Driving on the Belt Parkway over a decade ago, I remember seeing the landfill by Pennsylvania Avenue in Brooklyn. I recall the strange black netting over the garbage hills and the signs with Michael Bloomberg and Andrew Cuomo’s names on them, with an explanation of what was happening at the location. With the new administration, the signs changed to read Bill De Blasio, and architectural landscape plans were presented. But it seemed like it would forever look like an experimental nuclear site.
The former Fountain Ave. Landfill was in operation by the NYC Dept. of Sanitation from 1956-1983. It was deeded over to the National Park Service as part of Gateway National Recreation Area 1974. The initial massive restoration project to transform the land back into a viable ecosystem and public park cost $20 million dollars. The history of this site is extensive. If this sort of thing interests you, give this topic a google search.
On July 2, 2019 Shirley Chisholm State Park opened and since then, I’ve been wanting to visit. This past weekend I finally did.
Unprepared, I randomly pulled into the lot on the way home from picking up medication for one of the cats I’m fostering. I admired the vibrant painting of Shirley Chisholm on the side of the main entrance building. The painting is illustrated by Brooklyn muralist Danielle Mastrion.
A young guy at the booth offered me a map of the park. Out of the car and ready to go, I looked at the map and realized the park was expansive. It’s 407 acres, with 10 miles of bike trail. It towers 130 feet above sea level and has some of the highest ground in New York City – presenting panoramic views of the Empire State Building, The Verrazano Bridge and New York Harbor.
I wanted to tour the park on a bike to cover more ground. I headed in the direction of the Bike Library, where the rentals are located. I soon learned that reservations are most times needed. The bikes were all booked up. Not a big deal, I knew I was coming back again! If you want to reserve a bike, click here.
On my hike I read the park signage. The first being about Shirley Chisholm. The park is named after the late Brooklyn-born politician and educator who was the first African American Congresswoman, and the first woman and African American to run for President. Her accomplishments and contributions to our city and country are countless and inspiring.
As the trails continue other signage describes the ecosystem of Jamaica Bay and points out birds and other wildlife you may encounter during your visit. Besides walking and bike trails, the space offers picnic areas and fishing piers. Educational student tours and public tours are also available throughout the year.
I only managed to walk the trails by Penn Pier on the west side, the smaller section of the park. Next time, with a bike I’m ready to conquer the larger east side. My end goal being – bike from Rockaway to Shirley Chisholm State Park!
Shirley Chisholm State Park is located at 1750 Pennsylvania Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11239 – (212) 866-310
My husband hates my seasonal decorating obsession. He thinks it’s a waste of money, a waste of storage space and it’s plain ol’ silly. Despite this though, last year for our anniversary he bought me six huge mum plants from Lisena Garden Center (12-5 Cross Bay Blvd, Broad Channel). They looked beautiful on my porch. Adding the burst of yellow and orange color I needed to contrast the hay bundles and corn stalks in my fall harvest display. The flowers lasted well into late October.
I never understood why people throw chrysanthemums out after they pass bloom, they’re perennial. If you plant them in the ground over winter, mums will come back year-to-year. Maybe they’re not kept because of a garden space issue? It pains me to see them sitting curbside with the trash. A few times I’ve picked healthy ones out of the garbage pile in front of my neighbors homes to “save” them.
Last fall I planted my anniversary mums in the backyard. This spring they started growing! I was excited to see the plant come alive once more. Interestingly, I noticed buds developing in late July. This was so curious to me, as we all know, mums at our local nurseries in September are budding then.
After a few google searches I learned the causes of premature budding:
- Temperature: low temperatures initiate early flowers, high temperatures (above 90°F in the day and/or above 75°F at night) can delay flowering. Temperature change will override day length bloom cycles.
- Lack of water, too much fertilizer, other stressors such as blight can cause early bloom.
What I’ve deduced from the above is: the mums my husband purchased last year were most likely a cultivar that naturally bloom earlier, during longer days of more sunlight. I didn’t pay attention to watering so lack of water could also be a factor.
4Chrysanthemums cultivated for trade are grown in extremely controlled environments so that growers can coordinate bloom in the fall, making a profit, when this popular plant is sought after. Now I know and understand though, this perennial isn’t necessarily a late-blooming plant by nature.
My initial intention was to dig up the mums growing in the backyard for display and then replant again, using them year-to-year. But now that mine are in early bloom, I’ll have to purchase new mums in mid-September. So I’m back to spending unnecessary money on season decor but I look at it this way… I’m supporting local business which is important and it makes me happy as hell – so there you have it.
Follow me for the day-to-day around Rockaway on IG – @theglorifiedtomato
I had the exciting opportunity to collaborate on a design project for The Beach 91st Street Community Garden. For over a year, I’ve been eager to redesign our garden site map but haven’t had the time. I put an email out to my fellow community garden members to see if any creatives were interested in volunteering.
Member Walter Meyer responded and introduced me to Diana Erazo, who he taught at Parsons New School and subsequently hired as an intern at his company, Local Office Landscape & Urban Design (LOLA).
Some of you may know Walter from the lineup. Others may recognize his name from the important work his company spearheaded in Rockaway, in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.
Walter Meyer is an urban designer, who co-founded LOLA, with Jennifer Bolstad in 2006. The company focuses on nature-based infrastructure to protect vulnerable communities from the impacts of man-made and natural disturbances. Walter was recognized by the White House as a “Champion of Change” for his work using alternate energy as a means of immediate relief and an engine for long-term economic recovery after Superstorm Sandy. And… he served as an advisor to President Barack Obama’s team until 2016.*
To say we are lucky to have Walter as a member of our garden here in Rockaway Beach is an understatement. And so, when he connected me with Diana, I was thrilled.
After reviewing Diana’s portfolio and accomplished resume, I sent her information to start the project: photos of the garden, the old site map, and a brief description of who we are as a community. I didn’t want to give too much creative instruction. I wanted Diana to ”run with it”. Her first round of designs were beautiful. We only had a few revisions. Diana’s attention to detail is impressive. As one example, our site map wasn’t to scale and she insisted on correcting that, using google maps as a reference. It was so refreshing to collaborate on this design project with an enthusiastic young person, entering her industry.
A big thank you to Diana Erazo for generously volunteering her time and to Walter Meyer for making the connection!
To learn more about the important projects LOLA is working on around our coastal community, visit www.localofficelandscape.com
To contact and to see more of Diana Erazo’s inspiring designs, follow her on IG: @diana2193, or visit her website: www.dcegdesign.com
Typical morning: I wake up, put on a pot of coffee and feed my cats. And Instagram my cats while waiting for my coffee. Then I see a little fluffy head pop up at the glass window of the back kitchen door.
It’s Sweetie. We named her Sweetie for her friendly disposition. She’s a black American long-haired, around 7 months old. She began visiting regularly two months ago. I’m able to pet her which means she may have been domesticated as a kitten. If you’ve been reading my column for a while now, you know I dabble in cat rescue when the need is present. And so, here I go again.
But unfortunately, due to COVID-19, the ASPCA and similar Trap Neuter Release (TNR) services have been shut down, only recently opening on a lottery appointment-based system. It’s been a waiting game to get Sweetie in to see the vet for vaccinations and spaying.
One morning when she arrived for breakfast I noticed she was lactating. Sweetie was a teenage mom! I went into high alternate – MUST FIND KITTENS.
A week went by and the kittens just appeared in the backyard, goofing around and exploring. Matt saw them nursing and took some pics. There were four babies! I kept a close eye on Mama those few days and discovered where they were staying. My fear was taking the kittens and Sweetie but leaving a kitten or two behind. We needed a head count. All the kittens being black with no markings made this a challenge but we determined that only three of the original four made it.
The following week the family was out again in the yard. Matt and I needed to get them “off the street”. More so for Sweetie’s sake. Females are sexually mature at four months and they can get pregnant again two weeks after giving birth. Time was of the essence. Without much trouble we scooped up two kittens from the garden and took Sweetie in too.
We were missing one kitten.
The kittens were still nursing, but also nibbling on solid food. But 6 weeks is far too young for a kitten to be on it’s own … this was a high pressure situation. The next morning I called on The Sisterhood of Cat Rescuers – a few friends of mine that do underground TNR work. They helped me set up a kitten trap and a drop trap. A drop trap is a simple metal cage with a string attached. You sit far away holding the string and wait and when you see the cat, pull like hell! It sounds primitive but it’s very effective for catching multiple kittens at once or ferals nervous to enter a three sided trap. Also kittens are so light, often they don’t trigger regular trap mechanisms.
I sat there for three hours with no “bites”. The ladies in the sisterhood suggested I bring mom out in a carrier so she would meow and alert the missing kitten. After another two hours, I brought Sweetie back in, she was stressed. I abandoned the trapping site to bring her back inside. I went into the house for a glass of water and I heard a very loud meow. I ran outside to the trap, no kitten. I called Matt, “I hear the kitten!!” He looked in the garden where we found the others the day before and the last baby was there! I do believe hearing his mother’s cry lured him out. Matt picked him up from under the plants and he rejoined his family.
It was so stressful but now all are safe and doing well. I still couldn’t get into the ASPCA but booked an appointment at Faithful Friends Animal Hospital (2455 McDonald Ave, Brooklyn – 718.339.7387), which works with rescuers. We are on the path to adoption! In fact, it looks like I have already found all three kittens forever homes!
If you have feral cats on your block that are not spay/neutered it’s important to take care of the situation before it gets out of hand. If you see cats with their left ear tipped, that means they have been fixed already. Here are some helpful resources on TNR: animalalliancenyc.org and www.alleycat.org
