June 1st – 2nd – 3rd, 2012

REGISTER YOUR SPACE, IDEA, OR WORKSHOP HERE!

On the weekend of June 1 to 3, NYCCGC will be collaborating with community gardens city-wide, community-based organizations, and several Occupy Wall Street working groups to hold what is known as an “unconference” in community gardens and other public space venues all over New York City. (An interactive map of Unconference locations is coming soon.)

An unconference is a participant-driven, non-hierarchical convening in which people freely offer to lead workshops and teach-ins. We intend to imbue our unconference with a spirit of celebration, and provide a platform for dialogue between different groups and struggles, from the local to the global.

Do you have something you want to teach? Something you want to learn? Register using the form below!

Workshops will cover a range of topics:  gardening techniques, do-it-yourself crafting,  the politics of land use and distribution of resources, and the impact of corporate agribusiness on local communities.

Artists and artist collectives will participate in multiple ways, including making work that looks at our relationship to nature, and by organizing community projects in which participants will make art and music together.

All Unconference events will be free and open to everybody.

Join us at Neighborhood Preservation Center (232 East 11th St in Manhattan) on Thursday, April 19, from 6:30 to 8:30pm, for our monthly meeting of gardeners from across the city to discuss topics ranging from neighborhood issues to city-wide policies. Tell us what’s going on in your garden!

This is NYCCGC’s annual meeting, during which our Board of Directors elections will be held. This year there are six candidates: one (Kate Temple-West) is a new nominee, while five current Board members (Karen Washington, Vandra Thorburn, Magali Regis, Haja Worley, and Eric Thoman) are seeking re-election. Votes may be cast by NYCCGC members in good standing (annual dues current, minimum of three meetings attended in the past year). Read about the nominees.

Also up for discussion: Our meeting with Governor Cuomo’s office, and the planning of the upcoming Occupy the Land Unconference, a departure from our traditional Community Gardeners’ Forum.

Voting for the election of the 2012 NYCCGC Board of Directors will take place Thursday, April 19, 2012 at 6:30 pm in the East Village at theNeighborhood Preservation Center (232 East 11th St).  According to our bylaws a majority of votes cast in person or by written proxy are required for a candidate to be elected.

The six candidates are Kate Temple-West , Karen Washington, Vandra Thorburn,  Magali Regis, Haja Worley and Eric Thoman.  There are openings on the Board for all six candidates.

If you would like to vote by written proxy you must send in your ballot, by mail, signed and dated and clearly indicating who you are voting for. Your ballot must be received by April 19. Please mail to  send  to:

Neighborhood Preservation Center

NYCCGC Elections

232 East 11th St

New York, N.Y. 10003-7301

Congratulations to the six people who have been nominated to run for the NYCCGC Board of Directors 2012. Kate Temple-West is a brand new nominee.The other five dedicated people, Karen Washington, Vandra Thorburn,  Magali Regis, Haja Worley and Eric Thoman currently serve  on the Board.

KATE TEMPLE-WEST
I has been a community gardener in NYC for 16 years.  She is the director of Children’s Magical Garden on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, a community garden with a focus on nature-based mentorship and arts for children and youth.  She is a practicing clinical herbalist, with a  specialty in local plants, and a certified permaculture designer.  She’s been on the board of More Gardens! since 2006.  She has received four Citizens Committee grants, as well as received larger grants for arts organizations (under another hat as a theater director.)   She has done coalition building with youth, schools, and local grassroots organizations ranging from Grand Street Settlement to GOLES housing group.  She is also a playwright and Dancemeditation teacher.  She loves breathing deeply and listening well, especially in meetings.
I am deeply grateful for the work of NYCCGC, and would like to help wherever I can be of assistance, with a focus on outreach, membership participation, youth involvement, and increasing diversity.

KAREN WASHINGTON 
(Karen currently serves as the President of NYCCGC) Since 1985 I have been a community activist, striving to make the NYC a better place to live. As a community gardener and advocate,I stood up and spoke out for garden protection and preservation. As a member of the La Familia Verde Garden Coalition, we launched a Community Garden Run Farmers Market, bringing garden fresh produce to our neighbors.  I am also the Co- Founder of Black Urban Growers (BUGS) an organization of volunteers committed to building networks and community support for growers in both urban and rural settings. As the current president of the New York City Community Garden Coalition my term as board president is ending. I would still like to remain a board member to concentrate on building leadership within the gardening and farming movement.

VANDRA THORBURN
I am pleased to submit my name to the NYCCGC to stand again for the Board of Directors. I am developing a unique business to help households and small businesses recycle their food waste, creating the first door-to-garden service to build composting sites. Last year we developed a 10-ton composting site at Hearts + Hand Community Garden in East New York. There are 600 community gardens in NYC most of them do not have functioning composting sites. I hope that my presence on the NYCCGC will bring attention to this plight and my interest and expertise a solution.

MAGALI REGIS
(Magali currently serves as the Secretary of NYCCGC) My involvement with community gardens started when I became a member of my local garden, Creative Little Garden on East 6 Street in the East Village. It was the mid-90s and many gardens were being bulldozed by the Giuliani administration. My friend Francoise, an avid and determined garden activist, drafted me to attend rallies at City Hall, make flyers and phone calls to elected officials and help plan the ‘Standing our ground’ rally at Bryant Park. I’ve been a garden activist ever since; signing petitions, making and distributing flyers, going to endangered garden sites to protest the destruction of gardens, rallies and public hearings. I joined the board of NYCCGC in the fall of 2005. I am still a member of Creative Little Garden, and also the garden coordinator for the Toyota Children’s garden on E 11 Street. My vision is to have all community gardens in NYC have at least one of their gardener as member of NYCCGC, to have every public official know we exist and what our mission is, to inform the general public about what we do and stand for, to have a stronger participation by the membership in our committees, to obtain more grants so that we can have staff -even a part-time director – who can do what it takes to strengthen our organization (membership development, legislation to make all gardens permanent, developing new opportunities for new gardens to be created, events planning, grant research, to name a few. Also looking forward to seeing a new generation of leaders to continue and grow the movement.

HAJA WORLEY
(Haja currently serves as the Treasurer of NYCCGC) I am a founding member of the Joseph Daniel Wilson Memorial Garden on West 122nd Street in Harlem; I have worked within the NYCCGC since 1996, and was honored to be its first president.  I am strongly committed to our community gardens city-wide and to our City’s need for the development of the urban forest and a clean, healthful environment.  I believe it is critical for city-dwellers to know and to do more about the impact they have on their environment, not only, but to be given the opportunity to grow their own food, and to understand the importance of consuming locally grown produce.  Real estate development on all levels will continue in this real estate-driven metropolis. We, the NYCCGC, are gardeners, not only, but guardians of the land.  We need to educate and activate the public on the issues.  Every New Yorker should be involved in some way, not only in beautifying the City with its greensward, but in coming to understand that without green, without close attention paid to how we build, renovate, and take care of waste, where and how our food is grown, we threaten not only individual lives of city-dwellers, but the very life and future of our total infrastructure. Moreover, every child should have an opportunity to care for the land, to learn about growing and preserving his/her own food.  I am extremely proud of what the NYCCGC has accomplished in the years since we first came together.  I would like to continue to serve as a board member.

ERIC THOMAN
(Eric currently serves as the Vice President of NYCCGC) I’d like to nominate myself for re-election to the board of NYCCGC. I am the founder of the Backyard Garden in Brooklyn, instructor of Community Gardening at the New School and a garden consultant at NYCHA. I can envision the gardens and the gardeners themselves actively promoting preservation of their land and the wisdom of how to work it, as we share our collective knowledge and propagate a healthy and diverse community of urban gardeners. It been an honor to serve  to serve with this group and with your blessings, I would like to continue.

Spring is prematurely in the air, and plants are stirring from their winter slumber: it’s time to talk gardening!

Join us at Neighborhood Preservation Center (232 East 11th St in Manhattan) on Thursday, March 15, from 6:30 to 8:30pm, for our monthly general meeting of gardeners from across the city to discuss topics ranging from neighborhood issues to city-wide policies. Tell us what’s going on in your garden!

Up for discussion: the upcoming NYCCGC Board of Directors elections, and the planning of the upcoming Occupy the Land Unconference (June 1 – June 3), a departure from our traditional Community Gardeners’ Forum.

Reminder: NYCCGC’s Communications Committee is seeking new members with writing skills and technical proficiency (social media, WordPress, etc) to join our team. Contact us for details.

Join us at Neighborhood Preservation Center (232 East 11th St in Manhattan) on Thursday, February 16, from 6:30 to 8:30pm, for our monthly general meeting of gardeners from across the city. Topics for discussion include: our upcoming trip to Albany to urge Governor Cuomo to support community gardens, the 2012 NYCCGC Board of Directors elections, and the planning of our annual Community Gardeners’ Forum. We value your input on all these agenda items – join us in building a stronger community gardening community!

Interested in taking a more active role in the gardening community? Consider joining NYCCGC’s Board of Directors. Directors serve a two-year term and are the eyes, ears, and legs of the Coalition. Help us be the voice of the gardeners in advocating for long-term legislation to make all NYC community gardens permanent, as well as working toward policies to create more gardens and urban farms. Nominations are due March 1; elections will be held at our annual meeting on April 19. More information here.

NYCCGC’s Communications Committee is seeking geeks new members with writing skills and technical proficiency (social media, WordPress, etc) to join our team. Contact us for details. Note: “Geeks” is a term of endearment: own it!

Just around the corner is perhaps New York’s most magical season: Spring! Heralding its arrival is the annual avalanche of noteworthy events, compiled here.

Just Food Conference 2012: Eat • Work • Grow the Movement
Friday & Saturday, February 24 – 25
Food & Finance High School, Manhattan

Just Food Conference 2012 will bring together local food lovers and advocates, CSA members, community gardeners, urban and rural farmers, food professionals and entrepreneurs for two days of hands-on workshops, discussions, skills-building sessions, and good food. More information, tickets available here.

31st Annual Making Brooklyn Bloom: Think Global, Grow Local: What’s Next for Urban Gardeners?
Saturday, March 10
Brooklyn Botanic Garden Palm House, Brooklyn

Kick off the spring gardening season at Brooklyn Botanic Garden with this daylong conference exploring the many ways we can cultivate and celebrate sustainable innovation in the face of environmental degradation, climate change, and making do with less. This free event features exhibits and workshops on the cutting edge of sustainable urban gardening—from growing food on roofs and windowsills to reducing your garden’s carbon footprint. No preregistration is required, but you must arrive at 10:00am to register for the day’s workshops. Details here.

28th Annual GreenThumb GrowTogether
Saturday, March 31
Hostos Community College, Bronx

Join with a thousand community gardeners and greening professionals from all over New York City for a day of learning, sharing, networking, and greening inspiration! Tickets are $3 in advance and include breakfast, workshops, lunch, and t-shirt. Day-of registration is $5; includes breakfast and workshops. Note: you must pre-register to be guaranteed lunch and a t-shirt! Tickets available here.

Brooklyn Food Conference
Saturday, May 12
Brooklyn Technical HS, Brooklyn

The first Brooklyn Food Conference in 2009 galvanized over 3,000 adults and 500 youth from all five boroughs and New York State! The successful mobilization of so many enthusiastic food activists prompted the birth of the Brooklyn Food Coalition, which now has branches in ten Brooklyn neighborhoods, and active members and committees working on a variety of food- and social justice-related issues. This is a free event. Find out how to attend, participate, or volunteer here.

Join fellow gardeners from across the city at Neighborhood Preservation Center (232 East 11th St in Manhattan) from 6:30 to 8:30pm on Thursday, January 19 for our monthly general meeting as we discuss current news and events in the citywide gardening & greening scene.

Topics for discussion include: our upcoming trip to Albany to urge Governor Cuomo to support community gardens, the 2012 NYCCGC Board of Directors elections, and the planning of our annual Community Gardeners’ Forum (date TBA).

Join us in building a stronger community gardening community… come share what’s going on in your garden!

At its core, New York City Community Garden Coalition is a human rights organization. Therefore, in lieu of our regular monthly meeting, scheduled for Thursday, October 17, we are asking all our members and supporters to join us in solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street movement by participating in the planned International Day of Action. The reasons are many, the time is now.

There is a full day of nonviolent protest planned: see the official OWS website for details on how you can take part.

Occupy Wall Street • Sunday October 16 3:00pm • Chatham Square

Sunday, October 16 is World Food Day – and New York City Community Garden Coalition thinks that the best way for community gardeners to observe World Food Day is to Occupy Wall Street!

Meet up with NYCCGC at 3:00pm at Chatham Square (Bowery @ Worth St*) this Sunday, October 16 (map). From there we’ll proceed together to  join the food justice delegation, who are gathering at Foley Square at 4:00pm (map). (We’re meeting away from the main throng so that we’ll be able to find each other.)

Bring banners, signs, friends – and fruits and vegetables!

Nearest subway stops:

J Train to Chambers Street
B/D to Grand Street
4/5/6 to Brooklyn Bridge

WHY? As the Official Statement of Occupy Wall Street puts it:

“They have poisoned the food supply through negligence, and undermined the farming system through monopolization.”

New York City community gardeners are part of the worldwide movement to take back our food supply to grow food that’s healthy, fresh, local – and affordable. No hedge fund trader or corporate chain store is turning a profit from our fresh collards, calaloo, calabaza, cilantro, carrots, and tomatoes!

Our most determined opponent has always been real estate developers seeking to turn our work healing our communities into opportunities for financial gain. Community gardeners have turned bombed-out neighborhoods into healthy, green communities where people want to live – and we get repaid by having our gardens threatened and bulldozed.

Where do those developers get their financing? Through corporate banks whose stocks are traded on Wall Street with one motive: to make even more money for the 1% of the people who own 42% of this country’s wealth.

We are the 99%! Join us on Sunday, and make our voice heard!

* Chatham Square actually lies at the confluence of seven streets: Bowery, East Broadway, St. James Place, Mott Street, Oliver Street, Worth Street, and Park Row.