Chris Bernardo

EPA finds high levels of lead at Raritan Bay sites

SAYREVILLE -- Two environmental groups announced at the former National Lead site in Sayreville today they have filed a federal lawsuit against 11 parties representing seven public and private entities, over pollution in and around Raritan Bay.

The non-profits, Edison Wetlands Association and NY/NJ Baykeeper are suing National Lead Industries, Sayreville's Economic and Redevelopment Agency, O'Neill Properties Group, Sayreville Seaport Associates, Middlesex County, the Turnpike Authority and New Jersey Department of Transportation.

City of New York Creating 'Kitchen Incubator' in East Harlem

What a great use for civic space. The City of New York has just announced an initiative to create a "kitchen incubator"—a 4,000 square foot commercial kitchen, at the site of La Marqueta in East Harlem, that will allow start-up food businesses access to a professional-quality appliances at below-market cost. Once a thriving Hispanic food market with hundreds of stalls, the La Marqueta space is now effectively defunct, with only a handful of vendors remaining.

Why channel tax dollars into such a project? While any business must contend with start-up costs, food producers require more capital than many; commercial-grade equipment entails an enormous investment, even without the added cost of New York rent. An established kitchen, made available at a far lower cost, would allow small enterprises space to develop their businesses and their products—with the expectation, of course, that they will move on to their own locations.

Officials are still seeking an independent organization to manage the space and screen potential participants, so there's no formal timeline yet. Still, it's a heartening sign that New York is still supporting the growth of small business. As least where kitchens are concerned.

Sunset Salsa at Triangle Park in Chelsea

Jersey City to develop plan to turn reservoir into public park

As part of the study, the firm will help the city apply to put the unused reservoir on the National Register of Historic Places, which will allow the city to apply for other grants to preserve buildings on the grounds.

Creation of the park - which will include hiking trails and amenities for boating and fishing - could take seven to 10 years and cost about $10 million, says Glenn Wrigley, the city's chief architect.

The study will also provide the city and the volunteer Jersey City Reservoir Preservation Alliance with a report on current site and structural conditions, including site ecology, and will document the history of the reservoir, which was built between 1871 and 1874.

The Alliance fully backs the choice, saying the firm offers the perfect combination of price and experience, said Cynthia Hadjiyannis, the group's treasurer.

John Milner Associates will be working with the Brooklyn-based landscape architecture firm Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, which has done Hoboken's Pier C and Teardrop parks and New York City's Union Square.

Shiny Coat for Bryant Park Carousel Steed

Granny’s Folly, the lead horse in the Bryant Park carousel, has been removed so it can to be refurbished by an artist in Montclair, N.J. — the last of the wooden figures in the seven-year-old French-style Le Carrousel to be redone as part of a $53,800 renovation.

The greenish-gray horse is named after a mounted police steed who died after being struck by a livery cab in December 1992 on Pelham Parkway. The accident broke the horse’s leg, and the horse later had to be given a lethal injection by a veterinarian. The horse, a giant bay Hanoverian named Granny’s Folly, had been with the department since 1984 and took his name from one of his riders, Sgt. Granville Waterman.

CHANGING CHELSEA

Look around Chelsea, and you'll see a transforming neighborhood. It's partly thanks to pioneering owners and tenants but also the Chelsea Improvement Co., an association making sure the area is safe, clean, and pedestrian friendly. We sat down with prez Dan Biederman to find out more.

You may recognize Dan's name from the changed 34th Street and Bryant Park. Although Chelsea Improvement Co. is not a BID, he says it hopes to rid the perception that Chelsea is a dangerous area and center of street prostitution. Additional taxi stands, better lighting and security, graffiti removal, improved sanitation service, and a small park at 15th and Ninth (pictured) are some of the improvements. These will also merge the border of the Meatpacking District into Chelsea, which starts at 14th Street.

The finishing touches on extensive tree and flower planting now culminate two years of work. Dan tells us that he's taking the lessons learned and applying them to other cities, including Richmond, Miami, Dallas, Philadelphia, and Boston, through his consulting company BRV Corp.

Bayonne: Dennis P. Collins Skate Park

 

Possible skate park could have skaters shredding in Cranford

CRANFORD -- Skaters in the township could have a place to practice their sport, now that the Township Committee agreed this week on two possible sites for a skate park.

At the same meeting, the committee also made plans to deter skaters from using a Centennial Avenue sidewalk for stunts.

The idea of a skate park was first introduced in February 2005, when the Police Athletic League proposed raising funds for a facility on municipal property to accommodate what the organization called "a growing skater population." The plans for the park were dropped after neighbors opposed the proposals to add skating to Adams Avenue and Orange Avenue recreation areas and the league withdrew from the project.

City aims to clean BBQ trash, targets litterbugs in Prospect Park

That was some party.

More than 1,000 people at a private barbecue left behind mounds of trash in Prospect Park last weekend - angering city officials who are considering legal action.

Parks Department officials want to throw the book at publicity firm MIH Ventures for throwing the Sunday shindig without a permit.

"It was 2 to 3 acres of solid garbage," said dog-walker Bob Ipcar, who spotted the trash strewn on the Long Meadow Monday morning and posted pictures he took at Fidobrooklyn.org. "You could walk across the surface of it."

Ipcar was besieged with complaints from other parkgoers about the debris that included empty vodka bottles, food containers and discarded metal barbecue grills.

High Line – July 19,2009