The New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY) announced that in observance of Presidents’ Day, there will be no garbage or recycling collection, or street cleaning on Monday, February 20, 2012.  In addition, all Sanitation Department administrative offices will be closed on Monday, February 20^th, in observance of the holiday. 

Residents who normally receive Monday garbage collection should place their trash out at curbside Monday after 4 PM for pickup. While many residents will receive refuse service within a day or two after the holiday, some residents may not be picked up until the next scheduled collection day. Those receiving Monday recycling collection will have their recycling picked up on Tuesday, February 21^st because they didn’t receive a recycling collection on the Lincoln’s Day holiday.     

ALL MONDAY RECYCLING COLLECTION TO BE PICKED UP ON TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21^ST

DUE TO BACK-TO-BACK MONDAY HOLIDAYS OF LINCOLN’S BIRTHDAY AND PRESIDENTS’ DAY

The New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY) reminds all New Yorkers that residents who would normally have received recycling collection on Lincoln’s Birthday, Monday, February 13th, will have all of their recycling picked up on Tuesday, February 21^st, due to the observance of Presidents Day on Monday, February 20^th.   For questions about Sanitation services and holiday schedules, residents can contact 311 or visit the DSNY website at www.nyc.gov/sanitation.

The JOB CLUB is for young people between the ages of 17 – 24.  The club assists with resumes, cover letters, interview skills, job coaching and placement.  They are based at the Ingersoll Community Center in Fort Greene and the program is sponsored by THE Door and University Settlement.

Mondays & Thursdays: 1:30-3:00 PM
University Settlement at Ingersoll Community Center/177 Myrtle Ave & Prince St.

The Crown Heights community has made a commitment to end gun violence.  Merchants hang signs in their windows counting up the amount of days it has been since our last shooting; clergy members organize events to discuss violence in their congregations, teenagers speak to other teenagers about alternatives to violence. We are inviting the artists of Crown Heights and beyond to participate in our efforts to transform the neighborhood to make it a safe place for all.

Last year, the Arts to End Violence show brought artists together to share their own messages of peace and feelings about violence.  Some of the participants were established in their field and others were new to the creative process. The results were a diverse group of powerful images and performances that invigorated the community efforts to reduce violence.

We are calling on artists of all ages to submit art for this year’s project. 
Artists 19 and younger can submit in three categories (2-dimensional art, videos and t-shirt designs) to be eligible for cash prizes. Professional artists are invited to submit pieces to be part of the Art to End Violence collection to be displayed in local galleries and nontraditional venues such parks, laundromats and barber shops.

Guidelines for the youth contest are available here, and the call to professional and emerging artists is here. The flyer for the youth contest is available here.

March 15th - Early Deadline (for feedback from the Selection Committee – optional)
April 5th - Final Deadline for Submissions
May 21st-25th - Festival and Gallery Openings
June 3rd-10th - Winners announced during “Cease the Fire, Increase the Peace” Week

We encourage artists, gallery spaces, teachers, art programs and media to follow our tumblr through the Arts to End Violence tab above. Call us at 718-773-6886 and speak with Anthony or email him at mohena@crownheights.org to learn more and to get involved!

Participating students are also eligible for a college scholarship fund as well as continued academic, professional and cultural support throughout their high school and college years.

It is a rigorous application process and we encourage the involvement of parents and teachers in helping students apply.

Application and more info: Tribeca Film Festival Application

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SUPPORT

A full description is on the Kickstarter page or you can read more on our site.

A Community Oriented Art Installation by Ground Up Designers

PLEASE HELP FUND THE THE LAUNCH OF THIS PROJECT BY PARTICIPATING IN THE KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN

WHAT THE PROJECT IS ABOUT: 

Located in the Crow Hill Community Garden, in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, our art installation/fundraising platform focuses on bringing the community together to build something beautiful in memory of last summer’s Labor Day shootings. If launched, the installation will help raise awareness and funding for organizations in Brooklyn that are working to stop gun violence through the use of art and education programs for the youth.

We believe that the key to reducing gun violence in Brooklyn isn’t a more extreme police force (as we often see as a response to shootings), but is better art and education programs for the youth. In light of this, we’ve designed a canopy for the community garden made of disposable handcuffs — each cuff will be individually sponsored by a participating member of the community, showing that they would like to see more art programs available for the youth as a means of getting kids off the streets and preventing gun violence, not more arrests.

We decided to use the handcuffs as a symbol of both the youth violence and the overbearing police presence, that our neighborhood is continually confronted with. Using the handcuffs as a part of the art installation is not meant to trivialize these sensitive topics — in fact we hope that they will keep the conversation geared toward these important issues as we come up with creative ways to tackle them.

HOW THE PROJECT WORKS:

We are submitting our project to a number of international design competitions, launching a Kickstarter campaign, and applying for the New Yorkers for Better Neighborhoods grant. With the money raised through these initiatives, we will purchase the materials we need for the project. Once purchased, the cuffs will then be made available for donation at participating businesses throughout Crown Heights. When someone sponsors a cuff, they will be given a packet of information to take home, as well as a cuff to personalize with a message and then leave in a collection box for pick up.  Once a week, Ground Up Designers will collect the sponsored cuffs and add them to the installation.

Each cuff donated to the project will stand as a symbol of it’s donor’s support for positive community growth in Crown Heights — as more and more people donate their personal cuff to the project, a mesh will begin to grow in a lace like pattern. This mesh of cuffs, created of our neighbors’ joint community spirit, will become the canopy of the installation and a place for people of meet and organize throughout the summer. Architecturally, this canopy will be supported by a framework of fanned supporting legs that connect with hinges to a base. Just as the canopy is supported by the legs, the legs are completely dependent upon the canopy. This design was chosen to represent the relationships between the community organizations that support the community, and the individual members that support the organizations — one would not exist without the other.

The completed design uses over one-thousand cuffs to create the canopy of the installation. If each cuff is sponsored at the suggested $3 – $5 donation, we will have raised between $3,000 and $5,000 when the installation is complete!

A portion of the money raised will be used to fund free art classes which can be held under the canopy throughout the summer. The remaining money will be donated to community organizations that are working toward better education programs for the youth and against gun violence.

DESIGN AWARDS & ACHIEVEMENTS:

‘Art Not Arrests’, was awarded 3rd Place in the Black Spectacles Un-Competition Project, an international design competition focusing on self initiated/community oriented design projects.

‘Art Not Arrests’ was exhibited at “Build On”  the follow up event to The Un-Competition Project: January 19th at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

‘Art Not Arrests’ will be Exhibited at “Slap Dash” a monthly series that brings together different art forms for a semi-cohesive mixed-media event: June 2012 at LaunchPad<

RECENT PRESS:
Inhabitat NYC
Brownstoner
I Love Franklin Ave

ADDITIONAL FUNDRAISING INITIATIVES:

New Yorkers for Better Neighborhoods Grant
 - Application deadline Jan 31st 2012

Kickstarter Rewards: participate now to get yours

Pin: Available in Black, White, Red, Orange, Yellow, Pink, Purple, and Blue.

Bracelets: Available in Black, White, Red, Orange, Yellow, Pink, Purple, and Blue.

T-Shirt: Available in Women’s & Men’s American Apparel S,M,L, XL

Hoodie: Available in Women’s & Men’s American Apparel S,M,L, XL

Drop Off Site Open 10:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M.
Bedford Central Presbyterian Church
1200 Dean Street
(corner of Nostrand Ave.)
Brooklyn, NY 11216
(718) 467-0740

February 11, 2012
Brooklyn Borough Hall
9:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.

A summit for New Yorkers who care for street trees, love parks, nurture gardens, compost creatively and make New York greener and greater!

No cost. Register now!