Dear UESiders,

Well…

No getting around the biggest UES news of the week…

Yup, you guessed it…  Yet another collapse along our Esplanade…  At 76th Street this time out and covered by virtually every local news outlet (a sampling:   NBC…  CBS… Patch).

Seems Parks – despite their many, much-advertised studies – was unaware of the vulnerability of this particular stretch.  Took NYC Department of Transportation to spot a large underlying “void”.

Not like Parks hasn’t had funds necessary to undertake restoration/
replacement of the Esplanade’s abundant trouble spots for years.

Or that our Electeds, Community Board 8, conservancy/advocacy group Esplanade Friends and its President Jennifer Ratner haven’t been pressing Parks’ execs long and hard to get thngs in gear.

So, now we’re being told repairs will commence “in a few weeks”…

They better.

Moving on to minutely brighter terrain:

Somehow, miraculously, MTA signage at 86th and Second now includes approaching local buses…  Not just Selects.  (Wow.)  

Brighter still:

For all our Esplanade’s travails, the way to the greatness that should and will be is underscored by the Municipal Art Society’s conferring its Best New Infrastructure Award to our Esplanade’s gorgeous El Barrio Bait Stations, designed by Esplanade Friends’ board member Sari Chang of JACOBSCHANG Architecture!!     

The Great American Outdoors Act – considered by those who should know – as the most signifigant conservation legislation in years – passed in the House this week.  It’s already passed in the Senate with what’s perceived to be a veto-proof majority as it moves on to the POTUS desk…

Pressure on landfill as a waste solution begins to mount, witness an industry publication venturing the subject of landfill mining!!   (FYI, “new” to us, not to much of northern Europe!!)  

Yes, we prevailed but compost petition signatures continue to mount…  Now standing at 22,000 plus!!

(Then contemplate the recent settlement agreed to by Waste Management (NYC’s principal waste handler) and one of WM’s upstate landfill sites…  Fingers crossed what we compost improves breathing in Perinton and Macedon!!)  

Deep breath.

Next week – Monday, July 27th to Saturday, August 1st – is NYC Census Week of Action!!   Yes, most of the UES’s completion rate’s improved (but not all, check us out), citywide that rate stands at a miserable 53%.  (What’s up with us?!)   If you haven’t, FILL OUT THE FORM!!

Just one virtual event from our Electeds:

Tuesday, July 28th, 6:30pm – Hosted by AM Rebecca Seawright on “Combating Anti-Semitism” with a panel of Jewish leaders including Michael Cohen, Eastern Director of the Simon Weisenthal Center.  To register…  Or watch on Facebook…

But an actual in-person event for a lucky 25 volunteers:

Saturday, August 8th, 10am-12:30pm:  Lemon Beach, Staten Island( Clean-Up with the great folks at NYC H2O.  Gloves, garbage bags and pickers provided.  You bring sunscreen and water!!  To sign up…

Do we need diversions or what:

Citizen science for those with swimming pools…  Why we don’t want to be upclose with giant hogweed… Weekly musical excursions online with UES neighbor Ralph Farris of Ethel and the Met (as in Metropolitan Museum) Balcony Bar From Home (just keep scrolling)…  Schurz Park’s annual Swingtime Big Band Concert goes virtual... Yet another reason to hate gas flaring…  NYC’s smallest island…  The shark family tree…  NYC zoos and aquariums re-open…  A Queens’ couple dealing in elephant parts…  What shipping containers and oyster larvae have in common…  Finding the southern-most tree…

And from the Hudson River Almanac:

7/17 – Manhattan: I was waiting outside the Post Office on Hudson Street between West 10th Street and Charles Street in the West Village yesterday. There is a restaurant next to the Post Office that was selling frozen drinks from an outside booth and serving tables in keeping with the new Covid-19 regulations. Standing there, I heard the bartender say, “Are there really frogs in Manhattan?” That perked up my ears. He followed with, “Is this thing alive?” I walked over and saw on his metal barstool, a gorgeous and healthy gray tree frog. I picked it up and the bartender gave me a drink container and a lid with an air hole for the frog.

A Gray Tree Frog

There is a beautiful garden about a block away from where I live. This morning, I placed the gray tree frog in a far corner on a giant southern magnolia tree with lots of shade. Overnight in the container, the gray tree frog had turned a magical light green like that of a luna moth. It was bitter sweet to see the frog leave as it jumped onto a giant dark-green waxy leaf.  –  Robert Shapiro

7/14 – Manhattan: Our Randall’s Island Park Alliance staff set two killifish traps over the weekend from the ferry dock in the Harlem River. Elizabeth Reeve went to check on them today and found a gorgeous tautog (110 mm) and one mud crab! I had not caught a mud crab at Randall’s Island, so it was exciting to know they were around. – Jackie Wu

A Mud Crab

Totally off the reservation, but Steve Martin’s tribute to Carl Reiner is a must… 

Be cool and green,

UGS

Dear UESiders,

As the summer’s first heat wave approaches…

Let’s talk some mini good news  re household battery recycling!!

Nope, we’re still not resuming Greenmarket collection and won’t be anytime soon, but down at the 14th Street Best Buy (just east of Union Square), the recycling set-up just to the right of the entrance has one slot plainly marked “batteries”.

Just be sure any and all you might drop off are in sturdy ziplock bags.   (No way, we want Best Buy staff getting battery acid on their hands!!) 

And, FYI, the Best Buy at 86th & Lex has signage up that they’re not yet accepting recycled items of any kind.  And we should respect!!

Meanwhile…

The UES’s embarassingly low Census participation is now making the news…  And making more news…   Eeek!!

So how about we get in touch with those New Yorkers we know who’ve been riding COVID out to the east, north and west and ask – if they haven’t already – to please-please-please fill out the ultra easy online form… 

So, what’s on Ultimate Market Manager Margaret’s mind:

“Dear Green Marketeers, 

Our struggle to set up in a safe manner continues with, as in the past, the main obstacles being on-going school construction and those darned he parked cars!!  As ever your support and patience is much appreciated!!
.
That said …

At 82nd, Gajeski has corn!!  Samascott has all the berries and cherries you could ask for!!  Cherry Lane has plenty of tomatoes!!Special treats include fresh or smoked/cookedready-to-eat deliciousness from Hudson Valley Duck!!  Add cheese, eggs, milk and more from  from Valley Shepherd, Ole Mother Hubbert and Hawthorne Valley!!  And baked deliciousness from Bread Alone!!

And on 92nd…  Yes, American Pride Seafood is back!!  And this week Halal Pastures – home of the most beautiful and tasty cherry tomatoes – also returns!!  Look for a rainbow of fresh veggies and fruit what with Phillips’ peaches, corn and tomatoes AND even a few melons already!!  As ever, Norwich Meadows’ tables are chock full of gorgeous certified organic specialties!!  And, needless to say, Ole Mother Hubbert and Amy’s will be there to handle your dairy and bakery needs!!

Happy shopping!  Happier eating!!

Margaret” 

As for the week’s virtual townhalls:

Actually happened Tuesday but now available online,  BP Brewer in partnership with Columbia Universsity hosts “Childcare After COVID” with a panel of experts.

Actually happened last night but available now online, SS Krueger hosts  “Reopening and Reimagining Public Places”  with guests Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and Christian Klossner, Executive Director, Office of Special Enforcement, NYC Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice.

And for young’uns:

Chelsea Piers and NBC Sports have debuted their NBC Sports Camp, a free online summer sports program for 7- to 12-year olds.

In the random diversion file:

Return of weed-eating goats to Riverside Park…  That while Hermes expands on the lower UES…   NYS’s Interstate Ozone Petition comes back to life…  How to help NYS’s heat-stressed salmon and trout…  A ton of great GrowNYC summer volunteer opportunities…  NYS Forest Rangers’ rescue-laden week…  Governors Island has reopened…  Could it be recyclers are rising to the plastic reuse challenge…  The Animal Care Centers of NYC have opened a new pet adoption search portal at nycacc.app…  A virtual walk through Central Park’s Seneca Village…

From the Hudson River Almanac:

6/23 – Manhattan: Our Randall’s Island Park Alliance finally had an opportunity to put out our fish traps this week. Yesterday, Elizabeth Reeve and I set a killifish pot in the Harlem River off the ferry dock across from Manhattan’s East 120th Street. Today, we checked it to find a naked goby (40 mm) and a yearling (Class of 2019) winter flounder (60 mm).  The pot also held 26 eastern mud dog whelk snails (Tritia obsoleta) ranging from the size of a macadamia nut to that of a peanut M&M. ) – Jackie Wu

7/10 – Manhattan:  Our Hudson River Park’s River Project Staff made sure to check our pots and traps at Pier 40 before the onset of an approaching tropical storm. Our traps yielded species we look forward to seeing every year, including blue crabs, northern pipefish, black sea bass, oyster toadfish, and two lined seahorses (110, 115 millimeters (mm)).  Even more exciting, a male pipefish as well as a male seahorse were holding eggs in their brood pouches! – Toland Kister, Olivia Radick

Last but couldn’t be further from least, a special treat from a cappella group MetropoliTones and their A-plus salute to frontline workers…  A moving musical meld of  “New York State of Mind”/Lean on Me”…

Makes one feel cooler, yes…??

Our best,

UGS  

Dear UESiders,

Now that our composting issues are to a reasonable degree addressed, how about we talk Shred-A-Thons…??

So green and great that every week 5-10 emails pop into UGS’s box and asking when the next shredding event might be happening…

The answer:  No way of knowing as things are now.

And no way either GrowNYC or UGS feels comfortable with a couple of hundred shredders (the average at events in 2019), neighborhood residents, just plain passersby,  volunteers and the great guys on the truck sharing even scrupulously measured space and air for 4 hours…  Or 3…  Or even 1. 

But rest assured…  We can’t wait to be rid of the giant and ever more paper-packed IKEA bag lurking in our coat closet!!

One day!!  One day!!

Meanwhile…

Herewith, Magnum Market Margaret’s Greenmarket update: 

“Dear Greenmarketeers,

Unfortunately, St. Stephen’s construction is following us wherever we set up!!

Which is to say, there’ll now be a dumpster in the street space we regularly occupy!!  Meaning market design needs to be modified yet again!!   So, please, be patient & understanding…  As ever, we’re  doing our best to keep the market open, safe and consistent!!

But as always, you can help!!  Please – if at all possible – no Saturday morning parking on the south side of 82nd and First, from the Deli corner to the eastern boundary of the St. Stephen’s residence. 

Also  please remember earlier is NOT better!! Which is to say, lines are longest early in the day and get shorter as the morning progresses. 11am remains the optimal time to shop!!

And what’s going to be on the tables at both 82nd and 92nd?? 
.
Summer now being upon us hardcore…  Blueberries and cherries are perfect right now… As are summer squash, spring onions and garlic, beets, new potatoes,  mint and so much more!!

Another week or two for corn…  But it’ll be here before you know it!!

AND…

This coming Sunday we’re looking forward to the return of American Pride Seafood to 92nd!!  You’ll find them in their new spot on 92nd Street (not on First Ave), right next to Sikking Flowers.

Happy and safe shopping,

Margaret“

On to these all-important reminders:

The need for blood plasma remains critical!!  Please do call and make that appointment and donate!! 

Census…  Census…  Census!!  Partiipation definitely improving but some real laggards in the 60’s and Park to Fifth!!  Our city needs those Census bucks!!  Do it!!

And the week’s virtual town halls/gatherings: 

Tuesday, July 14th, 7pm, hosted by AM Rebecca Seawright and on subject of the Southpoint Park Shoreline Reconstruction Project and other Roosevelt Island-centric projects with guests Shelton J. Haynes, new, acting President and CEO of the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation and other RIOC Project leaders.   To register or 212-288-4607 .  Or watch live on Facebook…

And we quote, “Interested in #UrbanForestry or cutting-edge #EnvironmentalResearch? Then join NYS Department of Environmental Conservation on Tuesday, July 21st, 10am for a free webinar with @NaturalAreasNYC!!  The subject:  A recent study that’ll shape the future of forest conservation in the city!!  To register (a must)…

A special recommend:

Check out “Wings”, the bi-annual magazine of the Xerxes Society and devoted to invertibrates like butterflies!!  Good info and some first-rate writing like this piece by Scott Black… (scroll down to page 5…)

As for the week’s diverse diversions:

What to feed birds in summertime…   And birds to hear in NYC…  New, weird ocean creatures revealed…  NYS Conservation Officers have been, as ever, busy…  Same for NYS Forest Rangers…  Tons of great virtual events from the UES’s Mount Vernon Hotel Museum…  A Nat Geo podcast on the ever wily coyote (the most persecuted animal in U.S. history!)…  California’s plastics tax initiative…  The Frick’s virtual Cocktails with a Curator covers the great Holbein this time out…  Virtual learning about NYC’s water system past, present and future from the  great NYC H2O…  A virtual 5 or 10K Randall’s Island run… 

And from the Hudson River Almanac:

6/13 – Lower Bay, New York Harbor:  Last week we reported a fin whale heading up the coast into the Lower Bay of New York Harbor. This week we had a veritable parade of two new Cetaceans. First was a humpback whale, 300 yards offshore, “flapping” a white pectoral fin at a crowd that had gathered on the beach. And then the whale amazed us all by breaching entirely out of the water. Following in its wake was a pod of no fewer than 50 bottlenose dolphins. They were all traveling north into the Lower Bay of New York Harbor. – Ivan Rudolph-Shabinsky

[In late autumn 2016, a humpback whale cruised into the Upper Bay of New York Harbor, from the Verrazano Narrows to the George Washington Bridge and, for six days feasted on an incredibly massive presence of Atlantic menhaden before returning to the open ocean. – Tom Lake]

Our best,

UGS

Dear UESiders,

There’s good news and there’s good news to the nth power…  In this case, made even better because you the people were so much part of making it happen…  And you certainly were!!  

*Which is to say, thanks to the relentless advocacy of CM Powers, with CM Kallos’ support AND you 20K-plus individuals who signed the petition, NYC’s 2021 budget includes Compost Collection!!

No details yet as to when the program resumes and there will almost certainly be modifications and, yes and inevitably, a reduction in funds allocated.

But so what, we say!!

We’ll up ton-upon-ton of scraps and trimmings at whatever sites powers-that-be designate!!

Because the program continues to exist, it’s there to build on, reinstate fully and expand over years to come.

This is victory.

But that’s not all:

*Closing of 82nd Street during Saturday Greenmarket hours is now officially permitted!!

Yet again, those many petition signatures and street residents’ endorsing emails – amassed in a matter of days – are absolutely what made this leap forward possible!!

PLUS—

How about we let Alta Market Manager Margaret do the sharing:

“Dear Greenmarketeers,

Headline news for 82nd is that CB8’s approved street closure during market hours!!  Won’t solve all our challenges, of course, but should ease crowding and allow for a somewhat more consistent set-up from week to week.

Many, many thanks to all who signed the petition and to those 82nd Street residents who emailed me!!

Returning to those aforementioned challenges: 

Sitcky WIcket #1:  We’ll still be at the mercy of parked cars, so it’d be incredibly helpful if you know or see anyone pulling into a spot from the SW corner of 82nd to the St. Stephen’s Residence at 414 East 82nd, late Friday/early morning Saturday, please-please ask them to choose one of the many other available spaces nearby…  That just in case they don’t know, 6am-2pm Saturdays is 82nd Street Greenmarket Time and we’d love them to come shop!!

SW #2:  If avoiding the crowds is a priority for you, do come out after 11am to shop.

SW #3:  Please leave your little UESiders and furry friends at home.  Our crowded markets aren’t really safe spaces for them right now.

Add these Market Updates:

Update A:  Except for Ballard’s Honey (Mr. Ballard’s spending  the day with his family), all our farmers/fisherman/bakers will be at their 82nd Street tables.

Update B:   At 92nd Street, Sikking Flowers will be taking this week off, but they’ll be returning  next Sunday… Along with American Pride Seafood!!

At last…  Let’s talk food:

No question but summer produce is in full swing at both our great markets!!  So get out all those great salad recipes you’ve been saving all winter!!

Speaking of salad and just in time for your 4th of July picnic or BBQ, Cherry Lane’s got freshly-dug, new potatoes that couldn’t be better for potato salad!!

There’s going to be plenty of fruit, too, including the first peaches of the 2020 season!!

Happpy 4th and see you at the markets,

Margaret“

Moving on to this Market-associated note:

As we wait for clothes collection to make a Greenmarket return, Wearable Collections is offering a home pick-up service…

Then a bit of activism:

As in if you’re in favor of New York’s first offshore wind project…

Improvement on the Census front!!  Substantial chunks of the UES have moved into the 67%- and-above completed slot…  But annoying swaths low-count remain in the 50’s and to the west.  Come on…  You’ll feel like the best citizen…  Participants can win $1K!!   Do it!!

This week’s virtual town hall:

Tuesday, July 7th at 7pm.  AM Seawright hosts “Reopening Our Neighborhood” with Marcus Book, Director of Intergovernmental Affairs from New York City Transit; Brenda Stuart-Luke, from the IRS Tax Payer Advocate; and a representative from the New York State Department of Financial Services.  To register…  Or live stream on Facebook…

As ever, some miscellaneous diversions:

Municipal Art Society virtual tours (offered at bargain prices)… The NYC open restaurants map…  A challenge:  Name These Birds!!…  4th of July fireworks pet-calming strategies…  Who knew JFK also commanded PT-59 and that very boat’s now being dredged up from the Harlem River…  The genius Milton Avery’s final project...  The Ribbon Bridge proposed for our East River…  What our NYS Conservation Officers have been up to of late…  An inspired bear rescue…  A history of Cartier Jewelry…  Eight famous cocktail recipes…  NYS DEC jobs in its new Office of Renewable Energy Siting… Real life NYC locations in “Hamilton”…

It’s Plastic Free July!!  (Scroll down further for the most environmentally friendly masks!!)

Our best,

UGS

Eco Facts of the Week:   #1 – 8,770,000 New York State residents live in ClimateSmartCommunities!!  (NYC is not one of those communities!!  Not yet!!)
#2 – 241 more acres have just been added to the Catskill Forest Preserve!!