, full length, world class Waterfront Esplanade & Greenway similar to the Hudson River Greenway on the West Side of Manhattan. This includes a significant widening of the current Greenway in many places and connecting the gaps that still exist, especially the major gap that extends from East 37th Street to East 60th Street that currently creates an extremely dangerous situation for cyclists and other Greenway users.

We are building a coalition of community stakeholders that supports closing the gap and improving the East River Greenway.

Continue reading East River Greenway Initiative…

“Bikes in Buildings” Law Goes into Effect

image: NYCDOT

Though today’s weather conditions may not make for a perfect bike ride (the wind chill could possibly dip the temperature below 20 degrees!), its still a great day to be a bicycle advocate in New York City.

Local Law 52, officially dubbed the “Bicycle Access to Office Buildings Law” goes into effect today enabling the growing commuter cyclists community across NYC to safely (and legally) park their bikes next to the water cooler. Well maybe not next to the water cooler…not yet at least. That’s because the law was written to put the motivation on the cyclist to first ensure that bikes can be “allowed.”

The Brooklyn Paper has a great article out today detailing exactly what people need to first do in order to start bringing their bikes on in from the cold.

Continue reading “Bikes in Buildings” Law Goes into Effect…

City Council Passes Laws to Curb Greenhouse Gases

Yesterday, the City Council passed the Greener, Greater Buildings plan (albeit a water-downed version) “to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from existing government, commercial, and residential buildings.” Though the package of bills contains weaker requirements than what was originally intended, the laws represent the biggest step yet to achieving the vision of a greener, healthier, more sustainable future. The legislation will reduce New York City’s carbon emissions by almost 5%, create more than 17,000 jobs, and save New Yorkers $700 million dollars a year in energy costs.

Continue reading City Council Passes Laws to Curb Greenhouse Gases…

Roll-Down Grates as Community Message Boards

This week the City Council passed legislation banning NYC’s ubiquitous roll-down security grates. City Room,the New York Times NYC blog, invited readers to consider whether a more beautiful or useful design for roll-down gates would make them worth preserving.

One idea could be to use the roll-down grate facade as a blank community message board for non-profits and community groups, giving them a public forum to get out public service messages or campaigns. Here’s Upper Green Side’s take:

Before

After

Continue reading Roll-Down Grates as Community Message Boards…

Donate Your Air Miles

Air travel does have a harmful impact on the environment and is a major driver of climate change. Many folks have to fly to see family or for work related trips. One trap that good environmentalists should not get wrapped up in is getting sucked into the airline reward programs that offer early boarding or free tickets for trips. And some people feel the need to use up their miles before the end of the year which makes it more likely you are taking a totally unnecessary trip.

Continue reading Donate Your Air Miles…

Select Bus Service & the Second Avenue Subway

Last night Manhattan Community Board 8 held its November Second Avenue Subway Task Force meeting in front of a packed house of concerned citizens clamoring for details on the much-maligned, yet much-needed subway line.

SAS Ancillary Building Material Samples

The majority of the night’s presentation revolved around construction updates from project team members and a discussion of the architectural finishes for the ventilation ancillary buildings. People in attendance were most interested in the design of the ancillary buildings and they’re anticipated impact on the neighborhood. Since the last subway line was completed nearly a half-century ago, safety and fire codes have been updated to require proper and safe ventilation of any newly constructed subway. Sidewalk grates, long a familiar sight of NYC’s street-scape, are no longer up to code. Large self-sustaining ventilation shafts and towers must now be built along new routes.

97th Street Ancillary Building

One important issue that was NOT discussed was whether or not the MTA is considering a plan to accommodate NYC DOT’s roll-out of Bus Rapit Transit, also known as Select Bus Service (SBS) along 2nd Avenue, scheduled to be in operation at some point next year. From the presentation’s slides concerning the utility relocation and gas-line work for the new stations, it seems that most of the Avenue will continue to be under some form of construction well into the next few years. Based on the information presented, its not hard to see how Select Bus Service on 2nd Avenue could possibly be delayed. For one much-needed project to delay another would be a shame.

SBS plan for 1st & 2nd Aves

The MTA must work together with NYC DOT to ensure that reliable and efficient SBS operations can be seemlessly introduced along the Second Avenue corridor without undue delay. East Side residents need innovative and improved transit options sooner, rather than later.