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Spotted on Fourth Street by Carol from East 5th Street...
As you know, we are in the process of relicensing GreenThumb community gardens operating on NYC Parks property. As we near completion of that process, we are extending the deadline for submission of the relicensing documents until Friday, September 20, 2019, and also making several updates to the Gardener's Handbook to better support our network of gardens and gardeners.
Please review the details in the attached letter. Your GreenThumb Outreach Coordinator will be happy to speak with you about any questions that you might have.
I hope that your gardens are doing well and in full bloom, and I look forward to seeing many of you again soon. Enjoy your weekend!
We are very happy that GreenThumb has extended the license agreement deadline to Sept. 20.
We hope to continue negotiating in good faith. We all love our gardens and want to continue to have a
good relationship with GreenThumb and the Parks Department.
In light of the new deadline we are canceling the Rally scheduled for Monday at City Hall.
We are very grateful for the vigorous support of our community gardeners. We continue to recognize that our strength is in unity; and our goal is to continue to help New York grow.
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Under the new license, GreenThumb becomes an enforcement agency rather than a garden-friendly helpmate. This new license imposes new regulations, restrictions and obligations on garden groups.
It was written by lawyers with no sense of the historical and cultural significance of the gardens and their communities. Now we are being told that we are being allowed to garden on city property and if we don’t like the new license we don’t have to garden.
Gardeners have voiced great concerns. At a Town Hall in May, gardeners voted unanimously to not sign the license. In the past 40 years there has never been widespread opposition to garden licenses.
We have tried to negotiate changes to the license; we want to continue to work toward a better license. But the City is threatening garden groups with a lockout. We have grave concerns about these items in the new license:
• There are three sets of regulations that gardens are required to follow, these regulations are inconsistent, contradictory and confusing.
• Liability issues remain unresolved. The term “Licensee” in the agreement is not defined, what does it mean for the person signing the license on behalf of their community garden?
• Gardens are required to hold two free public events a year but must obtain written permission far in advance from GreenThumb to hold these events.
• Many of the new rules will be impossible to effectively enforce given the size of GreenThumb’s staff. This can only lead to arbitrary, discriminatory enforcement. Gardens will be lost because of developers’ greed not garden infractions.
She said changes include "making the gardens more accessible by keeping them open to the public during the weekend; allowing gardens to host more fundraising events so they can sustain themselves; and increasing safety by asking gardens to coordinate with Green Thumb ahead of planned events."
In the aftermath of her death, advocates implored the agency to rethink its use of “mixing zones” — which force cyclists and drivers to negotiate the same space at the same time.
After Hurley’s death, Upper West Side architect Reed Rubey came up withan alternative design, which was subsequently endorsed by Manhattan Community Board 4.
Rubey’s efforts partly inspired DOT’s chosen solution: the offset intersection, which it piloted at select locations in 2017 and 2018. In September, DOT’s “Cycling at the Crossroads” report showed that cyclists felt significantly safer at intersections with offset crossings [PDF].
Season of the Witch was put together by Dylan Hundley of Lulu Lewis and Diane Gentile of Diane and the Gentle Men to help raise funds for the ACLU to fight abortion bans. An all-girl night with some of the most respected female musicians in New York, Season of the Witch will help start a year-long call to action for women in music.
The band are: Cait O'Riordan (original and longtime bassist of the Pogues), Karyn Kuhl of New Jersey's popular Karyn Kuhl band, Linda Pitmon on drums from the Baseball Project (a band with Steve Wynn of the Dream Syndicate plus members of R.E.M.) Special guest singers include: Christina Martinez (Boss Hog), Cynthia Sley (Bush Tetras), Ann Courtney (Mother Feather), Dina Regine, Dylan Hundley and more!
AT VARIOUS EXPOSURES OF EDUCATIONAL FACILITY, ORNAMENTAL FACADE ELEMENTS ARE IN A STATE OF DISREPAIR WITH VISIBLE CRACKS, GAPS, AND DETERIORATION. THESE ORNAMENTAL ELEMENTS HAS THE POTENTIAL TO FALL INTO THE STREET AND YARD. IN ADDITION, INTERIOR FIRE PROOFING ARE MISSING THEREBY EXPOSING STRUCTURAL STEEL MEMBERS. THESE CONDITIONS HAVE MADE THE ENTIRE BUILDING AND YARDS UNSAFE TO OCCUPY.
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The agency’s order will remain in effect until the firm replaces the personnel who supervised the crane work at this and 21 other locations, and puts in place an independent monitor who will make monthly safety-compliance reports to DOB regarding United’s work.
DOB’s investigation of the FDR Drive incident revealed that the crane’s operator lifted a load of steel beams that weighed more than 4,400 pounds, exceeding the crane’s permitted lifting capacity of 3,700 pounds. The total load weight caused the crane’s boom to bend and partially collapse. The collapse of the boom caused the operator to lose control of the load, which struck the roof and side of the building before falling to the ground. The load of steel was intended to be placed on top of the building to support future mechanical equipment.
Accordingly, DOB issued five violations today to United that carry penalties of $110,000. The violations include failure to designate a qualified and competent Lift Director; failure to make proper notifications to DOB regarding the work that was being performed; inadequate safety measures on site; failure to safeguard the construction site to protect workers and the public; and failure to have proper construction documents on site.
Below is my statement on the closing of the DOB investigation on the crane collapse at Jacob Riis Houses. pic.twitter.com/QGcf3bbdoh
— Harvey Epstein (@HarveyforNY) August 12, 2019