Union Square Greenmarket Night Market

July 12, 2013
Posted in Greenmarket

On Wednesday, July 17, Greenmarket will celebrate its 37th anniversary, and we’ll be partying into the night at Union Square Greenmarket’s first ever night market. In collaboration with Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer’s office, as well as over 15 neighborhood restaurants, the market will offer the same great summer bounty customers have come to love and rely on through the decades, alongside prepared food, live music by the Blue Vipers of Brooklyn and beer courtesy of Brooklyn Brewery.

Watermelon are officially in season, as are green beans, corn, okra, peaches and apricots. Fill your shopping bags and dine on summer fare while reveling under the stars at this Manhattan institution.

It’ll be a party for all ages-- we hope to see you out there!

Union Square Night Market and Birthday Party
Union Square Park - Union Square West and 17th Street
4pm to 8pm

View the full-size flyer below:

P.S. 154 Queens Wins the Big Lift Recycling Contest

July 8, 2013


This spring, GrowNYC’s Recycling Champions Program held a recycling contest amongst schools in the program to see which school could achieve the highest recycling rates. 22 schools participated in the six-week long "Big Lift"– where schools once weekly weighed the recycling and trash from classrooms, offices, and the cafeteria. With an overall recycling rate of 54%, P.S. 154 in Queens was the grand prize winner! P.S. 154 increased their recycling rate by 268% and reduced the amount of trash by 46%. Other top winners include: P.S. 29 Brooklyn and the High School for Law and Public Service in Manhattan which improved recycling rates by 146% and 88% respectively. P.S. 25 Bronx had a 47% overall recycling rate – 20% for metal, plastic, and cartons.

As a result of their outstanding recycling rate, P.S. 154Q won a school greening package valued at $2,000! The prize included tree mulching, park benches made from recycled plastic and a new school garden. On June 25, students and faculty worked alongside staff from GrowNYC to construct the school garden and assist with tree mulching. For many students, it was their first experience with hands-on landscaping and gardening. Students filled the bed with top soil and planted a number of perennials and herbs that will attract butterflies. In addition to beautifying the school, the 8' x 3' raised bed constructed from recycled lumber, will serve as a valuable educational tool for students to learn about the natural environment.

GrowNYC and Brooklyn Brewery Launch Greenmarket Wheat Beer

June 19, 2013
Posted in Greenmarket | Tagged Grains, Beer

GrowNYC and Brooklyn Brewery are excited to announce the launch of Greenmarket Wheat, a beer collaboration between local farmers, malters, and brewers that captures the flavor of regional agriculture in a bottle.  

Greenmarket Wheat is a wheat beer made with raw wheat from North Country Farm in Watertown, NY, Pilsner Barley Malt from Valley Malt in Hadley, MA, and Wildflower Honey from Tremblay Apiaries, Chemung County, NY. 

The idea for Greenmarket Wheat grew from New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo’s 2012 Farm Brewery License legislation aimed at expanding the growth of craft breweries and increase demand for locally grown products to brew beer statewide.

"Our Greenmarket Regional Grains Initiative works with regional farmers to devote more acreage to growing grains. Creating partnerships to move their product into the hands of bakers—and now brewers—has helped their businesses scale up production," said Marcel Van Ooyen, executive director of GrowNYC. "Greenmarket Wheat is a collaboration of local growers, millers, malters and brewers who will all benefit from the sale of this new product, not to mention consumers who can purchase a refreshing ale they can feel good supporting. Shoppers come to the Greenmarket to eat local. Now they can drink local. We couldn’t be more thrilled to work with Brooklyn Brewery and our producers to bring local grains into the spotlight."

Greenmarket Wheat will be available for sale by the bottle on Wednesdays and Saturdays at Union Square Greenmarket.

GrowNYC Market Update Radio Show

June 4, 2013
Posted in Greenmarket

Did you know that GrowNYC's Greenmarket program had a weekly radio show?

Tune in each Thursday at 1:45 PM to Heritage Radio for the GrowNYC Market Update to hear profiles of our 50+ markets around the city-- including tips like which farmers have the first snap peas, historical and cultural sites near the farmstands and where to grab a special snack in the neighborhood.

Or catch up on past radio shows below!

4/4/13- McCarren Park/Greenpoint Greenmarket    

4/11/13- Dag Hammarskjold Plaza Greenmarket  

4/18/13- Brooklyn Borough Hall Greenmarket   

4/25/13- Grand Army Plaza Greenmarket

5/02/13- 82nd Street Greenmarket

5/09/13- Tribeca Greenmarket

5/15/13- Tucker Square Greenmarket

5/23/13- Windsor Terrace Greenmarket

5/30/13- Forest Hills Greenmarket

Meet a Recycling Outreach Coordinator

March 19, 2013
Posted in Recycling

At GrowNYC’s Office of Recycling Outreach and Education, five stellar staffers are responsible for covering outreach activities throughout the five boroughs. For almost five years, Ermin Siljkovic has spent countless hours getting to know Manhattan’s communities and working to improve their recycling habits. Ermin took a few minutes between recycling presentations to answer a few questions about his job, and his personal quest for a more sustainable NYC.

What do you enjoy most about your job?
Interacting with so many people from all different walks of life and informing them of choices we have available to us, and which of those can have a positive impact on their lives. I guess I am sort of a good deed machine and this is essentially what drives me every day.

What is one of the most common public misconceptions about recycling in NYC?
That it is “too confusing” and “has changed so many times”. Both are untrue!

What is one golden rule you try to teach New Yorkers about recycling?
I encourage folks to stick to the basics by simply going by the tips we teach. There many things in life that we must learn in order to adapt to our roles at home or at work. Recycling is one of those things and thankfully, learning how to recycle at home is not very difficult. Unfortunately, we are not where we would like to be in regards to our diversion rate so I think a big part of our mission is to promote the simplicity of the DSNY curbside residential recycling program. If we can do that successfully I believe we will have then made great strides toward achieving our goal.

Did you recycle as a kid?
I grew up in an era in NYC when our trash burned right under our noses, and later, our family moved to a suburban area where recycling wasn’t implemented until I was practically on my way out to college. Other than occasionally recycling bottles at the supermarket, the short answer is “no”.

What got you interested in recycling?
The realization that I am accountable for my actions and that how I manage my waste plays a big role in this consideration.

What are some steps you have taken in your personal life to leave less of a footprint on the environment?
Aside from composting more of my food scraps (most recently with indoor Bokashi composting) or donating more of my unwanted personal items, I have been really big on growing at least some of my own food during the year and buying locally whenever I can. I am encouraged that this not only benefits the environment but helps build resilience in our communities.

Do you have a favorite story from the field?
Hard to pick just one. I know it sounds cliché but every day there is another new story. I always love finding “diamonds in the rough” which can be best described as individual people who want to recycle but just don’t know how or where to recycle or a property manager or building superintendent who has been looking for advice but just didn’t have access to a person who can explain it to them in way they could understand.

GrowNYC Builds 5 New Rainwater Harvesting Systems in the Bronx

March 15, 2012

Thanks to a grant from the New York State Office of the Attorney General, GrowNYC has just finished installing 5 rainwater harvesting systems in the Bronx River Watershed. We partnered with Green Apple Corps and Sustainable South Bronx to make the project a success and to teach others how to build and install systems so that we can divert even more water. In total, we trained 30 residents to build and install RWH systems.

Five students from the Teen Action Program of The Point Community Development Corporation in the Hunts Point section of the Bronx monitored the 5 rainwater harvesting systems. They participated in a half-day workshop led by GrowNYC staff on water quality monitoring, where they learned how to use dissolved oxygen and pH testing equipment and the NYC water supply and the route it takes, including CSO. The monitoring strategy was to test oxygen and pH on a bi-weekly basis and compare and learn from results.

Based on our metrics, the following five systems are diverting approximately 64,430 gallons annually during growing season from storm sewers and the Bronx River.

River Garden (1086 East 180 Street): This garden is used by residents of the surrounding community and has approximately 30 members. Gardeners grow vegetables, flowers, herbs; tend to common plantings, compost, hold barbecues. We Installed a wing-type rainwater harvesting structure with integrated tool shed and a 300 gallon tank. The structure was built by Sustainable South Bronx under GrowNYC staff supervision.

Belmont Little Farmers (2485 Belmont Avenue): Installed a 500 gallon tank to divert rainwater from the adjacent building. The structure was built by Green Apple Corps under GrowNYC staff supervision.

Hispanos Unidos (2061 Honeywell Avenue): The roof of the garden casita was repaired to serve as the collection area associated with a 200 gallon rainwater collection tank. A downspout from an adjacent private home was also diverted into a 1,100 gallon rainwater collection tank.

Krystal Garden (2089 Vyse Avenue): A downspout was diverted from the adjacent multistory building into the garden and rain is collected in a 1,000 gallon rainwater collection tank. The project was installed by GrowNYC staff and community gardeners

Volky Flower Garden (859 Hornaday Avenue): The project involved re-framing, re-decking and re-shingling a casita/ shade structure roof, providing the collection area for 300 gallon and 250 gallon rain water collection tanks.

GrowNYC Hosts Free Father's Day Portrait Day at 77th Street Greenmarket and Miracle Garden in the Lower East Side

June 23, 2009

On Sunday, June 21st, GrowNYC and Fujifilm collaborated to present a two free Family Portrait Day events, one at the 77th Street Greenmarket and another at Miracle Garden in the Lower East Side, to celebrate Father's Day and the first day of summer.  

More than 400 local families turned out to receive free summer-themed family portraits from a professional photographer, sample food from the local Greenmarket, and participate in arts and crafts activities.

This was GrowNYC's third free Family Portrait Day event in the last year.  The event organizer, GrowNYC's Mike Rezny, called the event a huge success.

 

 

GrowNYC Hosts Free Mother's Day Portrait Day at 5 Locations

May 12, 2009

On Sunday May 10th, GrowNYC hosted a free Mother's Day Portrait Day at 5 locations in the Lower East Side, Upper West Side, and Carroll Gardens.

More than 1,000 families received free family portraits from professional photographers at Miracle Garden, Creative Little Garden, and All People's Garden in the Lower East Side; at the 77th Street Greenmarket; and at Wyckoff-Bond Garden in Carroll Gardens. 

All 5 locations featured free face painting, seasonal tastings from local Greenmarkets, and a multimedia art exhibition at the Miracle Garden location.

The organizer of the events, GrowNYC's Mike Rezny, called the events a huge success and is looking forward to another free portrait day event for Father's Day in June.

 

GrowNYC Featured at Growing and Greening New York

March 18, 2009
Posted in Community Gardens

The Museum of the City of New York's current exhibition, entitled Growing and Greening New York, features several contributions from GrowNYC of New York (GrowNYC) staff, including a rainwater harvesting display.

The Growing and Greening New York exhibit takes visitors through an average New York City day, highlighting both the environmental impact of everyday activities, and alternatives that can make those activities less harmful and more sustainable.

GrowNYC's Open Space Greening staffers Lenny Librizzi and Lars Chellberg built a model rainwater harvesting system that includes a 50-gallon collection barrel, connecting pipes, and a spigot for easy reuse. Most rainwater harvesting systems collect water from nearby roofs, diverting it from frequently overloaded storm drains and making their users less dependent on the public water supply.

More information about rainwater harvesting systems, including pictures, a map of systems in the city, and a how-to manual for building a system of your own is available at GrowNYC's rainwater harvesting page.

Also featured in the exhibit, as part of a display about regional agriculture and local farmers markets, is a map showing the schedule of all 46 Greenmarkets throughout the city. The map is available as a PDF here.

 

Rainwater Harvesting System at MCNY

 

GrowNYC Hosts Free Family Portrait Day at 3 Lower East Side Community Gardens

November 10, 2008
Posted in Community Gardens | Tagged portrait days

 

On Sunday, November 9th, GrowNYC hosted its first Lower East Side Family Portrait Day event at three community gardens. 

Professional photographers set up in each garden to take free family portraits of more than 300 local families.  The event also featured face painting, a winter coat drive, sampling from the nearby Tompkins Square Greenmarket, and CFL lightbulb giveaways by Go Green Lower East Side.  The Sierra Club and Grand Street Settlement co-sponsored the event and provided additional programming.

The organizer of the event, GrowNYC's Mike Rezny, said that the event was a huge success and that GrowNYC looks forward to doing similar events in the future.  

 

 

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