‘Tis the Season of Food

I think most of my conversations in the past couple of weeks have been about food: canned vs. homemade cranberry sauce, what to bring to our office holiday potluck, the end of the CSA season, the strange allure of certain warm seasonal beverages served in red cups, and how to avoid overeating during the holidays. [...]

Permaculture: Designing a Sustainable City

I kept hearing the word “permaculture” here and there, but wasn’t sure exactly what it was or what it had to do with life in New York City. So I asked Liz Neves, a Brooklyn blogger and sustainable living consultant who recently became certified in permaculture design. Read on to learn from Liz about how [...]

End of the Fresh, Local Veggie Season

Today is a sad day. It’s my last chance to pick up my box full of vegetables from the Sunnyside CSA (community supported agriculture) program. Every week since June, we’ve gotten a delivery of fresh produce right to the neighborhood from Golden Earthworm Organic Farm on Long Island.
I joined because I wanted to support the [...]

News Roundup: Faster Bus Lanes, Volunteering on Thanksgiving, etc.

News from the past week:

Radio Rookies 10 Year Anniversary: Where Are They Now? (WNYC)
Mapping Main Street: Flushing, Queens (Urban Omnibus)
Answers About Community Philanthropy (City Room)
Service Announcements Serve Cycling Rules With Humor (City Room)
Artful way of dealing with graffiti (Queens Courier)
Fast Bus-Only Lanes Headed To 1st And 2nd Avenues (Gothamist)
More kosher soup kitchens aiding the newly [...]

Playing with (Canned) Food

It’s that time of year again! From now until November 22 at the World Financial Center, you can ooh and ahh at sculptures made entirely out of full cans of food. It’s all part of a friendly competition called Canstruction, in which all of the building materials will be donated to City Harvest.
When visiting, bring [...]

News Roundup: Housing for Veterans, Bicycle Collective, etc.

News from the past week:

Jericho’s walls will house returning vets (Daily News)
On Holiday, Considering the Plight of Homeless Veterans (City Room)
Two Harlem Streets Named for Civil Rights Leaders (City Room)
Art Show Shines Light on Sex Trafficking’s Victims (City Room)
One endpoint of the NYC waste stream (Freshkills Park Blog)
High Line-inspired projects (Freshkills Park Blog)
Hate crime collision [...]

Brooklyn Residents to Team Up for Solar Energy

Solar energy can reduce electricity costs and your impact on the environment, but the initial investment can be huge, and the technology and installation process can be confusing. That’s why One Block Off the Grid (1BOG) is trying to make the transition to solar both cheaper and easier.
With the 1BOG model, residents of the same [...]

News Roundup: Bake Sale Ban, Professional Network for Jamaica, etc.

News from the past week:

NYC Students Rally Together (NYC Private Schools Blog)
Groups Urge Opening of Vacant Condos to the Poor (City Room)
‘Suspects’ Talk Back: Muslims Complain to FBI (City Limits)
Poverty Fighters Get Their Own Consultancy (City Limits)
Helping Spin Gold From a Pile of Garbage (New York Times)
U.N. Special Rapporteur on housing comes to Harlem (Amsterdam [...]

Vote Today!

Don’t forget to vote today. The polls are open until 9:00p.m.
To find out who’s on the ballot and what they stand for, see the Campaign Finance Board’s Voter Guide. (Be sure to read the ballot proposals too!) Note that the web version has more updated information than the guide that was mailed to your house, [...]

News Roundup: Indigenous Immigrants, Vacant Condos, etc.

News from the past week:

Indigenous immigrants demand adult education programs (Diario de Mexico via Voices That Must Be Heard)
Condos, Condos Everywhere (The Wonkster)
At Bronx River, an Invitation to Text the Fish (Tremont Tribune)
A Room and Not Bored: One Path out of Shelter (City Limits)
Enviromedia Mobile Unveils at Borough Hall (GreenBeat Brooklyn)
Bloomberg Announces Green Jobs (Sustainable [...]