The official announcement of GARDENS RISING will take place tomorrow, Monday, November 2, 2015 at 10 am at La Plaza Cultural. We are asking all gardeners to show our unity and support for this very important project by attending and making your voices heard.

GARDENS RISING is a New York State funded project to build green infrastructure in the Loisaida community gardens for storm water capture and abatement. This is a $2 million grant through the HUD-funded NY Rising program, which came as a response to Hurricane Sandy.

New York City Community Gardens Coalition (NYCCGC), and their partners NYC Parks’ GreenThumb and LUNGS (Loisaida United Neighborhood Gardens) will announce this Community Development Block Grant. This is Disaster Recovery funding from the New York State Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery (GOSR) to undertake a feasibility study for stormwater capture best practices within the community gardens of the Lower East Side of Manhattan and to implement the study with an extensive green infrastructure.

This is a two-phase project. The first phase is to develop a Feasibility Study and Master Plan. The Master Plan will combine the best of community engagement, landscape design, engineering and creative thinking about storm water management with cost effectiveness and sustainable practices.  The Master Plan will be approved by October 2016 and will end phase one. The second phase is the implementation the Master Plan, construction must be completed by September 2019.

GARDENS RISING is a community based operation, all decisions will ultimately be made by the gardeners affected, gardens can choose to participate or not. A Steering Committee of gardeners will be elected and make the final determinations as to the Master Plan.

This as a huge step forward for our community gardens. We are finally being recognized as a vital environmental asset. GARDENS RISING puts us at the center of the greening movement in New York City.

We hope to parlay this grant into other funding to build other sustainable systems throughout Loisaida and become a Green Lab for the City.  We can look at this as seed money to attract more greening programs and grants into our remarkable and diverse community. GARDENS RISING should be interwoven other projects involving permaculture, renewable energy, conservation, local food production, rat abatement policies, composting practices, citizen science, and other ideas and practices that will evolve with this process.

We have much work to do to make GARDENS RISING a success but for now let’s celebrate our community gardens and think this new opportunity to contribute to our common future.

So Tomorrow–Please join City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, City Councilwoman Rosie Mendez, Parks Commissioner Mitchell Silver, many other electeds and your fellow gardeners for this important announcement.

Halloween Garden celebrations this weekend:

Friday, October 30 at 3pm–Children’s Magical Garden, 129 Stanton St, corner of Stanton and Norfolk

Music, delicious food from local sources including hot cocoa and sandwiches from Tiny’s Giant Sandwich Shop, goodies, apples, pumpkin painting, art making, games, bulb planting, fairy card readings, community, dancing bananas, super heros, elves and sprites under the apple trees…

Come One, Come All to the Children’s Magical Garden’s annual Halloween Party!

It’s a free event with all donations benefiting our community garden! Come join the fun!

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31
LA PLAZA Cultural–9th St and Ave C
Come and get Slimed…!
4pm Spooky Storytime with the Witch
5-7pm Kids’ Halloween Party
Rat Race MAze, Fortune TELLER, Laboratory of Horrors, Slime Tent, Ghost Walks and Treats

Also Saturday night—
LUNGS Halloween DANCE PARTY — at CAMPOS GARDEN—
640 E. 12th St  between Aves B & C–8PM ON,
LA MUSICA by Ray Santiago and Friends
CELEBRATION–Costumes? Oh YEAH!!—-Come as You Ain’t
TRIX ARE FOR KIDS–BRING YOUR OWN TREATS
Dance Gypsies Dance !!

MONDAY PRESS CONFERENCE FOR GARDENS RISING
at LaPlaza Cultural 10am
PLEASE come to this Press conference and learn more about this important project.
On Monday, November 2^nd, at 10 A.M. New York City Community Gardens Coalition (NYCCGC), with our partners NYC Parks’ GreenThumb and LUNGS (Loisaida United Neighborhood Gardens) will announce that we are the recipient of Community Development Block Grant. This is Disaster Recovery funding from the New York State Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery (GOSR) to undertake a feasibility study for stormwater capture best practices within the community gardens of the Lower East Side of Manhattan and to implement the study with an extensive green infrastructure.

The Study — Gardens Rising — will combine community-based participation with engineering expertise, to develop a green infrastructure study and Master Plan to increase the permeability and stormwater capture within forty-seven neighborhood/community gardens located in Lower Manhattan.

This is a two-phase project: the first phase is to develop a Master Plan. This Master Plan will combine the best of landscape design, engineering and creative thinking with cost effectiveness and sustainable practices. The Master Plan will be approved by October 2016. The second phase is the implementation the Master Plan, and construction must be completed by September 2019.

In general, the Master Plan will examine the feasibility, costs, benefits and impacts of proposed stormwater capture locations and methods to increase permeability and green space in the neighborhood gardens to better absorb stormwater and runoff. The Study Area is roughly bounded by 14th Street on the north, the East River on the east, Delancey Street on the south, and the Bowery/Fourth Avenue on the west, and is home to forty-seven (47) gardens measuring approximately seven (7) acres.

The majority of the gardens reside within an area that was severely flooded during Superstorm Sandy and many were impacted directly by the storm. When completed the Plan will identify projects that will implement green infrastructure and stormwater capture systems to better outfit these gardens and neighborhoods. Each garden has its own governance and will be able to propose specific projects inside and adjacent to their lot(s). Flood Zone geography dictates areas that must be given priority.

Gardens Rising is a community-based operation, and all decisions will ultimately be made by the gardeners affected. Gardens can choose to participate or not. A Steering Committee of gardeners will be elected and will make the final determinations as to the Master Plan.

This is a huge step forward for our community gardens, which are finally being recognized as a vital environmental asset. It puts community gardens at the center of the greening movement in New York City. We intend to parlay this grant into additional funding to build other sustainable systems throughout the five boroughs and become a Green Lab for the City.

NYCCGC envisions this as an opportunity to attract more greening programs and grants into our community. Gardens Rising should be interwoven with permaculture, solar energy, rat abatement policies, composting practices, citizen science, and other ideas and practices that will evolve with this process.

NYCCGC has been assisted in developing Gardens Rising by NYC Parks’ GreenThumb which provides material support, technical assistance, and programming to over 600 community gardens and 500 school gardens across New York City. These community gardens, managed by neighborhood residents, provide critical urban green space for thousands of New Yorkers in addition to helping to improve air quality, bio-diversity, and environmental equity.