Upper Green Side

Pedestrian and Bike Safety Forum - May 1st 7pm

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Community Board 8 will be sponsoring a forum to discuss ways to improve pedestrian and cyclist safety. They will have a panel of experts presenting their ideas on this topic. Upper Green Side will present some of the results of our transportation survey which showed strong support for reducing the number of cars, installing bike lanes and increasing pedestrian safety at intersections and elsewhere.

When:
Tuesday, May 1, 2007, 7:00 PM
Where:
NY Blood Center
310 East 67th Street (Bet. 1st & 2nd)
New York , NY 10028

Please come to support walking and biking as pollution free alternative transportation modes.

UGS Joins Sierra Club’s Cool Neighborhoods Effort on West Side

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Upper Green Side will be hosting it’s first meeting on the Upper West Side to help the New York City Sierra Club Chapter kick-off it’s “Cool Neighborhoods” campaign to encourage local residents to reduce their personal energy consumption and greenhouse gases and form the nucleus of volunteers for an Upper Green Side chapter on the Upper West Side.

Monday May 7th at 7pm
Cosi - 2160 Broadway corner of 76th Street
Downstairs Eating Area
Continue reading UGS Joins Sierra Club’s Cool Neighborhoods Effort on West Side…

Mayor Bloomberg’s Sustainability Plan

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Mayor Bloomberg has announced a new sustainability plan to make NYC more environmentally friendly in a bold initiative that will define his last two hundred days in office.

I make this promise to you: I will not spend my last 984 days in office pretending that all is fine and leaving these challenges to the next mayor, who may well pass them off to his or her successor. And we – the residents of a city that is a beacon to the world – will not abdicate our responsibility to that world. That’s not leadership. Leadership is about recognizing challenges and seizing opportunities. And we are going to seize this opportunity – to lead the way forward and create the first environmentally sustainable 21st century city.

I highly recommend reading through the speech or the whole report if you get a chance or you can focus on a few of the different sections on Land, Water, Transportation, Energy and Air.

There are many innovative ideas from congestion pricing, to planting a million new trees to cleaning up contaminated land, significantly reducing sewage output into our rivers and harbor and making a goal of reducing greenhouse gases by 30% by the year 2030, all while the city adds another million people.

It’s an ambitious plan that deserves thoughtful study by all levels of government to bring to fruition. For the rest of us, this is yet another reason to believe that all our hard work in raising awareness of the issues is making a difference. But the Mayor or any government agency cannot build a sustainable society through law and administrative procedures alone. It will take a dedicated public effort to make sure that we achieve the goals of this initiative.

Electronics Recycling & Clothing Donation Event

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There’s an upcoming Electronics Recycling & Clothing Donation event, where you can drop off your unwanted or broken electronics for recycling, and your gently used clothing and linens for donation. Free for NYC residents.

Date: Sunday, April 22, 2007
Time: 8 am - 2 pm (rain or shine)
Location: Union Square, North Plaza

Acceptable electronics: computers & laptops, monitors, printers, scanners, keyboards & mice, TVs, cell phones.

Acceptable clothing & linens: pants, dresses, shirts, sweaters, shoes, handbags, belts, blankets, towels, sheets, curtains, tablecloths. Only donate clean, gently used clothing & linens. Place donated items in plastic bags and tie securely to avoid moisture contamination. Tax-deduction receipts will be available from Goodwill upon request.

For more info on other events and recycling options, visit NYCWasteLe$$ or call 311.

Help Us Find Homes for Trees

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How can you place a price on something as beautiful and majestic as a tree in the midst of our urban environment? “Priceless” many would say about the trees out their doors and windows that have been constant companions over the years.

The Parks Department has a more precise answer as reported in the NY Times:

$122 million in annual benefits from the 592,130 of NYC’s street trees from higher real estate values to lower Summer cooling costs and of course the carbon that they sequester from the atmosphere. That’s over $200k per tree.

Another way that the Parks Department has calculated the value to the city is the Return On Investment of tree planting and maintance on city streets. The ROI is $5.60 per dollar spent on street trees.
Continue reading Help Us Find Homes for Trees…

Roosevelt Island Queensboro Bridge Access?

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Roosevelt Island’s Old Connection to the Queensboro Bridge (Elevator Building 1916)

Last night, representatives from the Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA)and the Roosevelt Island Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) made a presentation to Community Board 8 to physically connect Roosevelt Island to the Queensboro Bridge pedestrian and bike path. This is not a new concept. There used to be electric trolleys going over the Queensboro bridge and there was a stop at Roosevelt Island halfway across the bridge. People would then walk across to a building that had a number of elevators. These elevators were so big that they could fit trucks and automobiles that supplied the island.

The Transportation Committee unanimously approved the recommendation of the RIRA to recommend that the city conduct a feasibility study of pedestrian access to the Queensboro bridge and determine how evacuation of the island could be enhanced by this.

Below is the speech that was given by Ellen Polivy, President of the RIRA and a new member of Community Board 8.
Continue reading Roosevelt Island Queensboro Bridge Access?…

Interview with Upper Green Side Founder, Glenn McAnanama

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About a month ago, I was interviewed by a few videobloggers, Ryanne and Jay. This short seven minute video shows my responses to a wide variety of questions about neighborhood organizing, running efficient meetings and personal steps I’ve taken to make my lifestyle more environmentally sustainable. Feel free to add your own comments below here about what you’ve done to make your life more sustainable.

Check out this other great interview with local eco-entrepreneur, Eugene Lee, owner of Rolling Press.