Blog Archives

RIGC supports the RIHS Kiosk Visitors' Center Garden

11/26/2017

For the second year in a row, RIGC Outreach has worked with Judy Berdy and her RIHS team to support the beautiful garden and landscaping at the RIHS Kiosk Visitor's Center. For the past ten years, this former trolley kiosk has been Roosevelt Island's unique visitor center sponsored by the Roosevelt Island Historical Society. RI Garden Club members Robert Ostergaard and Julia Ferguson have been making regular visits to work on new plantings, mulching, and upkeep for this central garden site.

Judy Berdy writes: The RIHS garden surrounding our visitor center has been tended by wonderful members of the RIGC for the last two years. We have a flourishing garden with laurel bushes, roses, day lilies, lavender, echinacea and a variety of maiden grasses. When our gardener retired, a call went out and the RIGC came to our side. With their knowledge and skills our garden is better than ever. During the last two years we have planted more roses, grasses, lavender, catmint, shasta daisies, echinacea, and liriope. With the addition of newspaper and local RIOC/RIGC sourced mulch we have drastically cut the number of weeds that invade the garden and reduced the watering needed. With the help of the RIGC our area has flourished and is a point of pride in our community.

RIGC Outreach and Publicity Committee members are happy to support Roosevelt Island organizations and to keep our community filled with green garden spaces for all residents and visitors alike. Join us next year!

Pumpkin Smash 2017 with NYC Compost hosted by BigReuse

11/26/2017

This year in 2017,on November 4th, history was made as the 2017 Pumpkin Smash on Roosevelt Island became part of the Department of Sanitation’s official citywide efforts to reduce landfill waste via NYC Compost Project hosted by Big Reuse. NYC Compost Outreach Coordinator, Erycka de Jesus, brought several members of the BigReuse team and gave out caps to participants. She brings warmth, safety, and education to every event she partners with. Girl Scout leaders, Dimaura Cole and Lauren Faye brought their troops to volunteer. RIOC staff Fernando Vargas, Jessica Murray, and Erica Spencer-EL helped out and attended alongside key Island volunteers, Kim Massey and Dawn Price. Cornell Tech Community and Government Liaison, Jane Swanson helped directly on the smashing tarp and Niti Parikh of Cornell Tech MakerLAB also volunteered. We had students from UNIS as well as Island youth, Maria Starkova and Zamir Eleusizov, with photos by Akylbai Eleusizov. At the end of the day, Roosevelt Island Garden Club received a special visit from Marguerite Manela, Senior Manager, Community Composting and Compost Distribuition - NYC Department of Sanitation DSNY. She graciously helped us cart materials back to the garden and took a special tour of our community garden compost system with Anthony Longo. ‎For more information click on the Roosevelt Islander blog post here.

It all started in 2015, when Anthony Longo invited families to smash their pumpkins at the garden. The two children and three adults who turned up showed great potential and created our first annual Pumpkin Bash . In 2016, thanks to Manhattan Park, RIOC, iDig2Learn, the RI Garden Club, Big Reuse led the way for a trial run with a local Pumpkin Bash and Leaf Gathering, and 1,100 pounds of pumpkin matter was diverted from landfill as nearly 200 attendees came to smash.

This event was an extension of the NYC Compost Project hosted by Big Reuse who run the weekly food scrap drop held every Saturday near the Roosevelt Island farmers market from 9 AM to 2 PM. Islanders have dropped more than 50,000 pounds of food scraps since 2015. That is over 25 tons of scraps or visually the equivalent of 13 SUV’s filled with banana peels. Locally, just under the Queensboro bridge in Long Island City NYC Compost Project hosted by Big Reuse processes our banana peels, coffee grinds, egg shells, bread and even mango and avocado pits into compost. Throughout the year that compost is returned to school garden projects, the community garden, island tree pits and our residents. Thank you for being part of the sustainability effort.

This was made possible by NYC Compost hosted by BigReuse, Manhattan Park, iDig2Learn, Roosevelt Island Garden Club, and RIOC. In Collaboration with 217PTA, RI Parents' Network, Island Kids, Girl Scouts, Gristedes, Wengerd Farm, RIRA, RIYP, NYC Ferry Operated by Hornblower who gave away a 30 day pass, Cornell Tech and RI Explorers

Special thanks go to Christina Delfico, RIOC team Fernando Vargas, Jessica Murray and Erica Spencer-EL, Brian Weisberg and the Manhattan Park team, Big Reuse Leah Retherford, Devin Reitsma, Erycka de Jesus, RI Garden Club Julia Ferguson and Anthony Longo, all Girl Scout leaders including Aiesha Eleusizov and Janine Schaefer, PS 217 Erin Olavesen, Olga Seliger, Nathalie Chetrit, Natalie Starkova and Ursula Fokine, Luis Torres of Gristedes, Wengerd Farmers, Jeff Escobar of RIRA, Jane Swanson of Cornell Tech, Franny Citivano and Elana Ehrenberg of NYC Ferry Operated by Hornblower, Cecilia and Tsoni of RI Parents' Network, Nikki Leopold of Island Kids, RIYP, RI Explorers and everyone who helped to spread the word.

RIGC Highlights of the Fall General Meeting 2017

11/26/2017

RIGC Fall General Meeting 2017 brought new technology, some sad news, and some good news for our club.

Technology is an option!

Neal Weissman created a power point to outline key initiatives completed this year: metal fences on west corners, small tool cabinet to use in the back in response to the water tunnel, more hose stands and drinkable hoses, wood chipper and a high powered washer, free wood, benches for ends of pathways, first raised bed for E plot members, donated glider bench from the Blake family, first classical music concert in the garden. Additional cartoons lightened the evening and Johan Marfey ran the projector to make it all happen.

Sad news, but some hope!

Marjorie Marcallino reported on the loss of 23 of our beautiful roses this fall to a highly contagious rose disease. Michael Biaganek has been helping extensively along with others like Mitch and Sande Elinson. All affected roses had be removed and bagged, all tools cleaned, and even gloves thoroughly washed or thrown away. The Missouri Botanical Garden website gives a brief explanation of this incurable problem that has unfortunately hit RIGC. "Rose rosette disease, also known as witches’-broom of rose, is caused by a virus (Emaravirus sp.) that is spread by a very small, eriophyid mite." But there is hope for a fresh start in the spring. No new cases have appeared in the garden during the past month.
Sande Elinson is retiring as Secretary of our club this year after three recent years of excellent care and upkeep of our community garden records and procedures and members. Sande has gone over and above in carrying out this role and we thank her. We are happy that she will stay available as Parliamentarian and to help with RIGC history.

Good news!

Geof Kerr gave a report on our continued stable financial situation.
Beverly Shutes and Julia Ferguson thanked all the members who contributed so generously and reported on the completion of our three year Accessible Pathways Project! Watch a short film about the project here and read the companion blog post here.
Best Garden Awards were announced by Standards Chair, Beverly Shutes, from the Standards Committee. Our 2017 Best Garden awards went to plot holders of gardens A 12, B 01, B 08, B 27, B 30, B 33, C 48, C 51, D 05. The Garden of the Year was awarded to Georg Kell and family for D 02.
A new slate of officers was elected. The following members will serve from January through December 2018.

President - Neal Weissman; Vice-President -Johan Marfey;
Secretary - Jack Burkhalter; Treasurer - Geof Kerr;
Directors - Elizabeth Bolden, Anthony Longo, Tim Wong

RIGC: "part of NYC, but apart from it!"

11/26/2017

from map by NY Times

RIGC Secretary, Sande Elinson, was interviewed by C.J. Hughes of the New York Times Real Estate section for a Living In article. The October 4th article highlights unique aspects of our community as well as the changing real estate picture of our current times. This article puts Roosevelt Island Garden Club "on the map", and reminds us how valuable urban green spaces and gardens are for quality living in our changing world. Roosevelt Island is part of our greater NYC home, yet we all feel so wonderfully apart from it all as we tend our gardens, experiencing community and nature.
To read the full article click here.

RIGC supports the RIHS Kiosk Visitors' Center Garden

Pumpkin Smash 2017 with NYC Compost hosted by BigReuse

RIGC Highlights of the Fall General Meeting 2017

RIGC: "part of NYC, but apart from it!"

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