"I ACTUALLY MADE A DIFFERENCE"

"I got a lot of work done and I feel that I actu­ally made a dif­fer­ence."

A high school student volunteered this summer to help improve the appearance of Kensington Plaza, in front of Walgreens at 114 Beverley Road. He's written in City Atlas about picking up litter and planting flowers--and liking it.

HELP WANTED TODAY TO KEEP CHURCH AVE. TREES ALIVE AND WELL

TREE PIT BRIGADE PARADE ON SUNDAY

Thanks, Emily Hursh and Skip Dolphin Hursh, for creating the flier.

SAVING LIVES, ONE TREE AT A TIME

Tree Pit Brigade members

For many years, Church Avenue was nearly barren, with an average of less than one tree per block from Coney Island Avenue to 36th Street. Now that we have many more trees on our main shopping street, the Tree Pit Brigade has formed to make sure that they survive.

Each Tuesday morning, the Tree Pit Brigade goes out and improves the life of one tree on Church Avenue. Why do we care so much about trees anyway?

Aside from looking beautiful, trees do a lot for us. Their leaves capture particulate waste emissions from cars. They provide shade for the elderly on their way to Astoria Federal Savings bank. Trees reduce the heat island effect of raised temperatures found in cities. The presence of trees increases property values by up to 10% and can attract customers to businesses. Trees provide homes for birds, animals, and insects.

Unfortunately, street trees have a tough life and they need our love. What exactly do street trees need that they don’t already get? As it turns out, a lot!

Street trees have a tough life for three main reasons.

1) Street Trees Are Thirsty Because People Step on the Soil.

Trees in the forest get water and nutrients through natural processes. A tree’s roots,which do all of the drinking and eating, spread far beyond the canopy of the tree. Root spread can be up to two to three times the size of the canopy. (London Plane tree canopy width can be up to 80 feet wide!)

But for a street tree, this area is limited to the size of the tree pit, which can be as small as two feet square, whereas it normally might be 10 or 20 feet square. It is very hard for a tree to get enough food and water when the area of its mouth is reduced by 90%. When people, animals, shopping carts, and bicycles trample across the soil surrounding a tree, the soil becomes tight and compacted.

Have you ever seen puddles form around street trees when it rains? That happens because the soil has been tamped down so tightly that the water can’t get through it to the tree’s roots, which would gladly drink it up. In the forest, fewer feet trample across the land, and more animals dig it up to aerate it. Animals burrow in the soil; worms meander through. This ensures that the soil is not tight and the rain can get to the tree’s roots.

2) Street Trees Are Damaged Easily.

Imagine if whenever you got a scratch on your back, your arm or leg fell off?That’s exactly what can happen to a tree when a car door bashes into it or a bike is chained to its trunk. Street trees are more likely to suffer these kinds of injuries, especially those without tree pit guards.

3) Street Trees Suffer From Careless Waste.
Some owners allow their dogs to “mark” or “water” trees. Did you know that urine can damage tree trunks and leave them exposed to insect infestations? Dog poop harms trees too--it is not compost. It throws the soil's nutrients out of balance. People unwittingly throw garbage, cigarette butts, and liquid waste into tree pits; all of these leach chemicals into the soil.

That’s where the Tree Pit Brigade comes in! Our team of neighbors, WHO ARE JUST LIKE YOU, meets each week to protect one tree. We first assess a merchant’s willingness to water a tree. If a merchant says that he or she will water a tree, we  amend the soil by adding compost, plant a few plants, and mulch. The compost feeds the tree necessary nutrients, and the mulch keeps the water in. Our Mini Grant from Million Trees NYC has provided us with $1,000 to purchase Treegators ® and other supplies. We are distributing these as rewards to participating Church Ave. merchants.

We are also working with City Councilmember Brad Lander’s office to get tree pit guards to further protect the trees. However, his budget is not large enough to protect all of the trees on Church Ave. Catherine Zinnel, Brad Lander’s District Director, has promised the Kensington community that we will receive up to twelve tree guards. The Tree Pit Brigade plans to build simple guards for the unprotected trees when we have enough volunteers and money to do it.

If you want to meet your neighbors and protect our trees, we can use your help working in the tree pits on Tuesdays and picking up compost and mulch on Thursdays or Fridays.

If weekdays aren’t convenient for you, please mark your calendar and join us on Sunday, September 15th, for the Tree Pit Brigade Parade. We will give a little “TreeLC” to up to 20 trees on Church Ave., and we need your help to do it! Join us from 11 a.m. to noon to learn how to care for trees and from noon to 2 p.m. to put your tree care knowledge to work by amending soil, planting bulbs and plants, and mulching trees.

All attendees of the Tree Pit Brigade Parade will be entered in a raffle to win fabulous prizes, including an on-the-ground tree pruning, a plant, leather-clad gardening gloves, or a beautiful flower-patterned garden tool set.

Please contact Bridget at evergreen827 [at] aol [dot] com for more details! 
                                                                                                                   --The Tree Pit Brigade

GREEN CHANGES ON CHURCH

Have you noticed the changes on Church Ave.? Many of the new plants in the tree pits and the beautiful soil are a result of the work of the recently-formed tree pit care brigade, a project of West Kensington Action Group (WKAG).

Each Tuesday at 9:30 a.m., neighborhood volunteers meet up to cultivate the soil, add compost, and plant flowers in the pits that residents or merchants commit to watering.

Much of the work includes educating residents and merchants about tree care. For example, did you know that street trees need 20 to 30 gallons of water each week during heat waves and 15 to 20 gallons throughout the rest of the summer?

Tree care also includes such basics as not walking through tree pits, not letting dogs use them as toilets, and not throwing litter in them. (Decomposed litter puts harmful chemicals into the soil.)

Jasmina Nikolov, a WKAG member and Certified Citizen Pruner, who noticed that many of our new trees were going to die without some neighborly intervention, says that "Neighbors have been working with the City for a long time to green Church Ave. It would be a shame if we can't keep these trees alive with a little TreeLC [sic]."

Jasmina applied for a grant from MillionTrees NYC; WKAG was one of just eighteen community groups to receive funding. The money has been paying for flowers, compost, tools, and tree-watering devices. The brigade has saved money by picking up local compost and soliciting plant donations from neighborhood gardeners.

Church Ave. trees are getting love, and so are the neighbors. "It's a lot of fun to come out here, help the trees survive, and grow new friendships," says resident Jane Wong. One member claims that digging through the soil has been a great complement to her diet: she has lost one pants size since starting.

"The more people in the brigade, the more we can do!" says Bridget Elder.

Join the tree pit care brigade each Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. on Church Ave. We will post the location each week here on the KARMABrooklyn Blog.

Ways you can help this new green life survive:

1. Come out to the tree pit brigade on Tuesday mornings. Join them THIS Tuesday, August 6th, at 9:30, at the tree pit in front of the Flatbush Jewish Center on E. 5th Street at Church Ave. The weather was lovely this week and is only improving.
2. Donate plants from your garden.
3. Help pick up mulch or compost.
4. Help plan our big tree pit care day on September 15th!

Contact Jasmina1 [at] gmail [dot] com for more information.

TONIGHT'S EVENT DELAYED

UPDATE: THE STARTING TIMES FOR TONIGHT'S TRASH MOB AND PARTY ARE DELAYED BECAUSE OF THE HEAT AND AIR QUALITY WARNING. TRASH MOB AT 7:00 P.M., PARTY AT 7:30 P.M. SEE YOU THEN!

BRAND NEW BENCHES FOR CHURCH AVENUE

New outdoor seating is coming to Church Avenue! 

To protect the trees on Church Avenue, especially the young ones that were planted recently, neighborhood residents will be working together to build wood benches. Each bench will surround a tree on three sides--all but the curb side, so car doors can be opened without getting dinged.

If you enjoy building or if you'd like to learn how, please join your neighbors as we GRAB A WRENCH, BUILD A BENCH!

This is what the benches will look like....

Refreshments and snacks will be available for everyone, including pizza donated by Korner Pizza and Beverley Pizza. That should help keep your strength up and put smiles on your faces!

Meet at the green triangle pocket park at Church Avenue and 35th Street, west of Dahill Road.

A Project of the West Kensington Action Group

NEIGHBORHOOD EVENTS, OCTOBER 10TH TO OCTOBER 16TH

These events will take place in the Kensington area during October 10th to October 16th:

Sunday, October 10th
* Kensington Clean-up, 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., Ocean Parkway at Church Avenue

Tuesday, October 12th

* Joint meeting of the Dahill Neighborhood Association and the West Kensington Action Group, 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., P.S. 230

Saturday, October 16th

* Harvest Hootenanny, 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Greenwood Playground (rain date: Sunday, October 17th)

* Pumpkin Sale, Flea Market, and Bake Sale, 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., East 4th Street Community Garden (rain date: Sunday, October 17th)

* Healing the Healers workshop, 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., Jaya Yoga East

NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING NEXT WEEK

The joint meeting of the Dahill Neighborhood Association and the West Kensington Action Group is next Tuesday.

Dahill Neighborhood Association
(DNA)
and the
West Kensington Action Group
(WKAG)

Invite you to a neighborhood meeting to
discuss local issues and concerns:

 
- Recent crime in the neighborhood and what we can do as a community to help prevent it.

- The KENSINGTON WORLD'S FAIR on Sunday, October 24th, from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., in front of P.S. 230.

- What we can do to encourage our elected officials to help us get a park and a community center in Kensington.

- Understanding our cultural differences and similarities:
A discussion on what we can do to be better neighbors in our very diverse community.

When: Tuesday, October 12th, 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Where: P.S. 230 auditorium, 1 Albemarle Road, between McDonald Avenue and Dahill Road

EVERYONE IS WELCOME!

NEIGHBORS WORKING TOGETHER

Dahill Neighborhood Association
(DNA)
and the
West Kensington Action Group
(WKAG)

Invite you to a neighborhood meeting to
discuss local issues and concerns:

- Recent crime in the neighborhood and what we can do as a community to help prevent it.

- The KENSINGTON WORLD'S FAIR on October 24th, 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., in front of P.S. 230.

- What we can do to encourage our elected officials to help us get a park and a community center in Kensington.

- Understanding our cultural differences and similarities:
A discussion on what we can do to be better neighbors in our very diverse community.

When: Tuesday, October 12th, 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Where: P.S. 230 auditorium, 1 Albemarle Road, between McDonald Avenue and Dahill Road

EVERYONE IS WELCOME!

KENSINGTON COMMUNITY LEADERS MEETING

Representatives of neighborhood institutions and organizations participated last week in a meeting of Kensington community leaders that was hosted by our New York City Councilmember Brad Lander and our New York State Assemblymember Jim Brennan.

The purpose of the meeting was to gather together the diverse institutions and organizations in our neighborhood and have them work together on the issues and concerns that we have in common. This was the first time, to the knowledge of those gathered, that such a diverse group of Kensingtonians had sat down together.

Some of the institutions and organizations represented were P.S. 230 and P.S. 179 and their PTAs, the 66th Police Precinct, Community Board 12, Kensington Area Resident/Merchant Alliance, Albemarle Neighborhood Association, Dahill Neighborhood Association, Sandwip Educational and Cultural Society USA, West Kensington Action Group, Bangladesh Muslim Center, Council of Neighborhood Organizations, Kensington Action Force, and several mosques.

We were each asked to learn enough about one other person present so that we could introduce that person to the others.

Suggestions generated by the meeting include creating a community center that would promote intergroup relations and provide a place for young people to gather, an intercultural outdoor event, assistance to local small businesses, creation of green space, and addressing safety issues in the schools and in the neighborhood. Precinct Commander John Sprague offered to hold a meeting to discuss gangs and teach parents how to recognize if their children are gang members.

We're all looking forward to meeting again and moving ahead together on our common goals.

NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING ABOUT CRIME: UPDATE

Monday, April 19th, 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
DNA and WKAG Neighborhood Meeting

An update to our April 7th post about the WKAG/DNA meeting: the new commander of the 66th Precinct will be at the meeting. Bring Deputy Inspector John Sprague your ideas on how our neighborhood can be cleaner, safer, and quieter.

You can also pick up a copy of a free Kensington Info Sheet that has important websites, phone numbers, and addresses.

Everyone is welcome to attend.

NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING ABOUT CRIME

Monday, April 19th, 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
DNA and WKAG Neighborhood Meeting

This is posted on behalf of two other neighborhood organizations.

================================================

Hi-
As you know, a woman was beaten and robbed in broad daylight a few weeks ago on Dahill Road. Yesterday, there was a murder at an illegal Single Room Occupancy (SRO) home on Dahill Road. SROs have become a real problem in our neighborhood, resulting in overcrowding of transient folks and fire hazards and destroying the essence of our "family" neighborhood.

Please come to our meeting to discuss how we can save our neighborhood!

Dahill Neighborhood Association (DNA)
and
West Kensington Action Group (WKAG)

Invite you to a neighborhood meeting
to discuss local issues and concerns.

Topics to be explored:

• What we can do to help prevent crime in our neighborhood.
• Local zoning changes and how they will affect us.
• Getting more green space in our neighborhood.
• Other issues concerning our immediate area.

The meeting will be held at P.S. 230, in the auditorium (1 Albemarle Road, between McDonald Avenue and Dahill Road).

EVERYONE IS WELCOME!

SPRING HAS SPRUNG, AND IT'S YELLOW

The daffodils KARMA and WKAG (West Kensington Action Group) planted last October are in bloom! Enjoy them when you're shopping on Church Avenue.

CRIME AND THE QUALITY OF LIFE

Dahill Neighborhood Association (DNA)
and
West Kensington Action Group (WKAG)

invite you to their first joint meeting.

Monday, November 16th, 7:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.

Guests:

• a representative of the 66th Precinct
  
• our incoming City Councilmember, Brad Lander
  

Your input and observations are crucial to making this a successful meeting.

Make Kensington a safer, cleaner, better place to call home.

P.S. 230
corner of Dahill and Albemarle roads, in the auditorium

Please pass this invitation on to others.