by Pat Arnow Twenty years ago, Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans. The levees failed. Six years later Hurricane Sandy inundated New York. New York learned nothing from Katrina. The city is building 1950s-style levees, the kind that burst in New Orleans in 2006. These massive construction projects harm our health now and will harm us…
Category: East River Park
Our Park
Three and a half years after the city demolished all of East River Park below Houston, a good-sized section reopened on Memorial Day. People streamed over the Delancey Street footbridge to play basketball and tennis in the new courts. By lunchtime, picnickers grilled corn and sausages on the stationary barbecues. More people lounged on the…
Support Howard Brandstein
This community Icon has been a real friend to our work trying to save East River Park. He needs our help. –Pat Arnow, co-founder, East River Park Action As you may have heard, last week the Board of Directors at the Sixth Street Community Center fired its long-time director Howard Brandstein. The board had the…
Grassroots for “Touch Grass” bill
The “Touch Grass” bill introduced by City Council Member Christopher Marte will improve our health and air quality by requiring NYC Parks to use real grass instead of hot, unhealthy plastic artificial turf. We need grassroots support to grow our grass 1) Contact your City Council Member, and urge them to co-sponsor and actively support the bill. Also ask them to support the increased…
No Power
The East Side Coastal Resiliency Project repeatedly affects nearby residents, even though one of the reasons the city gave for the complete destruction of East River Park was that it would lessen the disruptions. Yet, late night noise, dust, power outages, delays in toxic cleanup at Riis Houses and other problems plague the neighborhood. What…
Synthetic Grass
Unhealthy and Unwise and HOT Click here to DO something about it. And see below for why we need to stop artificial turf: Stop installing artificial turf ball fields in New York. Here’s why: 1) Ouch Athletes suffer more foot and ankle injuries, and female athletes also experience more ACL tears on artificial turf fields….
Unnatural
According to New York City officials and some elected representatives, we need artificial turf fields more than we need to protect the climate of NYC and the earth. NO. We need more real grass playing fields and other open, natural spaces for the health and joy of more New Yorkers and for the future of…
Let It Rot
The Lower East Side Ecology Center’s compost program in East River Park was the first of its kind in the city. We’re helping this important climate-centric community group to continue. By Wendy Brawer Every bit of food scrap that goes into the drop-off bins provided by the Lower East Side Ecology Center (LESEC) at the Tompkins…
We Need Real Grass
Even the National Football League wants to get rid of synthetic turf. Natural grass sports fields would improve our environment and health as the new East River Park rises. Instead the city is installing unhealthful and climate damaging artificial turf. It is also being installed in other fields and playgrounds in our neighborhood and throughout the city and the…
City of Dense
Amazing fact. The population density of our Lower East Side and East Village is 95,965 per square mile. That far exceeds anywhere else in the city, and get this–it far exceeds Kolkata, India, with 77,952 people per square mile. This is one reason we need greening—more trees and other plantings and real grass turf fields*–to…