JUST BREATHE: A Community Forum on Brooklyn’s Health, Energy and Environment

Saturday, May 17, 10:00 am - 2:00 pm

Currently, New York City stands in violation of federal Clean Air standards.

As a result, asthma rates in some of New York City’s communities of color are four times the national average.

We invite you to come hear first hand from medical, environmental, academic and civil rights experts how to reverse this disturbing trend and to become stakeholders in New York’s environmental and energy future.

An event brought to you by:

SHARE (Safe Healthy Affordable Reliable Energy), Brooklyn Branch NAACP and Medger Evers College

Location:

Medgar Evers College
Presidential Conference Center, Room B1008
1650 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn

RSVP to Craig Wilson at rsvp@shareny.org

Join me in celebrating the launch of GBK Media by sharing this video slideshow with your friends!

You can find GBK Media on YouTube at this address: youtube.com/gbkmedia. The only all green all Brooklyn video channel on Earth!

Photos and video by yours truly — Ethan Oringel — with the photos taken at Habana Outpost’s awesome — and hopefully annual — Earth Day Expo 2008!

Many thanks to Habana Outpost’s Sean Meehan and Darcy Le Fleming.

And also thanks to Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra for — unbeknownst to them — providing the soundtrack (audio taken from a live show of theirs at Southpaw in Park Slope on April 11, 2008).

You can see, comment on, and share these individual photos at my Brooklyn photo set on flickr.

Tuesday May 6th is Idle-Free Day in NYC!

Press Conference:
Tuesday, May 6th
10am
City Hall Steps
Go here to see the flyer for the press conference.

As we know from the post this week, NYC’s air quality is, well, ahem, sub-par. Okay, it’s horrible. 43% of Brooklynites are at risk of health problems each day because of pollution — most of which is from vehicles’ tailpipes.

Find out more truths about idling and how it harms your health, hurts air quality, wastes fuel, and is against the law!

Join a growing chorus of New Yorkers who are tired of breathing exhaust from idling cars and trucks!

Here are some resources on what you can do if you are: an individual, a school, a community group, a business, or a policy-maker.

Stay tuned at the IFNY website or on the Idle-Free NYC blog.

UPDATE (5/5/2008 5:14 PM): Mayor Bloomberg and Speaker Quinn finally make the official announcement!

Go here for the latest including news and information about the new routes from NY Water Taxi, NYT City Room, and coverage in other local NYC media.

As many people who have been following GBK know, we have been advocating for a city-wide ferry system for some time.

News is starting to trickle in that despite losing the congestion pricing battle, Mayor Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn are set to announce the first subsidized ferry service from the Rockaways to Lower Manhattan as part of a 5-Borough ferry service initiative of PlaNYC 2030.

The route will include reinstatement of ferry service to the Brooklyn Army Terminal in Sunset Park, Brooklyn that was terminated this past December due to low ridership. Ferry service will be operated by the NY Water Taxi, and will be reinstated as early as Monday, May 12, 2008.

See the press release at Sunset-Ridge Waterfront Alliance (SRWA) for more information.

Read on for the latest updates and more info on the new ferry commuter line…

This past April, the DOT presented their designs to Community Board 8 for a re-designed Vanderbilt Avenue. While the idea of safe bike lanes and greenstreets in their plan was well-meaning, the designs’ plans for on-street bike lanes have struck a chord with residents in the area and bike enthusiasts.

A petition has just started circulating where constituents and NYC residents can make their voice known on the re-development of the bike paths. Here is your chance to help make the streets of Brooklyn safer.

From the petition:

We are gracious that bike lanes were included in the design. However, these are on-street, unprotected bike lanes. In other words, these are dangerous and thus NOT the gold standard.

We, the undersigned, therefore demand a redesign to include protected bike lanes (either on opposite sides of the Avenue, or immediately adjacent to each other, on one side of the street.)

This project is at the point where your voice is needed.

Please sign the petition here: Safer Streets on Vanderbilt Avenue

Full text of the petition and a little back-story after the jump…