2011 Love Your Block Awards

November 15, 2010

Section 1: General Information

1.) What is your group’s name?

LAMS GREEN TEAM

2. List two contacts for your group, along with their phone number, email, and fax number.

Joshua Blum, (516) 456-8239, , fax# (718) 779-7186

Ceclia Tinoco, (347) 730-2158, , fax#(718) 779-7186

3. What is your group’s mailing address?

32-02 Junction Blvd. East Elmhurst, NY 11369

4. If your group has a web site, what is the URL?

http://blum.wikispaces.com/GOING+GREEN+IN+QUEENS

5. Has your group received a Love Your Block award before?

No

6. When was your group formed (month/year)? If your group is new, is this the first project it is

undertaking? Our student group was formed three years ago in the winter 2008 and this is the first “out-of-building” community beautification project we have every undertaken

7. What neighborhood does your group work in?

We are a student-based group that works within our school building which is physically located in East Elmhurst, Queens and borders the communities of Corona and Jackson Heights.

8. Briefly describe your group’s purpose, history, and accomplishments.

Our group’s purpose is to ensure that all faculty, staff, and students in our school building recycling and reduce their Carbon footprint. Three years ago my colleague and I undertook a two week-long mini unit tracking student’s water and electric usage at home. The program we piloted was called ISO 14000 and was written originally in Japan. It has been successfully implemented in over twelve countries. After that very successful and meaningful program, I took it upon myself to coordinate the recycling program school-wide for everyone’s benefit to help in enhancing our school community’s consciousness. We are three years into this program and we have seen dramatic results in the amount of recycling taking place and the overall reduction of waste. We have also brought in the NYC Composting Project for Science Department training for every Science teacher to have a compost bin in their classroom. We have also partnered with Junior Energy a non-profit that supports schools to integrate “Green” concepts into their pre-existing curriculum,

9. State the names of your neighborhood’s councilmember, state senator, assemblymembers, and

congressional representative. (Call 311 to find out).

Councilmember District #21 – Julissa Ferreras

State Senator district #13 – Jose’ Peralta

State Assemblyman District #34 – Michael K. Dendekker

10. How did you hear about this grant award?

Our partners at the NYC Composting Project at the Queens Botanical Garden told us about your organization and what you do in and around the five boroughs.

Section 2: Project Description

1.) Please describe your block in detail. Please include an estimate of the block’s demographics and commercial/residential mix.

The block we are seeking to beautify is located directly across the street from our school, 32nd Avenue between 94th and 93rd Streets. We will also seek assistance from the NYC Million Trees program to ensure that all available side walk space for trees is used to support the revitalization of the block. Demographically speaking the block and Green Streets space is used by the community residents which are primarily of Hispanic, middle-lower income residents. School staff and faculty also use it during the warmer weather months to have lunch across from the school. There are sometimes transients using the park during the day and from what I have been told, at night. We will seek to install arm rests on the benches to deter any of these transients from staying there for long periods of time. The block itself is 100% residential with a strip of stores and apartments adjacent on 94th Street between 32nd Avenue and Northern Blvd.

2. What are some of the specific concerns you have about its physical appearance? Mandatory: Include photographs of the present state of the site/block.

I am concerned that the park in discussion is not being fully utilized in terms of plant and flower density. The park itself is in decent shape but our goal is to create a place for community residents to come and unwind around beautiful shrubs, flowering plants, and annuals. There is a black railing the surrounds the entire park that needs to be repainted. There are many empty spaces where Rose bushes could be planted to help fill in empty patches of dirt. Besides the rose bushes there are no other flowering annuals. We seek to plant annuals around the trees and rose bushes to create a sustainable park that is easily serviced by Park workers. Our goal is to enrich this park while at the same time not creating additional work for the NYC Parks Department. A sustainable space for all to enjoy is what we are shooting for with assistance from all community members.

3. How would you like to improve its physical appearance?

We seek to improve its physical appearance by increasing flowering plants and overall density. We will be repainting the entire park including all benches and railings surrounding the park. We would like to add plant identification signs for all bushes and trees to help foster the development of an active outdoor classroom for all neighboring schools to utilize.

4. Please include a detailed action plan that indicates the various steps your group will take to carry out the block improvement project. Please refer to the template below, include details on a separate sheet of paper, and include it in your application.

Action / Person and People responsible for carrying out the action / Date(s) the action(s) will take place / Intended Outcome(s)
Contact our DEP contact, outreach coordinator Kim Estes-Fradis for logistical and general advice / Joshua Blum / December 2010 / To help support a smooth planning and implementation of this project
General interest letter and meeting of PTA / Cecilia Tinoco
Richard Akalski
Joshua Blum
Greg Lawson
Diane Kuiper / January 2011 / Supervision and volunteer representatives will be given roles such as, local promotions, press releases, newspaper notification, logistics, local business involvement, etc…
Informational Meeting of the LAMS “Green Team” (aka Recycling Team) to discuss event / Cecilia Tinoco
Richard Akalski
Joshua Blum
Greg Lawson
Diane Kuiper / January 2011 / Students will take leading roles for the event including scheduling volunteer positions from teachers, and writing letters to local business owners requesting their event support thorough a time commitment or financial donation
Student leaders visit of our local politicians to extend an invitation to the event / Cecilia Tinoco
Richard Akalski
Joshua Blum
Greg Lawson
Diane Kuiper / February 2011 / To assist in publicizing our community building and volunteer event to help further “Green” consciousness to in our local community and greater Queens
Invite the Queens Botanical Garden to come in and train the “Green Team” on proper planting and maintenance to empower the students and allow them to take lead with this project / Cecilia Tinoco
Richard Akalski
Joshua Blum
Greg Lawson
Diane Kuiper / March 2011 / This training will allow students to become “experts” in planting techniques so when it comes time for the event, the students can become leading members of the community event
We will conduct a beautification of Veteran’s Plaza including painting of benches and railings, reseeding of grass, and the planting of annual flowering plants and rose bushes / ALL available faculty, staff, students, and parents in addition to volunteers from the local community / Tuesday, April 5th
Wednesday, April 6th (*Rain date) / This event will allow the local and school communities to foster their relationship; will increase all participants overall environmental consciousness to their local community and will increase grassroots environmental activism in the grater city area. The park will received a much needed “facelift” while creating a sustainable space for all to enjoy.

5.) Budget

Item / Description of Use / Cost / Total Cost
(2) 5-Gallon Paint Cans / Paint park railings / $109.00 / $218.00
(12) Paint Brushes (3-pack) / Paint park railings / $5.97 / $71.64
(12) Paint Trays / Paint park railings / $2.98 / $35.76
(2) Rakes / Clean up fallen leaves and debris / $8.97 / $17.94
(4) 17” blade Shovels / Dig up tree stump and any dead plants / $9.97 / $39.88
(6) Composting Bins(14 gallon) / Create compost in 6 classrooms / $5.97 / $35.82
(6) 1 lb. Worms (ordered from LES Ecology Center) / Create compost in 6 classrooms / $20.00 / $120.00
(4) Soil (1/4 cu. Ft. Miracle Grow) / Plant tulips and roses, and fill in any empty ditches / $8.97 / $35.88
*Bench Armrests (Will be a part of an additional grant) / Install on longer benches to deter vagrancy and nighttime loitering / $75.00 / *$525.00 (Not added to grand total)
(7) Rose Bushes / To help beautify the park / $16.95 / $118.65
(4) Grass Seed / To fill in all areas of dirt within the park grounds / $14.44 / $57.76
GRAND / TOTAL / $751.33

6. How will you reach out to your neighbors to encourage participation? How will you involve them? How many neighborhood participants do you anticipate becoming involved?

The goal is to bring the local community together in an effort to improve this park. The block of 32nd Ave between 93rd and 94th Streets has a myriad of storefronts and businesses, including a café, a gym, a city Council member, and a Senator, each of which have an easy view of the park’s open space. We intend to go to each business on this block with students and fliers in order to notify them of the work being done. We would also like to encourage them to post these fliers in their windows, so that patrons and passersby can be privy to, and participatory in, the work being executed by the school. Participation would also be supported, and anything that they can donate to event would be gladly accepted. This may be snacks or drinks for the children that are participating in planting, starting their own compost bin (or collecting food scraps to add to ours), or actually coming out and helping in the re-painting and beautification process. Additionally, we are asking for financial donations so that we may eventually replace the park benches with more durable and more environmentally-friendly recycled plastic benches. We anticipate about 80% of community participation from this region, as the park has become an eyesore, as well as dangerous to the public at night.

7.) Will you work with local businesses and other community-based organizations? If so, in

what capacity?

We will be working with Junior Energy, the DEP Outreach Coordinator, and the Queens Botanical Garden (NYC composting project). The first two will help support pre- and post- activities to the event. Each will support the integration of “Green” concepts into the event, getting the children excited about the upcoming project and giving them steps to take in order to continue their “green” behaviors. The Queens Botanical Garden will also participate in these events, but will continue to be influential throughout the entire endeavor. They will work with children to demonstrate worm composting and how to incorporate it into the gardening surrounding the park.

8.) How do you plan on sustaining the changes your project will create? (e.g. For a block cleanup, what is your plan for keeping the block clean?)

A large part of this development involves the six composting “hotspots” of the school. With the help of the Queens Botanical Garden and the school’s Green Team club, six teachers have set up worm composting centers in their classroom. This allows any teacher or student to come in and deposit food or leaf scraps in order to create healthy, living soil to be deposited at the park site. With plans to scatter this nutrient-rich soil once a year, the annuals we select will flourish. The vast majority of the project does not need to be maintained. For example, park benches with divider armrests can be sustained on their own for many years without ongoing participation. This plan offers parsimony for both the school and the NYC Parks Department during the school’s breaks.

Grant Application submitted by Joshua Blum

Written by

Joshua Blum, Science Educator/Sustainability Coordinator

Stephanie Wolf, Student Science Educator, Queens College

Love your Block Grant application 2010, submitted by Joshua Blum, IS 227Q