At 10:30 this morning, Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe is expected to announce a compromise presumably ending a dispute that erupted this summer over the future of New York’s community gardens.
City Council Speaker Christine Quinn’s published schedule indicates she and other officials and advocates will be joining Benepe “to announce final community garden rules offering greater protection for gardens. Last week, the Daily News reported a compromise was in the works that would stop short of guaranteeing the preservation of all NYC gardens.
The photo above of the 9th Street Community Garden is one of many beautiful images captured by Mat McDermott, a senior writer for Tree Hugger and an East Village resident. Later today, he’ll share with readers of The Lo-Down why he was compelled to photograph the neighborhood’s many gardens.
New York’s primary election is only a day away. Reshma Saujani, who’s challenging Rep. Carolyn Maloney, is campaigning today with Diana Taylor, Mayor Bloomberg’s longtime girlfriend. In Chinatown, City Councilmember Margaret Chin will be getting out the vote for Maloney at local senior centers. Tonight, Councilmember Rosie Mendez will be co-sponsoring an LBGT fundraiser for Attorney General candidate Eric Schneiderman.
Just two months after the Forward got the scoop on the Bialystoker Synagogue’s contentious debate over allowing women to serve on the board of directors, the Post piles on. Unsurprisingly, they highlight the fact that Sheldon Silver, a longtime Bialystoker member, chose not to run for re-election to the board. “Some members suspect the cautious Silver is forgoing the leadership role because of the anti-woman decree,” the Post reports.
It was a big weekend for the Bialystoker in the news. Uzi Silber has an interesting feature in the Times on the collection of yarmulkes stored in the foyer. They are not just “genuine antiques.” Silber writes, “the old wicker basket (in which the skull caps are kept) can be seen as a velvet- and satin-lined chronicle of the Jewish-American experience.”
In other news, the Times has a look at the Uranian Phalanstery and First New York Gnostic Lyceum Temple, which is being forced from its home on East 4th Street and Avenue D. There’s an uphill effort to win landmark status for the building. Brooklyn Vegan says Spoon will be playing a free midday concert on the Lower East Side today. And from Lady Gaga’s biography: walking the streets of the Lower East Side.
After our Sunday deluge, look for cloudy skies today, with the sun poking through by the afternoon and a high of 77.
