Category: BA Events

Veni, Vidi, Weed It

10/18/2018

Block Association Tree-Well Clean Up Day is Done. Weeders, Mulchers: Take a Bow!

By Caitlin Hawke

Thanks go to Celia Knight who sent the photo below of two hearty neighbors on a rainy Saturday. They joined the Block Association team headed by Mark Schneiderman, head of the ecology committee, to weed, clean, plant bulbs and generally beautify our tree wells.

They came. They saw. They mulched. And our trees are all the better for it.

If you are interested in the state of city trees, on October 24, at 6:30 p.m., Parks & Rec is holding a street tree workshop. You'll find the flyer below. I wanted to add a lagniappe from SNL this week, a rap ode to trees. But it truly wasn't ready for prime time. Best line: "You can agree that more trees isn't a bad thing, right though?"

#Truth

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It's Time to Give a Little Sugar to Our Trees and Our Kids

10/10/2018

Two Block Association Events Not to Be Missed!

By Caitlin Hawke

The Block Association walks the talk when it comes to covering the catchment. First in the Spring, you can beautify the tree wells with annuals and get a good workout in your knees, quads and back. Then come May, you can enjoy W. 103rd Street at the ever wonderful street fair, yard sale, bazaar, fest -- or what ever you wish to call it.

As Fall rolls in, the BA goes back to the planting of bulbs and neatening of tree wells, followed in quick succession by the Halloween Parade and Solstice Caroling.

All year long on second Tuesdays at 8 p.m. you have the chance to come to the monthly board meetings which are held at 306 W. 102nd Street. You can bring your questions or just come to see how things are done and offer your help.

This weekend is your chance to give a little sugar to our trees. And I don't know about you, but after the last few weeks, I am ready to think and act locally.

The BA is calling all new neighbors, kids, green-thumbed or not. The tidying and planting will run from 10 a.m. til it's done around noon. All the info you need is below and if you still have questions, email: trees@w102-103blockassn.org.

Then hold onto your hats because 0ctober 31 is blowing in quickly. That's the day we give sugar to our kids, big and small. My observation is that the adults lean in almost as much as the young'uns. If you want to lend a hand, email Jane at halloween@w102-103blockassn.org.

Check out the galleries from past years like Ghoul's Gold here and Goblin It Up here. If that doesn't sell you on turning out at 6 p.m. on W. 102nd and West End, maybe the home-baked goodies or cider will. I am resurrecting the Great Pumpkin Interview with Saxton Freymann here -- a blog favorite.

For more information, you can read the most recent edition of the BA newsletter here.

See you on the streets of the catchment! Lagniappe from erstwhile Bloomingdaler Nina Simone below. If you are reading this in an email subscription, you'll have to click on the blog post title to view the video.

Rain Out: May 19 Block Party Cancellation

5/17/2018

See You Next Year

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SAFE Disposal Event: May 20, 10am-4pm

5/13/2018

After the Block Party, There's One More Thing!

By Caitlin Hawke

Perhaps you are planning to be a vendor at this Saturday's Block Party? Good for you: you've tidied your cabinets and winnowed your closets of old items that you are now giving a chance at another good home. But a few toxins remain to be dealt with.

Or if you've been lazily watching everyone ferry their stuff to the Block Party to sell it off and you're feeling guilty that your clutter is amassing, here's an event for you.

On Sunday, you can get rid of all that hard-to-toss stuff at a SAFE Disposal Event put on by NYC's Department of Sanitation. SAFE Disposal is specifically for items that fall into the categories of Solvents, Automotive, Flammable and Electronics.

SAFE Disposal takes place on Sunday, May 20, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., on W. 120th Street between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue.

Materials accepted include common household products such as auto fluids, batteries, electronics, strong cleaners, medications, paint and more.

See this link for further details.

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Save the Date: May 19 is Our Annual Block Party

5/12/2018

Tell a Friend. Grab a Neighbor. Spread the Word.

By Caitlin Hawke

Live in the neighborhood and enjoy these occasional blog posts? Spread the word by telling a friend or neighbor to subscribe. There's a lot more in store!

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Oyez! Oyez! Oh Yeah!

4/27/2018

Calling All Vendors for Our May 19 Block Party

By Caitlin Hawke

Have you secured your vendor's table at our May 19 Block Party yet? All the information you need is right here. If you are a resident of the Block Association's catchment, it's just $50 for a spot from which you can turn your no-longer-needed possessions into rent money or a couple of dinners on the town.

If you are like me, you love the haggle. You love the circle-game of old things finding new life in the twinkle of a stranger's eye. You love the cash. You love the feeling of community. And you love the idea of winnowing your cupboards and drawers.

If you don't want to vend, hawk or huckster, why not just tell all your friends with overbrimming closets that this is an occasion to be seized! For folks outside the catchment, the fee is $70.

Click on the Block Party tab on our website for an FAQ and all the deets.

And don't forget to save the date and come noodle down the street. There's deals to be had and treasures to be unearthed.

It's my favorite Block Party tradition.

(Click here to see the lagniappe video below if you are reading this via email subscription).

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Everything's Coming Up Roses and Daffodils!

4/26/2018

Nothing Stopped Them 'Til They Were Through

By Caitlin Hawke

Blow a kiss. Take a bow!

I am looking at you Mark Schneiderman (coordinator), Michael Stearns, St. Luke's, Tina, all you neighbors who lugged, mulched, dug, tidied, planted, watered, crouched, knelt, and helpfully applauded from the sidelines.

All hail the Block Association's eco committee and your beautiful results.

Our tree wells, as shot by Celia Knight below, are ready for the throngs to come pouring through for our Block Party on May 19. (Did you reserve your table yet, vendors?).

At far bottom is a Merman lagniappe from 1961 with cameos by Lenny Bernstein and Old Blue eyes. (Remember to click on the blog title or here if you are receiving this directly in your email box.)

BEFORE

AFTER

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Reminder: Saturday is Spring Planting Day

4/19/2018

Come Join Us! Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Save the Date: April 21 is Spring Planting Day

4/14/2018

Showers, Flowers, Browsers

By Caitlin Hawke

Saturday, April 21 is the Block Association's annual day to come out and plant your heart out. You'll find the details in the poster below. As I've said before: you'll be a good kind of tired when it's all said and done.

Kids, bring your folks. And folks, bring your kids. It's all in the neighborhood, and it's good (so-so) clean fun as you'll see in the past galleries here and here.

If you need additional information, email trees@w102-103blockassn.org.

Annual Meeting is This Thursday!

3/18/2018

Join Us: March 22, 7 p.m. at the Master's Riverside Lobby

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Save the Date for the Annual Meeting: March 22

3/11/2018

This Year's Focus is the Crisis in Commercial Real Estate

By Caitlin Hawke

On Thursday, March 22 at 7 p.m. at the Master (310 Riverside Drive at West 103rd Street), you are invited to the Block Association's Annual Meeting. The focus -- the Crisis in Commercial Real Estate -- is a topic readers will recognize from the blog a mini-series entitled Empty Storefronts and the Changing Streetscape. For further reading, see the following:

Interview with Judith Norell, proprietor of Silver Moon Bakery
In Joon, Our Fall: The last day at Joon Fish Market
and my favorite: Stowin' Away the Time & Peelin' Back the Years on the decline of the Korean deli

I think it's going to be a great discussion. Hope to see you there!

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9:15:18

12/20/2017

Seen in the Neighborhood

Remember: December is "Spread the Blove" month. If you enjoy these blog posts, won't you share this with a nearby friend, family member or neighbor? It's a great way to stay in touch between newsletters of the W. 102nd & 103rd Streets Block Association. So tip off a neighbor who can then receive posts directly to his or her email by just filling in an email address at the bottom of each post.

By Caitlin Hawke

Enjoy the nine hours, fifteen minutes and eighteen seconds of daylight on Thursday. For you lightlovers, it's all downhill from here! By the 31st you get three more minutes of daylight, and so it goes.

Solstice 2017.

How will you tip your hat to the dark today? Now that you can take a break from flipping latkes, spinning dreidels and running around on the season's forced spending spree, why not come out and sing at the Block Association event.

And now I leave you with images seen in the neighborhood during our pre-winter lead in to the solstice. We've already been dusted three or four times with a suspicious white powder. Audrey got hers (below) and the skies have been hoarier than usual. Thanks to neighbors Bob Donohue and David Ochoa for these shots. I need to go waterproof my old boots but in the meantime say to old man Winter: Bring. It. On!

After all, it's the only route to the vernal equinox. And I am all about that.

Credit: Bob Donohue

Credit: David Ochoa

Join Us for the Shortest Day's Night: An Evening of Song

12/18/2017

Calling All Carols, Johns, Jacobs and Jingleheimers. Thursday is Solstice Caroling!

Remember: December is "Spread the Blove" month. If you enjoy these blog posts, won't you share this with a nearby friend, family member or neighbor? It's a great way to stay in touch between newsletters of the W. 102nd & 103rd Streets Block Association. So tip off a neighbor who can then receive local news directly to his or her email by just filling in an email address at the bottom of each post.

Love the Blog? Spread the Blove!

By Caitlin Hawke

I blogged this earlier in December but here's your reminder that Thursday is Solstice Caroling Night with Your Block Association! On December 21st at 7 p.m., come meet up at 865 West End Avenue (on the west side of WEA at W. 102nd Street). You can download a songsheet right here.

Details in the flyer below and an outro of lagniappes for those readers who like youtube videos. Make sure to click on the title of this post to view it online or the videos will not load for email subscribers!

And to paraphrase Tiny Tim, see you waiting for the sunlight, loving the moonlight, having a wonderful time!

Email subscribers: remember to view the lagniappes below, you'll need to click on the blog title or go here.

Tiny Tim's Livin' in the Sunlight, a Maurice Chevalier cover

"Your Night with My Day" -- James Taylor's little-known ditty from his first album on Apple Records, the Beatles label, circa 1968

From the famous Nashville sessions, Bobby D. and Johnny Cash sing "You Are My Sunshine." If you think Bob Dylan can't sing, think again! Happy Solstice, Bloomingdalers.

When Broadway Offers These, You Know the Solstice Approaches

12/2/2017

Seen on Broadway: Gluten-Free Trees. Coming Soon: No-carb Latkes!

By Caitlin Hawke

Remember: December is "Spread the Blove" month. If you enjoy these blog posts, won't you share this with a nearby friend, family member or neighbor? It's a great way to stay in touch between newsletters of the W. 102nd & 103rd Streets Block Association. So tip off a neighbor who can then receive local news directly to his or her email by just filling in an email address at the bottom of each post.

Love the Blog? Spread the Blove!

Cheeky tannenbaum hawkers on Broadway will do anything to seal the deal.

I should explain that I gave up holiday decorations long ago after being traumatized by my first NYC roommate. I rented a room from a woman who couldn't let go of the trimmings well into March. It freaked me out a little. But then I moved and was liberated by the thought that I could take the holidays on my own terms. I know some folks feel quite strongly about these year-end festivities. So forgive me for saying that my ideal is to revamp everything and celebrate them like the quadrennial summer and winter Olympics: Thanksgiving once every four years, and your choice of December holiday once every four years. With two years off in between for reflection and absence aplenty to make the heart grow fonder.

But one event I refuse to leave unobserved is the winter solstice. I'll even celebrate a solstice twice a year. Unapologetically. (Some people in my family celebrate them four times a year, but that's another story.)

The solstices are the most enduring and common observances in the whole wide family of Homo sapiens sapiens.

In stark contrast to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade which has devolved into an unwatchable infomercial saturated with product placement, the actual solstice remains untainted by consumerism. That, in my book, is something to sing about!

So this December 21st, on the heels of that traffic-stopping eclipse which reminded us of our puny place on the third rock from the sun, come into the streets and sing. Come mittened. Come gloved. Come sing with your neighbors, known and unknown. Sing on your streets! Sing under windows and on stoops. Stand in the doorways and block up the halls. Sing out loud. Sing out strong. Sing off-key. Sing joyous or blue. Sing 2017 out.

And sing back all the light we cannot see.

Save the date and see you out there!
Thursday, December 21st at 7pm at 865 West End Avenue (W. 102nd Street).

To download a songsheet, click here.

It's the Great Pumpkin Interview

11/22/2017

Saxton Freymann and His Objet Trouvé Approach to Pumpkin Carving

A little prologue before I get to the post today because Thanksgiving is an obvious time to take stock and to enjoy pumpkin -- which I hope you all will. I am very thankful to live in Bloomingdale and be part of a wonderful community that continually surprises me. And I am particularly thankful to have a perch from which to celebrate that neighborhood, my muse for purposes of the Block Association blog, where the opinions expressed are my own.

I am also very thankful for this Block Association and to its board and volunteers for doing what they do. You only had to be in the street on October 31st to appreciate how much joy can come from a volunteer initiative. If you weren't, you'll get another chance with Solstice Caroling coming right up on December 21st.

To continue to knit the community and share news with neighbors, here on the Block Association blog December will be "Spread the Blove" month. If you've been enjoying these occasional posts, won't you share this with a nearby friend, family member or neighbor? The blog is a great way to stay in touch all year long with the W. 102nd & 103rd Streets Block Association. So tip off someone nearby. Send them the blog's address or point them to a favorite post. To receive news as it goes online directly to your email, just fill in the "Subscribe" box below. You'll receive a request to verify your subscription. And voilà! Just sit back and the next post will arrive to your inbox.

Love the Blog? Spread the Blove. Thanks for reading! And Happy Thanksgiving ~ Caitlin

By Caitlin Hawke

The Great Pumpkin of 2017 by Sax Freymann

Most kids around here already know Saxton Freymann's work. For the past many years, Sax has donated a gourdgeous sculpted pumpkin to the Halloween festivities put on by the Block Association each October 31st. While compiling photos from this year's parade, I kept wondering who this pumpking was. And then Jane Hopkins -- who does such a wonderful job producing the event -- clued me in.

I decided to ask Sax a few questions and hope you'll enjoy this interview with a talented, generous neighbor. He's also provided some shots of past sculptures. And for you poodle lovers, my lagniappe is Sax's Broccoli dog. He's good and good for you.

Enjoy!

Q&A with Saxton Freymann

Caitlin: Are you a neighbor? How long have you lived in Bloomingdale?
Sax: My wife Mia Galison and I have been in Bloomingdale for 27 years. Our kids grew up here and loved the parade and the block festivities at Halloween.

Caitlin: How did you come to be involved in the annual Block Association Halloween event?
Sax: I don’t remember how many years ago or who originally asked me if I would contribute a pumpkin, but I have continued to do it ever since. When my books were coming out 15 or 20 years ago, I had a slightly higher profile.

Eye seed you, heh heh heh. Pumpkin carved by Saxton Freymann

Caitlin: You carve a mean pumpkin. What's the secret? Are eyes the window to a pumpkin's soul?
Sax: When I started doing books based on transforming fruits and vegetables, of course I had to include pumpkins. My approach is to use the natural form and do as little as possible to nudge it towards something it already resembles. This of course means that the stem is a nose…with some of my favorites I did not add eyes at all -- they are already implied in the wrinkles of the surface.

Out of my gourd! Pumpkin carved by Saxton Freymann

Caitlin: I understand you are fairly agnostic when it comes to vegetable carving, you'll carve anything! How did you get into food carving?
Sax: Many years ago my wife met a book designer and packager named Joost Elffers who wanted to do a book showing interesting things that could be done with food. He had already done a book in Europe along these lines and was looking to develop something more in sync with an American market. I got some produce, made a variety of things and sent him a bunch of pictures. That led to Play With Your Food, and the success of that book led to a series of children’s books with Arthur Levine at Scholastic.

Caitlin: Are you a vegetarian?
Sax: I am omnivorous.

Caitlin: So you eat the seeds!
Sax: I try to eat as much of the “waste" from my edible work as I can. When I was doing all the books my family would eat a lot of the day’s work. When I work with pumpkins, I often do not even cut through to the interior… so they last a bit longer.

Caitlin: How long do they last?
Sax: They generally do not last long, although I remember one that lasted for months! Most of what I do is about the final photographs.

Caitlin: How long does your traditional pumpkin take to carve?
Sax: It varies. I probably spend an hour or so on a pumpkin.

Caitlin: Jack O' Lantern or Pumpkin?
Sax: Pumpkin!

Caitlin: OK, but do you ever light your pumpkins from inside or is it all about the face?
Sax: My pumpkins are not lanterns. They are much more about the surface and the organic form.

Caitlin: Is there such a thing as carve-offs in the pumpkin sculpting world?
Sax: I have seen all sorts of competitive pumpkin carving over the years, featuring work with much more patience than I have. I am a very uncompetitive person, so that’s not for me.

Caitlin: Do you have any pumpkin trivia you'd like to share?
Sax: I don’t know if it still exists, but years ago there was an annual race on Glimmerglass Lake in Cooperstown, New York, in which competitors hollowed out and rowed enormous pumpkins. It was a remarkable and hilarious spectacle.

Many thanks to Sax for his indulgence here and for the many years of pumpkins at our tables. Readers curious to see more of Sax's work will also find his books How Are You Peeling? and Food Play in print. Also, scroll down for a short video with Sax. (If you are reading this post in your inbox, you need to go to the following link to see the video: www.w102-103blockassn.org/blog.

Fresh Poodle - sculpted by Saxton Freymann

Ghoul's Gold

11/18/2017

A Night Out in Boo-mingdale

By Caitlin Hawke

The Winter newsletter will soon be out and you can read the full recap of the hallowed eve of All Saints Day, vintage 2017. But while we're all waiting for the print version, here's a little gallery of what went down when the ghouls came out. I missed a lot of the munchin' munchkins, but you'll see in the empty platters and pans in the gallery that feast they did! A big thank you to the Block Association volunteers who worked on the Jane Gang this year, and to St. Luke's Addiction Institute's staff and residents who baked up a storm and helped pull it all together. This is a Jane Hopkins joint (red hat below). But she would be embarrassed not to share the spotlight with her fête accomplices -- some pictured, some not.

Block Association volunteers working on the Jane Gang, a hat tip to you all.

Boo-yeah!

10/28/2017

Almost Time for Our October 31st Parade and Party

A seasonally-appropriate collage by neighbor David Ochoa

By Caitlin Hawke

Tuesday is Halloween, so you all know what that means, yes?

To any kids reading, I am sympathetic since I understand this might mean you have to wait to use the bathroom mirror to apply your spooky facepaint. Your parents, too, will be busy getting their costumes on. But you are all gonna pull it together and meet up with your Block Association friends at the NW corner of West End Avenue and W. 102nd Street just before 6 p.m. when the parade steps off. If you miss the parade, just follow the squeals back to W. 102nd Street between Riverside Drive and West End Avenue for the party.

For galleries of parties past, see here and here. And look for the 2017 gallery in the coming couple of weeks.

See you out there and look for the Block Association volunteers, St. Luke's residence friends, and captain Jane Hopkins who make it all happen.

Thanks to neighbor David Ochoa who kindly allowed me to illustrate this post with his noir collage.

I Speak for the Trees for the Trees Have No Tongue

10/17/2017

Unless Someone Like You Cares a Whole Awful Lot, Nothing is Going to Get Better.

By Caitlin Hawke

It's not.

Or so said Dr. Seuss's Lorax and his Once-ler, once woke.

Heaven knows we could use a Lorax or two nowadays. And on Saturday, we had 'em in spades.

Lorax-in-chief, Mark Schneiderman, got himself out of bed bright and early (when others were just coming home from their Friday night on the town), drove to Jersey, filled up on a tower of mulch bags, buckets of bulbs, Truffula seeds, munchkins and 'joe, and was on the avenue by 10 a.m. cheering on the crew and keeping them stoked with supplies, tending to tree wells.

He wasn't alone. Temma, Ferenc, Pat, Terence, Bettina, Cynthia, Celia and quite a few others were all out there channeling their inner-Lorax. Also, there were kids! I suspect some of the kids brought their folks instead of the other way around.

What can I say? The result speaks for itself.

Community spirit: it's not about what it is...it's about what it can become. A butterfly effect. Thanks to you all. See you on Spring Planting Day!

Photo credits: Celia Knight and Caitlin Hawke

Plant a new Truffula.
Treat it with care.
Give it clean water.
And feed it fresh air.
Grow a forest.
Protect it from
axes that hack.
Then the Lorax and all of
his friends may come back.

― Dr. Seuss, The Lorax

Our Annual Rock around The Block

10/14/2017

Faces of the Spring Block Party

By Caitlin Hawke

Today is the big day for our friends over at the W. 104th Street Block Association. But at least they are got some pre-event shut-eye without undue concern for a wet day. Mother Nature will be smiling on their endeavor as she did on ours in May.

Speaking of our block party in May, below is the much belated gallery I intended to get online far sooner. Interesting that looking at it shows how slowly Spring turned to Summer this year...recall that cool breeze that chilled our volunteers and kept vendors bundled up. But it was a great day and there were a lot of happy folks hanging out on W. 103rd.

Hope the 104th Street sale is just as much fun!

Here's a nod to all the tired feet that will be propped up on tables tonight and a round of applause to all those who made ours yet another memorable one!

Come on out from 10 am to 5 pm...the neighborhood block parties aren't the same without you!

Photo credit: Caitlin Hawke and Celia Knight

Bob Aaronson: How do you do it?

Hedy Campbell of the matching sneakers and apron getting a boost from her bullhorn hocking the split-pot raffle

Bob Neuman and Linda Seidel holding the fort at the BAiP table

Saturday is Tree Well Clean Up Day

10/8/2017

And Sunday You Will Feel a Good Kind of Tired

By Caitlin Hawke

Come out and bring the kids to the Block Association's Fall Tree Clean Up at 10 a.m. in front of 878 West End Avenue. B.A. volunteer and neighbor Mark Schneiderman has it all organized.

Saturday has us scrambling with many neighborhood options. Here's a suggested schedule for you -- I know you can fit it all in!

10 a.m. to noon: Fall Tree Clean Up with your Block Association (see below)
All day: W. 104th Street Block Association Street Fair -- come visit the BAiP table too! It all happens on W. 104th Street between Riverside Drive and West End Avenue.
2 p.m. to 4 p.m.: Walk over to Hostelling International NYC and see BAiP's Arts Groups exhibit of neighborhood works.
Also, for Open House New York aficionados, the hostel has tours for you!

A reward for getting to the bottom of this post: my automnal lagniappe along this same theme -- les feuilles morts se ramassent à la pelle -- is a beaut from Serge Gainsbourg covering his forebears in, yes again, the circle game of life marked by fallen leaves. Remember, for those of you reading this directly via your email subscription, click on the title of the post to see the video online.

Ladies, gentlemen, I give you La Chanson de Prévert.

Fall 2017 Newsletter Now Online

9/17/2017

This Website is Your Go-To Source for Back Issues, Too!

By Caitlin Hawke

The Fall 2017 issue of the Block Association's newsletter is now "live" online. You can get to the table of contents by way of this link and click through to articles of interest. It takes a small but powerful army to accomplish this quarterly endeavor. The writers mostly have bylines and may be known to you. But too invisible is the field marshal, Hedy Campbell. It wouldn't exist without her. She is the editor with Jacob Gross co-piloting as associate editor, and, trust me, they toil. Brad Spear does the considerable lift on graphic design. He, too, toils. The three of them deserve an ovation. Incredibly there must be 25 others who contribute to each issue, either as regular columnists or feature writers. If you like what you read, savor it as a very special, all-volunteer produced, labor of love for this community. An in admiration, don't forget to re-up your Block Association membership!

As you've read in past blog posts, this newsletter has been going strong since 1971. The inaugural issue and pieces from many issues since are highlighted in a regular blog feature called "One from the Vault" which you can get to by clicking that link under "Categories" at right (if you are reading this post online) or by clicking here if you receive blog posts directly to your email.

By the way, I have a big backlog to do on the blog, I realize. But do know that more treasures from the vault, more Throwback Thursdays: Bloomingdale Edition, and more It's Elemental features are all coming. But by trickle not by flood.

But back to the Fall 2017 newsletter. I wanted to draw your attention to a piece on BAiP's "Blooming Hour" written by Bob Neuman, which was erroneously credited to me in the print version and corrected here. It is Bob's writing and voice, not at all mine, despite that the Blooming Hour is near and dear to my heart as a key social gathering we run in the activities sector of Bloomingdale Aging in Place.

The whole newsletter is worth your giving it a once over. For example, I'd also point you to the piece on Hosteling International NYC because together with the Bloomingdale Neighborhood History Group, they have a great program coming up on October 4th at 6:30 p.m. on the history of the landmarked building at 891 Amsterdam Avenue and on the hostel itself. I'll try to post a reminder nearer the date.

Check out the current issue because there's much more on Fall Tree Well Clean Up Day (Oct. 14), National Night Out, business news, calls for your participation and art endeavors by talented neighbors. If you are in the catchment of the Block Association, you should have received your print copy this past week, hot off the press.

Happy reading!

Get Thee to the Street: Saturday is Block Party Day!

5/19/2017

See You on West 103rd Street from Riverside to West End, 10 am to 4 pm

By Caitlin Hawke

The day you've all been waiting for will not be a rain-kissed slog! We have seasonally-appropriate weather in store all day tomorrow. Come on out and support your Block Association. Find treasures from your neighbors. Stop in at the Bloomingdale Aging in Place table. Hang out with a few jaunty dogs who always make the strut down the street. And just come be a member of this wonderful small town we all call home in this crazy place we call Planet Earth. It's local. It's free. And it is all waiting for you all day Saturday, May 20th from 10 am to 4 pm.

Sneak Peek at the Coming Block Party

5/14/2017

Preview of the Treasures in Store for Saturday

By Caitlin Hawke

You are hereby reminded! Saturday, 10 am-4 pm, is the signature event of the Block Association: a Block Party on W. 103rd from Riverside Dr. to West End Ave.

The extended forecast shows a gorgeous 70 degree day. But if past is prologue, the weather doesn't matter a whit. What matters is the excellent ambiance of neighbor encountering neighbor while discovering treasure upon treasure.

To "prime the pump" (it's an expression I just made up), our neighbors KC and Peter have a girl's bike for sale for $65. It's in great condition. Proceeds will go straight to the block association. If you like what you see in the picture, email me at blog@w102-103blockassn.org, and I'll get you in touch so you can be the new proud owner: bell, butterfly basket, tassels and all.

Going once!
Going twice...

Petal Pushers

5/1/2017

A Gallery of Earth Day in the Catchment

By Caitlin Hawke

It seems like one day is not enough for the annual tradition of "Earth Day." I mean if "Dental Awareness" and "Confederate History" get a whole month each, shouldn't the 4.543 billion-year-old third rock from the sun -- at a minimum -- get 31 or even 365 days of our attention? Just sayin'.

No matter how much time we are allotted in the great calendar of commemorations, it's really about the time we make to show our reverence. Virtually without interuption since its inception in 1971, the Block Association has been thinking globally, acting locally, and revering. Thanks to Ginger Lief, I can prove it since she squirreled away a non-digitized back catalogue of the Block Association newletter archives and preserved these documents at the Bloomingdale branch of the library. There and utterly incredulous, I found Volume 1, Issue 1, which I'll post on May 20th in its entirety. But as a preview, check this excerpt out...the roots of "Planting Day" from that inaugural issue!

New York is a different animal today so recalling back 46 years to the concrete jungle when tree beds didn't exist is harder for newer New Yorkers. Make no mistake! This BA and these neighbors have been at it, out there, mucking about in the soil, doting on trees and their beds, nigh on a half century.

As you'll see when I post that inaugural issue, there are a lot of current BA traditions that were laid down right then and there in 1971. And while faces have literally changed, the spirit is, more or less, the same. Plus the stooping, crouching, kneeling and schlepping remain a time-honored right of passage into Spring.

All this to say: Thank you, neighbors -- new, old, big, small -- for your efforts right here in the catchment on Earth Day 2017. And thanks to Mark Schneiderman for coordinating it all. You volunteers are all now a part the collective memory that some blogger will be writing about in 2063.

For all other neighbors, how can you help? In the short term, water the beds! In the longer term, plan on coming out for the Fall Clean Up Day. To recycle words above from 1971: "try and come…(we're friendly) and help make this a more beautiful area." Details will be on our homepage in September.

Without further ado, here now is the garden of delights. If you have other pictures, send them to me and I'll add them: blog@w102-103blockassn.org.

Planting Day photo credit: Celia Knight

Spring Planting Day 2017!

Bettina's blooms

And below are the blooms from hundreds of bulbs that neighbor Ira planted in Riverside Park.

Daffodil photo credit: Ira Gershenhorn

Knee Deep in Flowers We'll Stray. We'll Keep the Showers Away!

4/20/2017

Saturday's Weather Looks Promising, So Come Out and Plant!

By Caitlin Hawke

Just a reminder that our nod to Earth Day is a hyper-local one: we're planting the tree wells and generally throwing some TLC to our beloved trees (but don't get me started on that now-dead gingko). It all happens this Saturday. And I am reiterating my request here for pictures. I will make a gallery and your labors of love will be duly recorded.

This Saturday. 878 West End Ave. 10 a.m.

And with that, I have a few special terrestrial Tiny Tim numbers as an Earth Day lagniappe. You cannot dispute that he was a man well ahead of his time in so many ways. A true original. I loved him then and ever shall. (The world has grown canned before our eyes.)

So put aside everything you know about autotuning, Katy Perry and 1D. And for the love of Pete, scroll down! I hope you will enjoy this Throwback Thursday inspired collection. And don't forget that if you are receiving this via email, you'll have to click on the post title to view the embedded videos on the actual blog page.

Again, if you are receiving this via email, you'll have to click on the post title to view the embedded videos on the actual blog page. Here goes!

I just can't resist including this one. Thanks for bearing with me.... Happy Earth Day!