[scrollGallery id=2]On a fine spring Saturday, volunteers picked up litter, performed tree care, listened to bluegrass, attended a tree-care workshop, had their soil tested, and learned how to make delicious fruit juice with a bicycle at the Civic Sweep, the Park Slope Civic Council’s semi-annual clean-up and beautification event. From our “headquarters” in front of the Old Stone House/J.J. Byrne Playground, they picked up tools, supplies, and our giveaway plants, and then went off to make Park Slope cleaner, greener, and more beautiful.
Our thanks to the many people and organizations far and wide who helped out on April 21:
- All the volunteers — students from Millennium Brooklyn High School and from Park Slope Collegiate with their principal Jill Bloomberg, the Fifth Avenue Committee, Women’s Shelter at the Armory, families from P.S. 39, a group of Girl Scouts, and residents of Fourth Avenue, as well as other individuals.
- Sarah Dougherty and Andrew Newman of MillionTreesNYC, who taught us the value of the beautiful trees in our neighborhood and how to care for them.
- Gerard Lordahl and Julianne Schrader of GrowNYC, who tested our soil and made us laugh with their demonstration of how to make fruit juice with a bicycle.
- Our supersponsor, New York Methodist Hospital; our media sponsors, Park Slope Parents and Park Slope Neighbors; and those that provided funds or supplies: 1-800 Mr. Rubbish, Leopoldi Hardware, the Gowanus Nursery, Park Slope Shipping and Copy Center, the Park Slope Day Camp, and Tarzian Hardware.
- The Park Slope Food Coop, which provided working members and tools.
- La Bagel Delight, which donated free bagels, and Emily Isaac, owner of Trois Pommes Patisserie, who donated free coffee!
- State Assemblymember Joan Millman and Jo Anne Simon, Democratic Leader for the 52nd District, for stopping by.
- And let’s not forget the anonymous mom who sang a great “Wabash Cannonball” with Vincent Cross and his bluegrass group Good Company.
— Candace Woodward is a member of the Sustainability Committee and Civic Sweep organizer.
And on Fourth Avenue …
The Forth on Fourth Avenue (FOFA) Committee’s effort to bring the Spring Civic Sweep to Fourth Avenue was a huge success, with 17 tree beds brought into care (at President Street, Butler Place, and St. Marks Avenue). The tree beds were cleaned, cultivated, planted, and mulched, and had the now-familiar FOFA DIY tree guards installed. FOFA members got a lot of positive feedback from passersby on the avenue, some of whom stopped to help while many signed up to be on the committee’s mailing list.
In addition to the friends FOFA members enlisted for help, a special thank you goes out to the following people and organizations for their aid:
- Harvey Jaswal from Build It Green helped devise a temporary tree-guard solution by donating more than 100 salvaged metal railings and design a DIY tree-guard prototype.
- FOFA member Joe Ciccone generously donated his bolt cutter and time to cut the metal railings to size.
- Lisa Alpert and Art Presson at Green-Wood Historic Trust arranged for the donation and delivery of beautiful mulch; workers Adam and Jorge helped supervisor Clifford Rose with the actual delivery at the three FOFA sites.
- Chief Klingler of the Department of Sanitation gave us permission for a Friday afternoon drop-off of mulch.
- Anthony Mazzamuto, administrative department manager at Lowe’s, arranged for the donation of
- perennials and annuals for the tree beds.
- The Ivy Garden contributed plants and bottled water.
- Gerard Lordahl at GrowNYC loaned tools and gloves.
- Warren–St. Marks Community Garden and the Garden of Union lent hand tools, wheelbarrows, and garden volunteers for the day.
- Working members from the Park Slope Food Coop and volunteers from the Fifth Avenue Committee helped with work on the Fourth Avenue sites.
— Grace Freedman, Elise Selinger, and SJ Avery contributed to this roundup.
Photos by David Herman
from the Spring 2012 Civic News
Watch the Civic Council on TV:
Civic Sweep and Fourth Avenue, from Brooklyn Review
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