Green Visions from Sunnyside
On Saturday, nearly 70 community residents, leaders and environmental experts gathered in Sunnyside, Queens to share visions of a greener future for their neighborhood. The crowed was multi-generational, and included youth as well as people who had lived in the neighborhood for decades. We were especially pleased to welcome two local area elected officials, Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan and City Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer, who both came to listen and also participate in the visioning process. You can see pictures here on North Star Fund's Facebook page.
This event was an important step in the process to distribute nearly $8 million in funds resulting from a settlement between ConEdison and the community group, Western Queens Power for the People, for residents affected by the 2006 blackout. Half of grant funds are slated for tree planting and urban forestry. The other half for other environmental improvement projects. The funds will be granted over a three-year period.
Because of North Star Fund's expertise in working with communities to develop priorities and strategies for grantmaking, the Department of Public Services selected our foundation to administer the program. At Saturday's session, in the best spirit of community involvement, residents were actively engaged, and discovered that they shared much common ground. And when they disagreed with each other, they disagreed respectfully. The small 'breakout' groups were a hotbed for many great new ideas, such as bee keeping and pollination projects, or creating a physical and online hub for environmental information and programs in the area. Residents grappled with questions around the meaning of 'public space.' For example, is a green roof "publicly accessible" because people can see it from the 7 train? At the end of the day, participants were energized and appreciative of the process and the prospect of the funding.
Priorities that emerged were to improve and expand open spaces, including community gardens, to plant trees in visible clusters, and include community stewardship to increase their longevity, to provide effective community education and to decrease energy consumption. This feedback from residents will be incorporated in the Request for Proposals (RFP), which we expect to release in May or June.
If you live in Western Queens (Woodside, Sunnyside, Astoria or Long Island City) and would like to share your thoughts and visions for a cleaner, healthier, greener neighborhood, please come to the visioning session this coming Saturday, March 27 at the Greater Astoria Historical Society at 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
If you can't make that session, you can share your thoughts here on our website.
