Senior Resource Fair
A senior resource fair will be held this Fri., Apr. 26th from 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. at RiverstoneSeniorCenter, located at 99 Ft. Washington Avenue at West 164th Street. The fair is being hosted by Councilmember Robert Jackson and will feature a host of community organizations and programs offering resource materials in English and Spanish.
For more information, please call Martin Collins at 212.928.1322.
Angels of Mercy Reading
Dr. William Seraile will speak about his book, Angels of Mercy: White Women and the History of New York’s Colored Orphan Asylum, which uncovers the history of the colored orphan asylum. Founded in New York City in 1836 as the nation’s first orphanage for African-American children, the asylum was where more than 15,000 children were raised. The institution remains that in the forefront of aiding children. Although no longer an orphanage, in its current incarnation as Harlem-DowlingWest SideCenter for Children and Family Services, and seeks to maintain the principles of the women who organized it nearly 200 years ago.
The reading will be held at The Graduate Center, located at 365 Fifth Avenue, in Room 9207. It is free and open to the public.
For more information, please call 212.817.2076 or send an e-mail message to iradac@gc.cuny.edu.
Composting Contest Winners
Photo: breadandyoga.com
Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer, the Manhattan Solid Waste Advisory Board (SWAB) and Citizens Committee for New York City have announced winners of the first-ever New York City-wide community-scale composting contest.
Applicants from across the city submitted proposals for community-based composting projects. Now, twenty-six winners will receive grants of up to $750 to purchase equipment, tools and materials to start, expand and grow neighborhood composting programs.
Among the winners were 9 local organizations and groups within Northern Manhattan.
“Neighborhood composting can play a key role in boosting our environmental and physical health in New York, and these citywide grants will go a long way toward transforming food and yard waste into organic nutrients that make our gardens grow and produce more food for New Yorkers,” said Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer.
“The Manhattan SWAB believes composting is such an important part of dealing with the City’s waste stream that we gladly joined with the Citizens Committee to expand our grant program to all five boroughs,” said SWAB Chairman Brendan Sexton.
“Composting food scraps in a New York apartment might not sound like the best idea, but with a growing number of accessible sites where New Yorkers can drop off their compost it’s a good way to reduce the city’s waste stream, 17% of which is made up of food scraps,” said Peter H. Kostmayer, CEO of Citizens Committee for New York City. “It’s also a good way to fight global warming because in a landfill, food scraps form methane gas, but they don’t when composted, aerated and used for fertilizer. So, just do it. I do and my apartment is smaller than yours.”
Currently, food and yard waste together make up over 20% of the residential waste stream. The City’s Bureau of Waste Prevention, Reuse and Recycling (BWPRR) has supported the NYC Compost Project since 1993, providing outreach and education program for residents, nonprofit organizations, and businesses.
In 2012, BWPRR expanded the NYC Compost Project and launched the Local Organics Recovery Program to provide residents with a range of food scrap drop-off opportunities and ensure that collected materials are composted locally. In addition, the NYC Department of Sanitation and the Department of Education has been piloting a food waste collection program in 40 Manhattan and Brooklyn public schools and in 20 non-profit institutions.
Local award recipients include:
Organization Neighborhood
Bread and Yoga Inwood
Carrie McCracken/TRUCE Garden Harlem
Friends of CPE1 East Harlem
High School for Law and Public Service WashingtonHeights
PS 50 VitoMarcantonioSchool East Harlem
St. Mary’s Episcopal Church Manhattanville
St. Nicholas Miracle Garden Harlem
WHEELS (WashingtonHeights Expeditionary LearningSchool) – WashingtonHeights
Youth Action Programs & Homes East Harlem
For more information on composting, recycling and waste prevention, please visit www.nyc.gov/wasteless.
School Board Meeting
The next Equity Project Charter School Board Meetings will take place on May 13th at 5:30 p.m. These meeting will be held on the school campus, located at 549 Audubon AvenueNew York, NY10040. These meetings are open to public and participation by videoconference is also available. Those interested in attending, or interested in setting up a videoconference, are asked to call the school in advance to confirm that there have been no changes to the scheduled date and time.
For more information, please call the Equity Project Charter School at 646.254.6451 or visit www.tepcharter.org.
Celebrating Mexican Muralism
The SoHarlem Creative Outlet is hosting a special evening in celebration of Alejandro Anreus’s most recent publication, Mexican Muralism: Critical History and in honor of his more than 25 years as a scholar, curator, teacher and philanthropist. Organizers note that his work has “significantly contributed to the advancement of artists of color and other under-represented artists.” There will also be a tasting by Tirado Distillery, the Bronx’s artisan rum and corn whiskey distillery. Tirdado is the first legal distillery in the Bronx since Prohibition, and is a leading player in the Artisan Distillery Movement n New York City.
The event will take place on Fri., Apr. 26th at 6:00 p.m. at the SoHarlem Creative Outlet, located at the Mink Building, 1361 Amsterdam Avenue (at West 127th Street), Suite 340.
Please RSVP to info@soharlem.org.
