By Caitlin Hawke

Our friends over at the West 104th Street Block Association are on a roll. You've seen them raising funds with the split-pot raffle and readying themselves for the extravaganza this Saturday, September 21. Here's a call to neighbors for donations to their "What A Bargain" table, run by Joyce Mann. Those things that seem to precious to throw away but you are tired of looking at? Those things (I am looking at me, now) clogging up your closet for another time, another home, another go round?  You know you're never gonna use 'em!  Donate them to West 104th Street Block Association to help the organization carry out its community building efforts throughout the year.

And don't forget to stop by and enjoy the yard sale all day Saturday (10 a.m. to 5 p.m.) along West 104th Street between Riverside Drive and West End Avenue.

To help the "What-A-Bargain" table, here's all you need to know:

​Donate to What-A-Bargain, a hot spot at the West 104th Street Yard Sale where shoppers find great deals and make purchases that support our Block Association. 

Dig into your cabinets and pull out: 

•    Jewelry
•    Handbags or wallets
•    Toys
•    Charming bric-a-brac
•    Unopened personal care products
•    Ceramics/pottery
•    Musical instruments
•    Bicycles
•    Complete games and puzzles  

(Please do not contribute the following: clothing of any kind, heavily used pots, pans, and glassware; outdated electronics; items missing pieces; or things like used coffee mugs because in the past Joyce says these haven't sold and will end up in the landfill.)

To donate, please contact Joyce directly to let her know what you have and to arrange a drop off time before September 19. She'll give you all the information you need: 
​
Email: joycemann2@gmail.com
Phone: 212-721-6341
​Cell: 516-238-4609

Don't have anything to donate?  Come check out the yard sale and find a bargain just for yourself -- another way to help our neighboring Block Association. And there are rumors that their bake sale table will be an abbondanza of scrumptiousness.

By Caitlin Hawke

On November 7, at 7 p.m., TriBloomingdale's "It's Easy Being Green" group presents the president and CEO of the Riverside Park Conservancy, Dan Garodnick.  Dan will speak about the importance of parks in the bigger outlook on climate. But the parks, like our beloved Riverside Park, are also vulnerable to the effects of climate change, and Dan will dive into that as well. You will find details below. Space will be limited, so RSVP quickly to ItsEasyBeingGreen.UWS@gmail.com.

TriBloomingdale's "It's Easy Being Green" group began a few months ago as the brainchild of neighbors Christine Campbell and Sharon Waskow to bring neighbors together each month to take action on climate change. It is one of several opportunities to engage with neighbors in the TriBloomingdale initiative which was begun in 2014 as a simple concept: take one great neighborhood -- Bloomingdale -- with lots of community-minded neighbors. Add three anchor community organizations -- BAiP, West 104th Street Block Assocation and West 102nd & 103rd Streets Block Association. And you get TriBloomingdale. The idea behind the three organizations joining forces from time to time was to bring a broader group of neighbors together to pursue common interests. We've always collaborated loosely on neighborhood events like the Halloween parade or the two annual yard sales.  And BAiP owes its creation to leaders from both block associations and their members back around 2008.  So it is natural to pool efforts so that members can find ways of getting to know each other.

In addition to this climate group, TriBloomingdale offers the following:

• TriBloomingdale Sunday morning brisk walking group where members walk at a very brisk pace.  

• TriBloomingdale SciFi reading group on third Thursdays where members enjoy favorite classics by writers like Robert A. Heinlein, Terry Pratchett and John Scalzi.

• TriBloomingdale Networking in the Neighborhood on first Friday mornings for Bloomingdale's sole proprietors who work from home and want to enlarge their nearby resources and build their businesses.

If you wish to lead an activity within this tri-organizational initiative or would like to receive more information about any of these activities, please email Caitlin Hawke: chawke@bloominplace.org.  

Come out and try TriBloomingdale!

By Caitlin Hawke

It's nearly time for the 30th Annual West 104th Street Yard Sale put on by our neighbors at the West 104th Street Block Association. On September 21 on West 104th Street between West End Avenue and Riverside Drive, you can enjoy the energy of a bustling street market in an exotic land. Shop in more than 60 stalls bursting with second-hand treasures. Bid on gift certificates, antiques, vintage collectibles, posters, photographs, paintings, theater tickets, household items in their original boxes, and services at the Silent Auction. Browse a large selection of novels, plays, poetry, history, biography, children’s books, cookbooks, atlases, dictionaries, and CDs at the Book Sale. Select your family dessert at the Bake Sale. Hunt down a two-dollar labor saver or conversation piece at ‘What-A-Bargain.’ Take a chance in a raffle. (Last year’s winner took home $2,025.50.) Tap your foot to live music performed by seasoned New York musicians. Free admission. 10 AM to 5:00 PM. For more information, visit www.bloomingdale.org.