Settlement Reached in Community Garden Lawsuit- La Plaza Cultural Saved!

This week the New York State Attorney Generalís Office and the Bloomberg administration reached a settlement agreement on a lawsuit that protested the sale and destruction of the gardens without proper environmental review that had been brought by the Attorney General

This settlement represents a victory for the community gardening movement with approximately 500 of the cityís 700 gardens marked for preservation. Other gardens will be destroyed for development immediately and yet others will be reviewed for development purposes. While some of the numbers remain in dispute, this is still a vast improvement over the Giuliani administrationís aggressive attempts to sell off the great majority of the garden properties.

Once gardens have been reviewed, the city will either move them under the jurisdiction of the Parks Department or sell them for a nominal price to nonprofit land trust organizations. Yet, there is a general feeling in the garden community that the settlement agreement does not guarantee permanent status for all the gardens.

There is still much more work to be done so that our gardens are secured in perpetuity. Now is the time to re-introduce improved legislation to City Council among other activities. Getting the gardens mapped as ìparklandî at the State level is the ultimate way to secure public gardens or mandating their purchase by nonprofit land trusts will also secure them as private property. Gardens should not have to go through a long and involved review process that may leave them open to political manipulation or competition from developers.

The garden agreement affects our neighborhood positively as all but one LES garden is marked for preservation (Stannard Diggs on 6th St. between C & D is marked for development). To everyoneís great relief, La Plaza Cultural-the garden on the southwest corner of Avenue C is one of our areas greatest cultural assets- it is marked ìOffered for preservation.î Sixth Street CSA members will be able to continue growing vegetables in a 600 sq. ft. section of the garden.

Our cityís community gardens provide thousands of pounds of home grown fruits and vegetables to our cityís low-income residents. Sadly, many of the gardens slated for development are gardened by lower income residents who grow primarily vegetable crops. In theory, there are many acres available for increased fruit and vegetable farming within New Yorkís gardens and parks. Further, an emphasis on food production is a way to secure our gardens and our communities, as food programs are usually recognizable to politicians and the government as an indisputable public good.

To view the Attorney Generalís Press Release and the Settlement Agreement see

http://www.oag.state.ny.us/press/2002/sep/sep18a_02.html

For information on how to get involved in the community garden movement or join your local garden check out:
Greenthumb: http://www.greenthumbnyc.org/
The Green Guerillas: http://www.greenguerillas.org/
New Yorkers for Parks: http://www.parkscouncil.org/

High Profile Chefs Join Boycott against altered fish

The FDA is considering to market transgenic salmon to sit on your dinner plate. 200 chefs, grocers and seafood distributors across the states have joined the strike against genetically modified food led by The Center for Food Safety, Clean Water Actin and Friends of the Earth.

The campaign is based on environmental issues surrounding genetically modified Salmon. These fish, if bred in pens in the sea, could escape, crossbreed with their wild cousins and edge them out for food and mates, thus endangering the already diminished Atlantic salmon.

The new breed salmon can grow twice as fast as it's conventional farm grown counterpart because it has genes inserted from Chinoock salmon and ocean pout that allow the fish to produce growth hormones year-round, instead of only in warm water. Some reports say that some new proteins produced through adding genes from other species might promote allergic reactions in people.

The Center for Food Safety is concerned that the FDA is not addressing the novelty of these new animals. Their legal director, Joseph Mendelson said, "there are many risks and virtually no controls protecting the environment or the public from the potential impact of genetically engineered animals."

This weeks picks

Veggies: Eggplant, mixed peppers, arugula, red leaf lettuce, green leaf lettuce, collards, basil, mixed winter squash, green zucchini, plum tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, regular tomatoes.

Fruit: Pears, nectarines, apples.

Pasta with Winter Squash

1 medium onion, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1-lb winter squash, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
3/4 C water
1 t chopped fresh sage
1 lb gemelli or penne rigate pasta
2 T chopped parsley
3/4 C freshly grated parmesan plus additional for sprinkling
º C mascarpone
2 tablespoons unsalted butter (optional)

Cook onion in oil in a large sautÈ pan over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until golden. Finely chop squash pieces in a food processor and add to onion with water and salt to taste. Simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes, or until squash is tender. Add sage and simmer 1 minute more. Cook pasta in a pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Reserve 1 cup cooking liquid in a cup and drain pasta. Return pasta to pot and add squash mixture, parsley, 3/4 cup parmesan, mascarpone, butter, and plenty of freshly ground black pepper, stirring until butter is melted. Season with salt and add some of reserved pasta cooking liquid to moisten if necessary. Serve sprinkled with additional parmesan.

Adapted from Epicurious.com

Eggplant w/ Fresh tomato sauce

2 eggplants
6 T olive oil
6 plum tomatoes, chopped into small dice
1 T chopped basil
1 T chopped parsley
4 cloves garlic, chopped
salt and pepper

In a sautÈ heat 2 T of the olive oil. Add the garlic and cook until lightly browned. Add the tomatoes, basil and parsley. Cook for about 2 minutes until the flavors have combined and the tomatoes have softened slightly. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside while cooking the eggplants.

Preheat oven to 400o degrees. Cut the eggplants in half lengthwise. Then slice each half into thin slices. Arrange on a baking sheet and brush the eggplants with the remaining 4 T of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place in the lower half of the oven and bake for about 20 minutes until tender and golden. Arrange the eggplants in a shallow bowl and top with the tomatoes sauce.