Our local Greenmarket located on 1st Avenue, between 92nd and 93rd Street is up for renewal before the Street Life Committee at Community Board 8 on

Tuesday, March 20^th , 2012 . The meeting is at the NY Blood Center 310 East 67th Street (First-Second), Auditorium at 6:30PM. The meeting is open to the public.

To show your support please use the form letter below and address your letter to: Street Life Committee, Community Board 8 Manhattan, 505 Park Avenue, ,Suite 620, New York, New York 10022

This letter is in support of the 92^nd Street and First Ave. Greenmarket.

Our Greenmarket offers our neighbors a variety of nutritious and locally sourced produce, fish, and baked goods. Buying local also lowers our footprint!

In addition, our Greenmarket has become a gathering place, providing community members a venue to interact and share recipes and information about healthy eating.

Our Greenmarket also provides a convenient place to drop off our old batteries, number 5 plastics, and corks, to be recycled.

Those are just a few of the benefits that our Greenmarket has given us, as a neighborhood.

Needless to say, it’s the wish of individuals throughout the area that this Greenmarket continues to expand and thrive in our neighborhood for 2012.

Please send your e-mail in support of the Greenmarket at 92^nd and 93^rd and First Ave. to info@cb8m.com to voice your support

or visit the CB8 website http://www.cb8m.com/contact

and cut and paste the following line in the CB8 online form: I fully support the 92nd Greenmarket at First Ave. and request that the Street Fairs Committee approve it for the 2012 season and indicate the Street Fairs Committee on the drop down list.

For more information on the CB8 meeting and the agenda visit: http://www.cb8m.com/events/street-fairs-committee-3

Thank you.

Tara K. Reddi
President
East 93^rd Street Block Association

We at the East 93rd Street Block Association have been very busy over the past year working for the betterment of our block and our neighborhood.  Here is a recap of what we have been doing.

EAST  93RD STREET CONSTRUCTION ZONE As we are well aware, our neighborhood has suffered from the construction of the Second Avenue subway and the ancillary building on the northeast corner of 93rd Street and Second Avenue.  In October, when the MTA put up barricades on the south side of 93rd Street with no warning to owners or residents, the Block Association called for a meeting.  The meeting was held with representatives of the Mayor, the MTA, the Sanitation Department, the construction and engineering companies as well as some store owners.  As a result we were able to have the barricades moved back to the curb line greatly increasing the width of the sidewalk available to pedestrians. Lighting was added to the barricades which until then made that section of the street very dark. The Sanitation Department agreed to contact the owners and managers to advise the proper point for trash collection while the barricades are in place. Representatives of the Block Association and building owners now meet monthly with the all parties involved in the construction so we can be kept apprised of the progress and upcoming work and to advocate for  residents.

PROPOSED MARINE TRANSFER FACILITY We have been at the forefront of organizing opposition to this facility and have been diligent in keeping our neighbors, and indeed the entire neighborhood, informed of the meetings, rallies and measures to be taken in the effort to stop the building of this facility.  For more information and volunteer opportunities go to www.sanetrash.org  or e-mail: info@sanetrash.org

TREES In the spring of 2011 we hired Green Keepers to clean and put plantings in the tree beds on 93rd Street between First and Second Avenues. We were able to purchase four tree guards for the trees in front of 312, 317, 322 and 324.  312 and 317 were chosen to protect the newly planted trees which the Block Association was able to obtain at no cost through the Million Trees campaign.  324 was chosen because it was determined that the bed was a haven for rats and in need of renovation and the brick wall surrounding the bed was dilapidated and an eyesore.  322 was chosen to give the block a unified look because it was adjacent to 324.

The dog  problem is ameliorated by the addition of tree guards and the guards serve as  protection for the plantings.  We have applied for a grant Green Your Block Program through the Borough President’s office to have tree guards put around each of the trees that are still unprotected.  Should we receive this grant, we will be able to direct our resources to other work such as plantings and working on installing steel plated garbage bins to replace the often over flowing garbage cans on our streets.

In the fall we were able to join with the Daffodil Project which was started by a Dutch company in the wake of September 11, 2001 as a symbol of hope and resilience for New York City. Each year since then they have donated thousands of bulbs to be planted in public spaces.

We applied for and received an allotment of bulbs. With the help of resident volunteers we planted them in the beds on 93rd Street.  We look forward to their cheerful appearance.
We were successful in requesting from our Community Affairs representative to have all the trees on 93rd Street pruned.  The overgrown and overhanging branches posed a danger as was evidenced when big branches were broken off during a storm last year and emergency pruning was required on those particular trees. We have successfully applied to have the trees on 92nd Street pruned. Pruning will take place in the next couple of months.

When we noticed a Christmas tree stuck in one of the street trees three stories above ground, we immediately took action.  A flurry of calls and e-mails resulted in its removal that same afternoon, thus adverting the possibility of personal injury or damage to property.

TRASH Overflowing garbage and open cans have been an ongoing problem, particularly with individual plastic cans.  We have encouraged the owners who have been using plastic cans to purchase steel trash bins. We are happy to say that some owners have seen the benefit of these receptacles for rat control and sanitation and have converted from plastic to steel.

WORKING TOGETHER As you can see we have been diligent in pursuing the goal of a clean and beautiful block.  We need the support and cooperation of all residents. The work with the trees was costly and time consuming. We received many compliments from residents.  Unfortunately there are those who regard tree beds as a comfort station for their dogs, an ash tray and a receptacle for all kinds of garbage.  We have done our best to clean out the beds on a regular basis. Some residents have been diligent in caring for the trees adjacent to their building. Please join the effort to protect our trees and make our block clean and attractive by removing litter when you see it.  We also need volunteers to water the trees when it is hot and dry in the summer.  Without sufficient water, trees will not thrive and plantings die.  After all, it is our block and our trees.

Whether your building uses plastic cans or steel bins, please take care when putting out your trash and be sure the lid is securely closed.

As always, please feel  free to contact us any time you have questions, comments or requests.

Some of you have been very generous and for that we are most grateful. We ask only a $5 annual membership fee, and more is always welcome. We are volunteers and all monies collected go directly toward work of the Association.  Please make your tax deductible donation for 2012.

For your convenience you can download a membership form which you may find helpful.

You can donate using a credit card or by PayPal on our donate page or by sending a check to:

East 93rd Street Block Association
340 E. 93rd Street
Apt. 17I
New York, NY 10128

East 93rd Street Block Association, Inc. is a 501(c)3 organization.

You will receive a receipt and your contribution is tax deductible to
the extent allowed by the law.

Thanking you in advance for your
support,

Best regards,
Joy Tutiven
Secretary and Treasurer

For more info contact:
save-ruppert-playground@googlegroups.com

Oscar Fernandez

e-mail: oscarfernandezjr@gmail.com (Campaign To Save Ruppert Playground Organizer)
Tel. 646-761-8364

We are planning our second letter writing drive day on Monday 12/19 from 4pm to 8pm in the community room at 222 East 93rd street (see details below). We need volunteers for this event especially starting at 3:30pm and donations of stamps and envelopes. Please contact me via phone or email to help. Our goal is to send out over 1,000 letters again (last time we sent out over 1,400 and achieved our goal of garnering the attention and commitment of elected officials including Speaker Quinn).

Additionally, we need help promoting the event by posting the flyer in buildings and local businesses in the community. So if you can donate copies or better yet distribute the flyer that would be greatly appreciated (download flyer here).

The focus of this letter writing campaign is to contact the New York Proton Regional Cancer Treatment Center who is now the potential commercial anchor tenant at the proposed site and tell them that although we support treatment options for those with cancer we do not feel this is an appropriate site for this type of center. We have all been personally touched by cancer in one way or another, but a center such as this should be built in an area that is better suited to handle the increased traffic at such a site – perhaps in an area such as the proposed Hudson Yards development that Related is also working on near Penn Station.

Ahead of the formal letter writing campaign please contact the representatives at NYPRC telling them of your opposition to Related Companies plan to build anything on the current site of Ruppert Playground, including their Proton Center. Please contact them with this message asap via calls, emails, letters and faxes. Remember that without this anchor tenant in place Related would have to reconsider their plans so it is imperative that we get this new message out.

Email list: info@NYPRC.com; william@nyprc.com; info@tpiony.com; wendy@tpiony.com; karolyn@nymedscan.com
Also CC our elected officials to make sure they hear this new message as well and know that we are still fighting to Save Ruppert Playground: garodnick@council.nyc.ny.us; lappin@council.nyc.gov; serrano@senate.state.ny.us; bp@manhattanbp.org; quartd@assembly.state.ny.us; speakerquinn@council.nyc.ny.us

Contact: William Lievendag - Executive Vice President – NYPRC (phone: 212-751-8337 Ext 130

Contact: Wendy Black – Vice President of Operations and Marketing (at 212 599-5555 The Proton Institute of NY another off shoot of this company)
Contact: Dr Karolyn Kerr – To Be Medical Director (212 599-5555)

New York Proton Regional Center
755 Second Avenue
New York, NY 10017
Fax: (212) 268-3165

Here are also some notes regarding NYPRC:
Their Websites: http://www.nyprc.com/index.html (this is the investor facing site) <http://www.nyprc.com/index.html> and (http://www.tpiony.com/ this is the patient facing website)

1) They are part of the EB-5 immigration \ foreign investment program (Link to EB-5 program site <http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=2785a5f224a2e210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=2785a5f224a2e210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD> )
2) If an investor contributes a minimum of 500K it gets them a temporary green card and visa which makes them eligible for a permanent residency after 2 years. This would be for the investor, their spouse and dependents under the age of 21.
3) After 5 years they claim investors will get their full money back and earn at least 3.5% in compounded interest year over year
4) Investors and their spouse get a free CAT and PET scan.
5) Please see a WSJ article on the initially proposed site at 57th street that fell through:WSJ Article <http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704858304575498103060976396.html>
6) Also note that the medical community is still mixed on usefulness of Proton treatment “because they haven’t been subjected to enough rigorous peer-reviewed research” (See website discussing Proton Vs other treatments) <http://www.advancedradiationcenters.com/?p=protontherapy>