The Space Cross street: Hooper - Living Lots NYC
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May 12th, 2015 Dear Mayor de Blasio, It will come as no surprise to you that community gardens are essential components of a vibrant and healthy city. Our group, The Gardeners of Hooper Street Park, is writing to you today in hopes of garnering support of our proposed community garden, the development of which has recently been stalled. The Space There is currently an empty, City-owned lot on the Southside of Williamsburg that has the potential to become a neighborhood garden. At the moment, it is full of trash, weeds, and rodents. However, we, a group of concerned citizens, believe it has the capacity to serve as a safe, green, open space for our community. ● Address: 375 South 5th Street Brooklyn, NY 11211 ● Cross street: Hooper ● Block: 02450 ● Lot: 00028 Citizens Coming Together In Spring 2012, our group first contacted 596 Acres, New York City’s Community Land Access Advocacy Organization, in hopes of getting access to this lot. Since December of 2013, our group has grown and has been privileged enough to obtain the full support of Community Board 1 and the parks subcommittee. Turning this unofficial dumping ground into a space that will appeal to all segments of the population is thrilling…and we aren’t the only ones who think so! St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, El Puente, Nuestros Niños Preschool, Awesome Bunnies Childcare Center, and Los Sures have all come out in support of our efforts. The Garden Policy of the HPD Since 2011, as the final use for vacant, city-owned sites are being determined, it has been standard practice for the Housing Preservation Development (HPD) to issue interim use licenses to community groups seeking to beautify their neighborhoods. 1
Transcript of The Space Cross street: Hooper - Living Lots NYC
May 12th, 2015 Dear Mayor de Blasio, It will come as no surprise to you that community gardens are essential components of a vibrant and healthy city. Our group, The Gardeners of Hooper Street Park, is writing to you today in hopes of garnering support of our proposed community garden, the development of which has recently been stalled. The Space There is currently an empty, City-owned lot on the Southside of Williamsburg that has the potential to become a neighborhood garden. At the moment, it is full of trash, weeds, and rodents. However, we, a group of concerned citizens, believe it has the capacity to serve as a safe, green, open space for our community.
● Address: 375 South 5th Street Brooklyn, NY 11211 ● Cross street: Hooper ● Block: 02450 ● Lot: 00028
Citizens Coming Together In Spring 2012, our group first contacted 596 Acres, New York City’s Community Land Access Advocacy Organization, in hopes of getting access to this lot. Since December of 2013, our group has grown and has been privileged enough to obtain the full support of Community Board 1 and the parks subcommittee. Turning this unofficial dumping ground into a space that will appeal to all segments of the population is thrilling…and we aren’t the only ones who think so! St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, El Puente, Nuestros Niños Preschool, Awesome Bunnies Childcare Center, and Los Sures have all come out in support of our efforts. The Garden Policy of the HPD Since 2011, as the final use for vacant, city-owned sites are being determined, it has been standard practice for the Housing Preservation Development (HPD) to issue interim use licenses to community groups seeking to beautify their neighborhoods.
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Some of these sites have been developed as extremely successful open community spaces and have subsequently been transferred to the Parks Department for permanent preservation. Others sites have ceased to operate when it has been determined that the construction of new buildings would better serve the community’s needs. A Surprising Reversal Mr. Mayor, we are reaching out to you directly because Rasheed Hislop, Deputy Director of Green Thumb, informed us that no more interim use licenses will be issued for lots in HPD’s inventory. This new policy is a sudden reversal of a practice that has been working well to transform neglected land into needed open space. The implementation of this directive will prevent the creation of Hooper Street Park that our community has been organizing to create for over a year. We urge your office to retain the successful policy of allowing temporary gardens and community open spaces on vacant public land. Specifically, we believe that every opportunity should be reviewed individually and that land should be made available for community use until a final disposition becomes a reality. Included is our group’s supporting documentation expressing the neighborhood support and our plans for the park. We look forward to hearing how you can help us make this public space a reality for the South Williamsburg community. Sincerely, Raina Trider Tiffany Frances Beverly Bryan Robert Atterbury Attachment 1: Group Mission Statement Attachment 2: Drawing of the Park Plans Attachment 3: Member Contact List Attachment 4: Letter of Support from Brooklyn Community Board 1 Attachment 5: Letter of Support from El Puente Attachment 6: Letter of Support from Los Sures Attachment 7: Letter of Support from Nuestros Niños Preschool Attachment 8: Letter of Support from St. Paul’s Lutheran Church Attachment 9: Letter of Support from Awesome Bunnies Childcare Center
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Mission Statement August 7, 2014
Lead: Beverly Bryan
Gardeners of Hooper Street Park Mission Statement Given that in 1992, 375 South 5th Street Brooklyn, NY 11211 (Block: 02450 Lot: 0028), located at the corner of South 5th and Hooper Streets, was designated as open space, our goal is to provide the community with access to green space and the opportunity to invest in the neighborhood through gardening.
Attachment 1: Group Mission Statement
south
entra
nce
tool shed
table
& benches
table
& benches
table
& benches
mulch
mulch
flower bed
flower bed
compost bins
northeast entrance
contact: [email protected]
facebook.com/hoopergarden
Attachment 2: Drawing of Park Plans
Name Address Phone Email Notes
Aaron Bohannon 319 Hooper St. #2A Brooklyn, NY 11211 215-873-6955 [email protected]
Ana Hernandez 384 South 4th Street Brooklyn, NY 11211 718 - 963-1555 [email protected]
Beverly Bryan 319 Hooper St. Brooklyn, NY 11211 404-219-1868 [email protected]
Bryant Arabian 319 Hooper St. #6E Brooklyn, NY 11211 718-607-1439 [email protected]
Camille Diane von Kaenel [email protected]
Concepcion Bosquez 384 South 4th Street Brooklyn, NY 11211 718 - 963-1555 [email protected]
Danijela Dusanic 319 Hooper St. #5F Brooklyn, NY 11211 347-993-8426 [email protected]
Errol Smith 319 Hooper St. #5F Brooklyn, NY 11211 347-775-9984 [email protected]
Florens Wanda 319 Hooper St. #1A Brooklyn, NY 11211 918-384-9270 [email protected]
Giacinta Frisillo [email protected]
Ivette Sosa [email protected]
Liz Irwin 319 Hooper St. #3D Brooklyn, NY 11211 617-593-6334 [email protected]
Maria De Leon 384 South 4th Street Brooklyn, NY 11211 718 - 963-1555 [email protected]
Mike Evans 319 Hooper St. #1B Brooklyn, NY 11211 212-380-3027 [email protected]
Miquelina Devan 384 South 4th Street Brooklyn, NY 11211 718 - 963-1555 [email protected]
Murray Trider 373 South 4th St. #2A Brooklyn, NY 11211 917-349-2751 [email protected]
Nick Sklavounakis 374 Hooper Street Brooklyn, NY 11211 646-369-0453 [email protected]
Raina Trider 373 South 4th St. #2A Brooklyn, NY 11211 917-349-2751 [email protected]
Rob Leitzell 319 Hooper St. Brooklyn, NY 11211 [email protected]
Robert Atterbury 319 Hooper St. Brooklyn, NY 11211 845-664-3802 [email protected]
Sarah McCormick [email protected]
Sean Grossman 319 Hooper St. #5C Brooklyn, NY 11211 917-656-3877 [email protected]
Stefan Thompson 319 Hooper St. #12F Brooklyn, NY 11211 917-680-8124 [email protected]
Tandi Zulu 319 Hooper St. #5E Brooklyn, NY 11211 845-642-5304 [email protected]
Tess Vinnedge 319 Hooper St. #1E Brooklyn, NY 11211 310-560-2077 [email protected]
Tiffany Frances 319 Hooper St. #5E Brooklyn, NY 11211 626-825-6529 [email protected]
Hooper Street Park Contact List
Lead: Robert
Columbia Journalism School Student
Runs youth group in Williamsburg
Attachment 3: Member Contact List
Nancy Kohn Director GreenThumb 49 Chambers Street Room 1020 New York, NY 10007 October 24, 2014 Dear Nancy. I write to you to express, on behalf of El Puente, our support for the creation of Hooper Street Park. El Puente’s Green Light District, our ten-year sustainability initiative launched in 2011, has worked with residents to begin new community gardens across the Southside. In our mission to expand and improve access to both open space and opportunities for healthy living, we have helped residents engage their neighbors in creating spaces that can serve as community-wide resources. El Puente also founded and has managed the Espiritu Tierra Community Garden since 1992. The Gardeners of Hooper Street Park have a vision to create a space for the Southside neighborhood that is green, vibrant, and accessible. Beyond the social value, these efforts will transform a lot that is currently garbage-filled and rat-infested into a positive environmental resource. The lot is located at: 375 South 5th Street Brooklyn, NY 11211 Cross street: Hooper Block: 02450 Lot: 00028 We are committed to supporting the gardeners throughout this process of starting and maintaining a community garden. Please feel free to reach out with any questions. Sincerely,
Anusha Venkataraman Green Light District Director
EL PUENTE GREEN LIGHT DISTRICT 211 SOUTH 4TH STREET BROOKLYN, NY 11211
TEL: (718) 387-0404 FAX: (718) 387-6816 WWW.ELPUENTE.US
Attachment 5: Letter of Support from El Puente
Attachment 6: Letter of Support from Los Sures
Attachment 7: Letter of Support from Nuestros Ninos Preschool
Attachment 8: Letter of Support from St. Paul's Lutheran Church
Attachment 9: Letter of Support from Awesome Bunnies Childcare Center
