Greetings, UGSiders!

Let’s us begin with a brief resume of last Friday’s field trip to the Staten Island (garbage) Transfer Station…  All hulking  2- stories and 79,000 square feet of it (they’re talking 3-stories, each 40,000 square feet at 91st). 

With all due respect to the DOS people charged with making nice with our community and the Citizen’s Advisory Group (of which yours truly is a member), there are just no parallels between  that facility and an even larger version our Mayor and City Council President are attempting to inflict on the UES.

If nothing else, there is zero human habitation within at least a half-mile of the complex and probably farther…   Not a park  or an athletic facility or schools either.    

Others on the tour will have their own personal bete noires…   But near the top of my list (after how gigantic the thing is)   would be how grungy the trucks bringing in their loads were.  Icky even in an essentially exurban situation…  Horrible in a densely urban one and pretty indicative of the overall inappropriateness.

So – and knowing all you’ve done to stop this thing in the past few months – what can you do now?

Three things:

1.   Join forces with the new neighborhood group – Residents for Sane Trash Solutions – which has arisen to lead the charge against the MTS.  (Here’s their site.)

2.  Sign and forward – email or USPS – the excellent RFSTS letter to  Diane Rusanowsky of the National Marine Fisheries Service (which, along with the Army Corps of Engineers will be weighing in on the environmental impact of this proposed MTS).   Then get your neighbors to do the same.   

3.  Donate any amount – there’s no number too small – to make sure  the RFSTS has the wherewithall to get the result we all know is just.  

We’ll have form letters for you to sign at the markets, too!

Okay.

On to the week ahead:

Saturday, September 24th:   82nd Street Greenmarket

East 82nd Street, between First and York, 10am – 6pm

Tummies full of stuffed cabbage, cabbage and noodles, and crepes, we return to our great normal with  American Seafood, Bread Alone, Raghoo, Samascott, Rabbits’ Run, Rising Sun Beef , Cherry Lane and Ant Hill Farm.

AND the Mariachi Flor de Teloache will be back for a return musical engagement!!

But no knife sharpening this week.  Maybe next…

Last week’s totals:  22 pounds #5, Britta filters, jewel cases, cords, cartridges, CD/DVDs, cellphones and corks; 40 pounds batteries. 

YTD (from 3/26):   405 lbs #5, Britta filters, cords, corks, CD/DVDs, jewel cases, cellphones and cartridges; 927 lbs batteries.  (Excellent!)

As for Recycle-O-Rama:  Early Fall Edition Totals:  4 tons (8,000 pounds) electronics, 1 ton (2,000 pounds) paper shredded , 85 pounds batteries, 54 pounds #5  plastic and Britta filters, 15 giant duffel bags of clothes/fabrics/hats, belts/shoes and 45 pairs of glasses.  (KUDOS!!)

Saturday, September 24th:  Lightsaber Battle NYC

Washington Square Park, 9-11pm

Those wild and crazy folks at NewMindSpace are at it again…  And you don’t have to be all that Star Wars hardcore.  $5.  For details, to reserve your lightsaber and “combat” rules…  

Until  October 30th:  Fall Flowers of Japan

New York Botanical Garden, 2900 Southern Boulevard, The Bronx

Uniformly rave reviews for this glorious display of Japan’s flowering autumn plants.  For hours and full details… 

Sunday, September 25th:  92nd Street Greenmarket

92nd Street and First Avenue, 9am–4pm

With us will be Nature’s Way Honey, the Stannart, Norwich and Phillips Farms, Meredith’s Bakery, American Seafood and the amazing Stellar cooks.

AND…   Returning now that it’s fall is the fabulous Wager’s Cider Mill with their apples, pears, grapes, sweet cider and incredible grape juice!

Last week’s totals:  10 lbs #5, Britta filters, cords, corks, CD/DVDs, jewel cases, cellphones and cartridges; 4 lbs batteries 

YTD (from 6/19):   79 lbs #5, Britta filters, cords, corks, CD/DVDs, jewel cases, cellphones and cartridges; 196 lbs batteries.  (Getting up there!)

Coming up soon:

Saturday, October 1st:  First Annual Costume Swap Day!

82nd Street Greenmarkets, 10am – 2pm

Okay, Halloween is basically an orange and black thing,  BUT it can also be downright green!   Yup, just drop off gently-used, clean costumes and/or funky clothing and walk away with great, new-to-you dress-up gear.  To participate, simply sign up at our friendly Market Information Tent this coming Saturday (the 24th) or RSVP to natalie@underthetinkertree.com.

Saturday, October 1st:  13th Annual Czech Street Festival

73rd Street, between First and Second, 1-7pm

Wonderful Czech foods, music by Skyline, Please the Trees and the Pajtasi Dulcimer Band, a performance by the Czechoslovak-American Marionette Theater, a raffle for a ticket to Prague and more!    Free.  For more…

Saturday, October 1st:  Live Bat Encounter

American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, 11am, 12:15pm and 1:30pm sessions

Get up close and personal with the Halloween icon…  We’re talking bats from around the world.  Family friendly.  $12.  For tickets.    (See you there!)   

Sunday, October 2nd:  Fall Migration on Randall’s Island

Meet on the northwest corner of 102nd Street and the FDR Drive, 9am

A walk across the foot bridge to Randall’s Island and you’re at a prime spot for viewing birds as the wind their way south and with NYC Audubon experts as your guides.   Members, $18.  Non-members, $20.  To register.

Wednesday, October 5th:   Annual New Green City Event

South Plaza, Union Square, 10am – 6pm

New York’s largest, most comprehensive, annual green happening returns …  This year’s featuring an array of family-friendly activities and showcasing  the many government agencies, non-profits, entrepreneurs, community and  corporate partners at the forefront of environmental movement.    All made possible by our friends, GrowNYC.  For a full schedule of the day.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15th:  IT’S MY PARK DAY – FALL

Meet at the 96th Street on the East River Esplanade, 10am – 3pm

Picking up where we left off on IMPD in May, we’ll be scraping and painting more railing (we got to 93rd Street last time) and, for all you gardeners, planting a ribbon of daffodils along the Esplanade wall.   Refreshments.  Raffle prizes.  A feeling of utmost satisfaction.  Be there!  Email uppergreenside@gmail.com to list yourself as an official volunteer!

Yes, we’re ready for some miscellany, too:

Yes, it’s creepy but it also needs to be noted:   There’re some extremely dangerous pesticides – many 60 times more potent than allowed by law – on the shelves of NYC stores.  Just to be safe, please inform yourself re the regrettable facts.  

More creepiness in the two slick mailers we received from an entity calling itself  “NY Area” and advocating for nuclear power in our state.  Let us just say this…  The most unambitious google of yhe group’s chairman, an ex-NYS legislator named Arthur Kremer, reveals him to be a lobbyist willing “to take advantage of the influence and connections he developed in his 23 year career as a New York State Assemblyman” .

Think you know your climate change science?  Take the Union of Concerned Scientists’  test and know for sure…  AND get a sticker proclaiming what a big science brain you have! 

While we’re on the science beat, how about a short, first-rate mystery story involving Canadian Club and mycology (AKA mushrooms, fungi and mold)…

Of course, you want to know all the whys and wherefores that many believe make LED bulbs the light-provider of not just the future but the fast approaching present!

(The second the Switch bulbs hit the shelves, we’ll be trying one out!)

Then there the absolutely fascinating report of how India’s attempting to provide its poorest of poor with an enabling biometric ID.

We all know that earthworms are not native to American soil, yes?  And one effect of their taking up residence on these shores…  (Spoiler alert:  Fungi are involved here, too!)

Or – you budding lab rats – how about DIY equipment to conduct your own DNA research? 

You know where you are immediately even though it’s 70 years ago…  New York – mostly downtown – as it was in 1941-2, captured on fabulous Kodachrome by the masterful Charles Cushman.

Just in case you haven’t heard and you’re sick and tired of finding out – only once you’re on the platform – that the N,R, Q, A, B, D or whatever train you need to take is undergoing yet another Saturday/Sunday “service diversion”, the MTA is finally trying  to get its act together with a new online alert:   “Weekender”.  

Can’t stop the bad news raining down on Netflix  (not that they don’t deserve it…!)   But now they’re being sued by environmentalists who consider the company’s new headquarters to be out-of-scale (as in way too big) and that too many trees will need to be cut down to build it!

There are green walls and then there are the green walls  created by genius Patrick Blanc whose work includes the most beautiful, acclaimed and photographed green wall project in the world:   The Musée du quai Branly.

Meanwhile, the Upper East Side has a brand new bonafide green roof (as opposed to a roof with a greenhouse on it) to boast about…    The roof on Regis High School…  Which has also had solar panels in place for more than 5 years! 

And then there’s what’s going on Chicago…   The city’s first net-zero energy home!

Isn’t it time for some animals?

Well, a faux animal to begin…  As in Hammacher Schlemmer’s latest uber-inflatable, a 2-story tall blow-up reindeer!  (And only $349.95, not including shipping!)

Who knew India was such a hotbed for amphibians?    Well, it is and underscoring its status in that regard are the 12 new species of frogs – all of them night frogs! – recently discovered in the Western Ghats mountain range.  

(You have seen the amazingly colorful frogs in the Central Park Zoo, yes?)

Ever considered that your cat might be right or left pawed or ambidextrous?   For this and several other interesting cat fact, proceed to…

And when was the last time you saw a dog play volleyball?   A puppy whistle?   (We’ve all seen the dog playing the piano, yes?)  

Evergreen,

UGS

 

Happy Friday, UGSiders!

Big week coming up…

But first a note from Joan Felder for those who’d prefer to make their Hurricane Irene Relief donations to our farmers by check rather than credit card…   Send those checks to:

Grow NYC
“Hurricane Irene Relief Fund”
51 Chambers Street (Suite #228)
New York, NY  10007

GrowNYC will send you a receipt.

Friday, September 16th:  Jane’s Carousel Opens!

Brooklyn Bridge Park, East River near Dock Street, Dumbo, 11am – 7pm, closed Tuesday

As if a  meticulous 27-year restoration – including repair of rickety horses and modernization of the the electrical system to power 1,200 glinting light –  weren’t enough, this 100-year plus old carousel  is housed a square acrylic pavilion designed by star architect Jean Nouvel.  We all owe namesake Jane Walentas a big thank you.   Just $2 per ride.

Friday, September 16th:   NY Skies Astronomy Seminar

McBurney House, 125 West 14th St, between Sixth & Seventh, 6:30-9pm

Topic:  Picture this!   Jupiter and his neighbors…  A double-feature session for observing planet Jupiter and catching him  (that’s astronomer talk) and his surrounding stars with simple digital cameras.

Saturday, September 17th:   Annual St. Stephen of Hungary Street Fair & 82nd Street Greenmarket

East 82nd Street, between First and York, 10am – 6pm

One of the nicest, most neighborly  neighborhood events there is.  We’ve made it clear how we feel about the St. Stephen’s ladies’ signature dish…  Their stuff cabbage (saw the truck delivering hundreds of cabbages last week!)…  And they’ll be making other Hungarian treats, too…  There’ll be music, play equipment for the kids, a raffle, burgers by Ottomanelli…  Plus  you’ll find our Greenmarket farmers – American Seafood, Bread Alone, Raghoo, Samascott, Rabbits’ Run, Rising Sun Beef , Cherry Lane and Ant Hill Farm’s  – positioned on the far east end of the block.

Yes, the fair but we’ll still be collecting the usual (clean and dry) recycleables! 

But no knife sharpening!!

Last week’s totals:  25 pounds #5, Britta filters, jewel cases, cords, cartridges, CD/DVDs, cellphones and corks; 52 pounds batteries. 

YTD (from 3/26):   383 lbs #5, Britta filters, cords, corks, CD/DVDs, jewel cases, cellphones and cartridges; 887 lbs batteries.  (Great!)

Stay tuned for the totals from last week’s Recycle-O-Rama:  Early Fall Edition.

Saturday, September 17th:  Think of the Future, Recycle the Past – Recycle at Tekserve

119 West 23rd Street, just west of Sixth, 10am – 4pm

We’re talking electronic recycling and collected will be:

computers
monitors
printers
copiers
fax machines
cell phones and telephones
DVD or VCR players
TVs and radios
stereo equipment
cameras

Plus, all recyclers will get a coupon good for $25 off any Mac at Tekserve and be eligible to enter Tekserve’s contest to win a MacBook Air.

Saturday, September 17th:  New York City Honey Festival

Shore Front Pkwy & Beach 96th Street, Queens, 10am to sundown

We’re talking one whole day of beekeeping classes and demonstrations…  Including a meade-making class!  For the total lowdown… 

Sunday, August 21th and Sunday, August 28th:  92nd Street Greenmarket

92nd Street and First Avenue, 9am–4pm

At their tables will be Nature’s Way Honey, the Stannart, Gonzalez , Norwich and Phillips Farms, Meredith’s Bakery, American Seafood and the wonderful Stellar cooks.

Bring on those recycleables!

Last week’s totals:  6 lbs #5, Britta filters, cords, corks, CD/DVDs, jewel cases, cellphones and cartridges; 10 lbs batteries 

YTD (from 6/19):   60 lbs #5, Britta filters, cords, corks, CD/DVDs, jewel cases, cellphones and cartridges; 197 lbs batteries.  (Yes!)

Tuesday, September 20th:  Electronics Recycling Day

The Church of the Heavenly Rest, Fifth Avenue at 90th Street, 11am – 7pm

Want to recycle electronics but weekends are never convenient…  Your prayer’s been answered by our Carnegie Hill Neighbors and their weekday recycling evemt!  (Flyer attached so please let your neighbors know!)

They’ll be collecting:

•    computers (laptops, desk tops, mainframes, servers) 
•    monitors, printers, scanners, faxes, copiers
•    network devices (routers, hubs, modems, etc.)
•    cell phones, telephones, pagers and PDAs
•    Components (hard drives, circuit boards, CD-ROMs, etc.)
•    TVs, DVD and VCR players and radios
•    cameras, audio visual and stereo equipment
•    peripherals (mice, keyboards, etc.)

For more call 212-477-4022.

Thursday, September 22nd:  The 14th Annual International Juried Botanical Art Exhibition

The New York Horticultural Society, 148 West 37th, 13th Floor, Monday – Friday, 12- 6pm

Chosen from a field of 198 submissions, the 41 artworks on display were created by botanical artists from around the world and are really beautiful, folks.  Free.  For more.

And coming up soon:

Saturday, September 24th:  Smithsonian Museum Day

Many Museums Throughout the City

Hosted by Smithsonian magazine, participating museums across the country will be opening their doors to anyone presenting a free Museum Day Ticket.   For more and how to get tickets.

Through Sunday, September 25th:  Mario Batali’s Edible Garden

Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden,  New York Botanical Garden, 2900 Southern Boulevard ,  The Bronx

Think daily cooking demonstrations with chefs from Batali’s many restaurants, fun food prep for kids and adults every weekend, aswell as numberous hands-on activities like potting up basil to take home.  Mario himself with be there the final weekend!   For the full schedule.

Tuesday, September 27th:  2nd Annual Art of Farming –  An Auction of Edible Heirlooms

Sotheby’s. 1334 York Avenue at 72nd Street, 7 – 10pm

Just in time for the harvest season, this special evening provides a unique platform for local farmers, purveyors, celebrity chefs, food industry experts and philanthropists to join together for a shared interest in supporting local agriculture and sustainable food options for all New Yorkers. The evening includes a cocktail reception, a family-style dinner of seansonal bounty and a live auction of incredible food and drink experiences presided over by a Sotheby’s auctioneer.   Proceeds benefit the great organization that – among their many activities – makes our markets happen, GrowNYC.  $500.  For more.

Wednesday, September 28th:  Homegrown – Do It yourself Series – Jams, Jellies and Chutneys

The New York Horticultural Society, 148 West 37th, 13th Floor,  6:30pm

Remember the delicious preserves at the Beth’s Farm Kitchen table that graced 82nd Street last winter/spring and that at Union Square every week?  Well, Beth herself will be conducting this first of 4 workshops at which you’ll learn to “put up” your own.  Members: $15; non-members, $20.  Register by the 28th for all 4 and save.  For more.  

On the approach:

Saturday, October 1st and Sunday, October 2nd:  The Gracie Square Art Show

East End Avenue, 84th to 88th Streets and in the Park’s 86th Street Mall, 10am – 5pm

Every year the show’s better with past favorites returning and fresh, new talent ond display.  You can be a part of it, too, if you volunteer…   Just contact info@carlschurzparknyc.org or call 212-459-4455, ext. 5 (operator).

Saturday, October 8th:  NYC H2o Ashokan Resevoir Hike

Olivebridge, New York, via a van from midtown Manhattan, departing at 8 am

Aaron Bennet, naturalist and Catskill region native, will lead  hikers through the forest ringing the Ashokan reservoir. enlightening them on forest make-up, area geology, why this location was included in the NYC watershed and it’s H2) is kept pure.how water is kept pureprotere will explain and more!voir.
The hike will last 3 hours and will be on gently sloped terrain (it could be a little muddy). Participants should bring lunch and –  as fall foliage will be at its peak – a camera!  For more.

Friday, October 14th:  Luncheon Lecture Series – Education in 19th Century New York 

Mount Vernon Hotel Museum, 421 East 61st Street, between First and York, 12:30pm

How could the schooling of New York children not have been different then and dependent on the young student’s gender and class.  Free with museum admission.  Coffee and tea provided, but you bring your lunch.   For more (scroll down).

Whew!

Time for some miscellany:

Okay, so it’s a bummer, so let’s get it out of the way…  You know there was an explosion at a French nuclear plant this week, right? 

On the bright side, as per the admirably hard to please Consumer Reports, mercury in CFLs is  reduced 60 to 75%!  (They can also now be recycled at Home Depot, Lowe’s and Ikea.)

And although and as we all know our city innumerable and most boring glass towers inflict injury and death upon poor migratory birds,  the beautiful 9/11 Tribute in Life proved quite safe for our travelling avian friends.

We could ask why it seems we’re always re-inventing the wheel, but it seems that the powers-that-be have finally committed themselves making a Bike-Share program happen in 2012.  (Already well-established in Boston and D.C.)

Think you know how much water it takes to produce the various kinds of energy that powers our homes and businesses?  Take National Geographic’s little test and prepare yourself for some surprises!

How about this for a great green roof?   Or this?

Or would you ever think a lost daVinci sculpture – a giant equestrian statue – would be recreated in Michigan?

I say it’s high time for some animals:

One man’s best friend being…  A duck! 

Just in case you haven’t yet gotten on board with Willow the Cat saga…

It’s autumn but we’re still green,

UGS

 

Greetings, UESiders!!

Rather a lot of precipitation these last few days, but it’s good to be back in NYC and on the verge of that time of the year during which what we’ll be reading, watching, pondering, discussing  and wearing over the next few months surfaces and gels.

Good, too, to be here on the upcoming supremely important anniversary.

And to be able to let those many of you who inquired how they might assist our many farmers so badly affected by Irene that there are things that can be done and, no surprise, organized by GrowNYC.

And to launch the autumn season with the first of our two – count ‘em – RECYCLE-O-RAMA events…  This time at Saturday’s Third Avenue Fair!!  Poster and flyers attached so you can spread the word.  Just scroll down for more details..   See you on Third between 83^rd and 84^th on September 10th!!

Now for the coming week:     

Saturday, September 10th:  82nd Street Greenmarket

St. Stephen of Hungary Churchyard, 82^nd Street between First and York, 9 am – 3 pm 

At their tables will be American Seafood,  Bread Alone,  Raghoo,  Samascott, Rabbits’ Run, Rising Sun Beef  and Ant Hill Farms.

Fingers crossed that the heavily flooded Fresh Radish Farm will have enough produce to justify traveling down to us, too. 

In much better shape but still needing at least another week to recover, Cherry Lane Farm hopes to back in place for the St. Stephen’s Street Fair on September 17th.

Meanwhile, what we do have this week is one very special guest…   With us from 9:30am to noon will be UES-ite, food journalist and author of 11`cookbooks, Dana Jacobi!  Sample some BBQ bean soup, learn how to make apple ratatouille and have  Dana sign your copy of her latest work, “The Essential Best Foods Cookbook”.

And, yes, our own master knife sharpener, the one and only Barbara Hess, will be at her table, too!

On the recycling front, ONCE AGAIN, folks, your #5 plastic (check those little triangles to make sure it is #5) should be both squeeky clean and dry and sharing the bag you drop off with nothing else (like empty envelopes, used straws, napkins, etc.) ! 

And, of course, it would be fabulous if, this week, you brought your recycleables to our temporary outpost at the Third Avenue Fair, between 83rd and 84th.

Last week’s totals:  20 pounds #5, Britta filters, jewel cases, cords, cartridges, CD/DVDs, cellphones and corks; 10 pounds batteries. 

YTD (from 3/26):   358 lbs #5, Britta filters, cords, corks, CD/DVDs, jewel cases, cellphones and cartridges; 835 lbs batteries.  (Could be we’ll crack a 1,000 pounds after the Recycle-O-Rama!)

Saturday, September 10th:  Recycle-O-Rama – Early Fall Edition

Third Avenue Street Fair, Between 83rd and 84th, 10am – 4pm

Long-at-the-tooth electronics…  Paper just begging to be shredded…  All those clothes you haven’t worn for a couple of years…  Plus #5 plastic, Britta filters, eye glasses, corks, ink cartridges, CDs/DVDs and jewel cases…  Bring ’em all on!!

And by electronics, we mean:

•    Computers (laptops & desktops, servers, mainframes)
•    Monitors
•    Printers, scanners, fax-machines, copiers
•    Network devices (routers, hubs, modems, etc.)
•    Peripherals (keyboards, mice, cables, etc.)
•    Components (hard drives, CD-ROMs, circuit boards, power supplies, etc.)
•    TVs, VCRs, & DVD Players
•    Audio-visual equipment
•    Cell phones, pagers, PDAs
•    Telecommunication (phones, answering machines, etc.)

REMEMBER…  NO APPLIANCES!

Many thanks to Council Members Lappin and Garodnick for their generous grants. 

And thanks, too, to the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce for their  gracious invitation.

Saturday, September 10th:   Bessie’s Big Shot

Carl Schurz Park, East End Avenue and 84th Street, 1 pm

The Carl Schurz Park Conservancy welcomes back the Swedish Cottage Marionette Theater which this year presents the tale of Bessie the cow who dreams of joining the circus.  Free.

Sunday, September 11th:  A Sunrise Gathering Overlooking the East River

By the John Finley iron signpost, top of East 86th Street staircase, 6:15am

The Schurz Park Conservancy invites one and all to a commemorative program commencing at dawn of 9/11’s  tenth anniversary…  6:32am.  Conservancy and New York community members as well as NYPD and NYFD representatives will be in attendance to mark the day. 

Sunday, September 11th:  92nd Street Greenmarket

92nd Street and First Avenue, 9am–4pm

With us will be Nature’s Way Honey, the Stannart, Norwich and Phillips Farms, Meredith’s Bakery, American Seafood and the amazingy Stellar cooks.

Please keep your fingers crossed for the folks of Gonzales Farm whose fields were also much harmed by Irene.  May they be back on First Avenue soon!

Last week’s totals:  15 lbs #5, Britta filters, cords, corks, CD/DVDs, jewel cases, cellphones and cartridges; 5 lbs batteries 

YTD (from 6/19):   69 lbs #5, Britta filters, cords, corks, CD/DVDs, jewel cases, cellphones and cartridges; 192 lbs batteries.  (Great!)

Coming up:

Saturday, September 17th:   Annual St. Stephen of Hungary Street Fair

East 82nd Street, between First and York, 10am – 6pm

Better than the really good tribute band…  Better than all the fun stuff for kids…   Better even than Ottomanelli burgers…  We’re talking the crazy brilliant stuffed cabbage as prepared by the Hungarian ladies in St. Stephen’s kitchen. 

Saturday, September 17th:  Think of the Future – Recycle the Past at Tekserve

119 West 23rd Street, just west of Sixth, 10 am – 4pm

Fantastic that there’s yet another opportunity to get rid of that old tech!  

Electronics they’ll be taking are:

•    computers
•    monitors
•    printers
•    copiers
•    fax machines
•    cell phones and telephones
•    DVD or VCR players
•    TVs and radios
•    stereo equipment
•    cameras

But no appliances or air conditioners, please!

Tuesday, September 13th:   Special Election Day

Your Polling Place

Residents of the 73rd NY State Assembly District (formerly represented by Jonathan Bing)…  GET OUT AND CAST YOUR VOTE!

Wednesday, September 14th:  “The Pipe” Screening

“The Gallery” at John Haynes Holmes House, 28 East 35th Street, 7pm

We have fracking and County Mayo, Ireland has Shell Oil wanting to insert a massive pipeline across a pristine landscape where a traditional way of life still endures.  $5 suggested donation.

Saturday, September 19th to Saturday, September 26th: Climate Week NYC

Locations Around the City

The annual summit this year encompassing subjects as diverse as the energy-water nexus and clean revolution, but including some light stuff too…  Like a green drinks cocktail party.   Varying ticket prices; student rates available.  To learn more.

Tuesday, September 20th:  Electronics Recycling Day

The Church of the Heavenly Rest, Fifth Avenue at 90th Street, 11am – 7pm

Wonderful that our Carnegie Hill Neighbors have organized one of the city’s very few weekday recycling opportunities!

They’ll be collecting:

•    computers (laptops, desk tops, mainframes, servers)  
•    monitors, printers, scanners, faxes, copiers
•    network devices (routers, hubs, modems, etc.) 
•    cell phones, telephones, pagers and PDAs
•    Components (hard drives, circuit boards, CD-ROMs, etc.) 
•    TVs, DVD and VCR players and radios
•    cameras, audio visual and stereo equipment
•    peripherals (mice, keyboards, etc.) 

For more…  Or call 212-477-4022.

Thanks to Tekserve for their sponsorship of the event and the Church of the Heavenly Rest for giving the use of their space.

Looming on the horizon:

Saturday, October 14th:   Safari Sleepover at the Bronx Zoo

2300 Southern Boulevard, Bronx, 4:30pm Saturday to 10am Sunday

Ever wondered what happens when the gates close and the lights go off at the magnificent Bronx Zoo?  This is your chance to find out with a  tent pitched just steps away from the Sea Lion Pool and late night visits by flashlight to special exhibits.  Barbecue dinner and breakfast included.   $200.  For more.

And now, we give you some very choice miscellany:

Likely you’ve heard about Governor Cuomo’s answer to the many challenges left in Irene’s wake:  The Labor for Your Neighbor volunteer program.   Well, here’s where you can go to learn more and sign up.

Not that Irene hasn’t already brought out much good in New Yorkers…  Witness this bit of news from Greenwich Village. 

Scroll down this Build It Green page and take a look at these fabulous and fabulously inexpensive planters.

You’ve been wondering and now you’ll know just what foods are best for your teeth!

Oh!  If you’ve always liked cilantro, you’ll really love it after reading this!   (Plus you’ll feel ever so erudite knowing what distinguishes it from coriander!)

Just sent a young one off to college?  Well, at least now you won’t have to worry if there’s a source of local food  nearby Harvard or UCLA (to occasionally break the monotony of popcorn and s’mores.)

Meanwhile, in Japan, one can purchase watermelons shaped like pyramids!

Meanwhile, among U.S. jurisdictions to have banned styrofoam are San Francisco (natch!), Freeport, Maine and Suffolk County, New York (yes!) .

Three weeks later, are you ready for some animals…?

If you’ve never read Beth Lenz’s lovely observations on Central Park and its feathered denizens, do yourself that favor. 

It won’t entirely resolve the extreme over-population, but the new deer contraceptive will help!

Finally, this excerpt from the Bolton, Massachusetts Commons:

“A Bolton resident reported that three raccoons were fighting on Sugar Road.  Police responded, but the reccoons ignored them and continued fighting.  (Animal Control also responded and determined that the animals did not appear to be sick.)”

It’s not all that hard to be green, Kermit!

UGS