Greetings, you hardy, resilient UESiders!
Some last nine 9 days! A storm, a nor’easter and Mr. Weather’s additional, little gift of huge, wet snowflakes…
Yet, unbelievably, in spite of the wretched Sandy, the Riverkeeper’s November 2nd test of NYC waters was pretty darned good and not even comparatively!
Go figure.
Meanwhile, if you haven’t already read, The Times weighed in well on challenging – but necessary – changes we need to make in expectation of more, inevitable weather events.
On to the dryer, warmer week coming up:
Now through Monday, December 31st: The Annual New York Cares Winter Coat Drive
Bring those clean, warm coats clogging your closets to the New York Cares warehouse at 157 West 31st, any NYPD precinct house or any New York Public Library branch!
Saturday, November November 10th: 82nd Street Greenmarket
82nd Street between First and York, 9am – 2pm Clothing Collection – 9am – 1pm
Remember: NO COMPOST collection.
Look for American Seafood, Bread Alone, Samascott, Gajeski, Fresh Radish, Feather Ridge, Cherry Lane, Rising Sun Beef and Rabbits’ Run Farms to be back at their tables with their usual, fabulous edibles!
As already noted but it bears repeating: There’re only 2 more weeks for our Master Knife Sharpener extraordinaire to ready your knives for Thanksgiving carving… And maybe just a couple more after that till cold weather ends her 2012 season!
Last 2 weeks’ recycling totals: 89 lbs batteries; 41 lbs #5, Britta filters/cords/corks/CD/DVDs/jewel cases/cellphones and cartridges; 3 pairs of eye glasses; October 27th collection: 17 bags of clothes; 5 compost bins.
YTD (from 1/7/12) totals: 1,523 lbs batteries; 802 lbs #5, Britta filters, corks, cords, CDs/DVDs, jewel cases, cellphones, cartridges; 80 pairs of glasses; 356 bags of clothes; 77 7/8 compost bins.
Sunday, November 11th: 92nd Street Greenmarket
First Avenue between 92nd and 93rd Street, 9am –4pm
Yet again: NO COMPOST collection.
With us will be our full cast of great farmers, bakers and fisherman: Bread Alone, Gonzalez Farm, Meredith’s Bakery, Phillips Farm Vegetables, Norwich Meadows and Stannard Farms and American Seafood.
Fingers crossed some tomatoes survived the slushy snow!!
Last 2 weeks’ recycling totals: 31 lbs batteries; 5 lbs #5, Britta filters, corks, cords, CDs/DVDs, jewel cases, cellphones, cartridges; October 28th collection, 3 1/2 compost bins.
YTD (from 6/17/12) totals: 212 lbs batteries; 132 lbs #5, Britta filters, corks, cords, CDs/DVDs, jewel cases, cellphones, cartridges; 1 pair eye glasses; 40 1/2 compost bins.
Friday, November 23rd: The National Day of Listening
Across America
Established by the great folks at StoryCorps and this year dedicated to tales told by those who’ve served in the military, more locally – as on the UES – we’re contemplating recording your experiences during and after Sandy. Stay tuned…
Now for this week’s dose of miscellany, beginning with just a bit more on the Sandy Effect:
As per the New York Observer: While many rooftop gardens escaped the floods and endured the winds , it wasn’t just plants in the line of fire. “The bees got washed away, flooded out,” said the chief operating officer of Brooklyn Grange, which had the city’s largest commercial apiary. “It was pretty devastating.”
And then:
Why are we not surprised that – given the scope of fracking in the USA – that there’s now a glut of natural gas? (Likely only until such time as cities like NYC are so committed to its use that we’ll be hostage to price escalation at whim.)
Or even another reason…
Moving to the bright side now:
Yet another U.S. city’s banned plastic bags! Yup, as of February 2013, West Hollywood, California will prohibit the use of single-use carryout shopping bags at the point of sale from all pharmacy, grocery and retail stores!
Meanwhile, Norweigans are such epic recyclers, they’re now importing garbage from elsewhere in Europe to run their waste-to-energy plants!
Here in the USA, with e- and re-election of many wind power advocates, extention of the renewable energy tax credit seems probable.
Closer still to home, we now have the new Municipal Art Society Guide to how to green our city’s historic (pre-1940) rowhouses.
NY Magazine’s recent article on varieties of (beautiful) wild mushrooms now appearing in some markets is worth a look…
As is The Times piece on the numerous centenarians living on an obscure Greek Island…
Yes, really, how did the whisk come to be?
We were particularly impressed by the professionalism and kindness of the poll workers we encountered on East 61st Street (they were even wearing suits!) and reminded of them by this lovely StoryCorps interview…
As for things animal – shaggy, finned and scaled – this week:
Some nerve! Sandy also ruined the Bronx Zoo’s celebration of National Bison Day (November 1st)!
You’ve done it before… They need you to do it again: The Atlantic Menhaden – the fish that is essential to the diet of so many others – needs your help to become a protected species.
The creatures in the care of the New York Aquarium could really use all of our assistance as well…
The Hudson River Almanac provides on last reminder as to how hard old Sandy was on all living things:
10/29 – Manhattan, HRM 5.5: I was watching the Hudson River around midday and spotted a black scoter and five dunlin. All these birds were struggling hard to fly up river against the very strong winds. – Anders Peltomaa
Firming our resolve to be greener now than ever before,
UGS
This Week at The Markets 