BY CHRYS NAPOLITANO
Finally settled in Connecticut,
I realized the other day that
I haven’t written a column since
before COVID. I’m recovering
from a scheduled minor surgery
and, while I am starting to
feel normal again, I can’t go outside
and work on the farm yet.
Instead, I decided to write and
update all of my Throggs Neck
friends on what’s going on.
First and most foremost, I
miss everyone so much! I miss attending
meetings, participating
in local events and generally being
part of a community. We had
a socially distant CSA in 2020
and no farmers market. The CSA
is still socially distant because,
to be honest, the boxed shares
are just so much more convenient
from a logistical point of
view. Hopefully in 2022 we’ll be
back to the old system with all
the social “benefi ts” as opposed
to distance.
In case you didn’t know, the
Market at Preston is back. We
started on Tuesday, June 28, and
will be running every Tuesday
from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. until Oct. 5.
This year, we are still at 2780 Schurz
Ave., now at the end of Huntington
Avenue on the other side
of the school. It’s a great spot,
with lots of shade and right off
the street. We’ve got great vendors
with a nice assortment of
products. We have vendors with
delicious food like empanadas,
hot sauce, honey, maple syrup
and farmers with fresh produce.
Plus, we have music, Community
Corner and the Move it Move it
program where you can stop in
for a free exercise class.
This year, my farm, Two
Wrasslin Dogs Farm, is at the
market every week with fresh
produce, herbs and fruit. DIG
Farm, in North Salem, is one
of our stops on the way to market.
We pick up more fruit, vegetables
and herbs from them, as
well as eggs and honey. Both of
us also make value added products
like jams, salsas and other
delicious items utilizing the produce
we grow. Stop by our table
and you can also get information
on how to order from the Lewis
Waite Farm Extras program. In
the past, we used to bring cheese,
frozen meat and other products
to the market to sell, but it just
isn’t logistically possible any
longer! But you can place orders
that are delivered right to the
market every other week.
We are always looking for
more farmers, but it’s not that
easy for a fl edgling market to
get farmers to commit to being
at the market. We were only two
years old when the pandemic
hit. Since then, 4H Farms from
Yaphank, Long Island, has been
doing great business selling to
their local community and have
only been participating in very
established markets like the
one in Hastings on Hudson. DIG
Farm is busy with lots of community
BRONX TIMES REPORTER,38 AUG. 13-19, 2021 BTR
programming on the
farm every day of the week, but
we are thrilled that we can still
sell their produce.
In order to encourage farmers
to participate in our market, we
need to be able to guarantee them
customers. With that in mind,
we have submitted our application
to the USDA to accept EBT/
SNAP/HealthBucks at the Market
at Preston and at the Market
at Bissell Gardens in the Wakefi
eld section. We are this close to
getting approval — they let us order
the coins to use at the market,
so we know it is imminent. If you
have been reading my column
in the past, you know that the
SNAP/EBT program is a lifeline
to many families and we need to
remove the stigma of receiving
this benefi t. Seniors are especially
vulnerable to food insecurity,
and as a senior myself, I can
tell you that the program is easy
to apply for and a terrifi c benefi t
that can be used discreetly.
In the meantime, if you are
a home gardener, and have way
too many zucchini, basil or cucumbers,
let us know. If you have
grape vines or a fruit tree with
way too much fruit for you to
use and it just goes to waste, let
us know. If you run a community
garden and want to raise money
and sell from your garden, let us
know. Email us at bronxfarmersmarket@
gmail.com with the subject
line, “I’m a Farmer.” We will
give you a spot to set up and sell
your produce with no fee, but you
must contact us via email fi rst.
We are always looking for high
school- and college-aged interns
at the market, so if you’re interested,
email with the subject line,
“Intern.” Interns receive a bonus
at the end of the season as well as
a letter of recommendation from
the Northeast Bronx Community
Farmers Market Project, a 501c3
organization.
We’ve been having great success
with our garden here in Connecticut.
We started working on
turning this overgrown landscape
into a farm in the summer
of 2018, but the last 18 months
gave us lots of time to dig up the
rocky soil and create garden areas.
In one section along the
fence, we built a Medicinal Herb
garden. All the perennial herbs
we planted last year are growing
like crazy, some in fl ower and
attracting lots of bees. That’s really
been helping the tomatoes
we planted on the outer edge of
the garden. The rhubarb, a perennial,
is planted in this area
too. Further along the edge of
the property is a stone wall that
we started developing in 2019.
Our perennial bed of asparagus
is planted there and alongside it
this year are eggplant on one side
and winter squash on the other.
This year’s project was the
Four Square Garden, which
has been a garden dream of
mine. This has allowed me
to fi nally give French Intensive
Gardening a shot and I
couldn’t be happier. Paying
attention to companion planting
guides, every other week
we planted each square with
a variety of suitable vegetables.
For the fi rst time, I grew
radishes, beets, huge leaves of
rainbow chard, broccoli rabe
and lemon cucumbers. Flowers
like calendula and nasturtium
tumble from the sides of
the beds attracting bees that
have been doing a fabulous
job of pollinating so that every
week we have a new vegetable
to start harvesting. Soon, I
will be planting seeds directly
for fall harvesting!
Stop by the Market at Preston
every Tuesday from 4
p.m.-7 p.m. You’ll be impressed
by the assortment of products
we have for such a small market
and we hope that you will
help us spread the word to the
rest of the community about
this little, off the beaten track,
gem in our neighborhood.
Hope to see you there soon.
In the meantime, be the
change you want to see in this
world.
BY JOSEPH RUSSO AND
MATT CRUZ
More than 10 years ago,
Bronx Community Board
No. 10 voted unanimously to
make Throggs Neck, Country
Club and Pelham Bay, a Lower
Growth Management Area
(LGMA). We championed
LGMA because for too long developers
dictated our communities’
character. Because of
LGMA, development in Community
Board No. 10 requires
off-street parking spaces and
there are parameters around
the physical characteristics
of the building and its height.
The City of New York Department
of City Planning (NYDCP)
joined us in this effort.
So much so, that the zoning
we enjoy became law in 2007
under then-Mayor Bloomberg
with the local leadership of
then-City Councilman James
Vacca and, your very own,
Bronx Community Board No.
10.
The community is now facing
the Bruckner Boulevard
Rezoning proposal, a development
proposal that seeks to
undo Vacca’s and this Community
Board’s legacy; a proposal
that will permanently
alter the fabric of the Waterbury
and LaSalle community.
The proposal creates density
where there never was
any. A rezoning proposal of
this magnitude is poor planning.
Nothing about our community’s
infrastructure has
changed since 2007. We still
have minimal on-street parking.
We still drive and sit
through the same traffi c. We
still have long walks and long
bus rides to the nearest train
stations (the proposal, shockingly,
mentions the BX5 as a
reliable source of transportation
when all our residents
knows that the BX5 is one of
the least reliable buses in our
community).
The proposal outlines
more than 100 parking spaces
for its developments. However,
these parking spaces are
a ruse; no developer provides
free parking to its tenants. As
of right now, we do not know
what type of housing is slated
for Bruckner Boulevard; there
will be affordable units, but
at what price and how many
has not been disclosed yet. Regrettably,
we will see the end
of the Foodtown supermarket
on Crosby Avenue with this
proposal. We will offi cially
join many communities in
the Bronx as a food desert.
The Bruckner Boulevard Rezoning
proposal, if approved,
will only be the start as other
property owners will band together
to change the character
of our beloved neighborhoods.
Simply put, the proposal for
this portion of Bruckner Boulevard
undoes exactly what
we fought to implement for decades.
I can state with full confi -
dence that Bronx Community
Board No. 10 is not opposed
to development. We acknowledge
that part of Bruckner
Boulevard has had empty
commercial storefronts for
years. All our merchants’
associations, business improvement
districts and commercial
property owners
know that Bronx Community
Board No. 10 remains
ready to fi nd businesses to
occupy vacant storefronts.
However, such development
cannot come at the expense
of the community; development
that falls within the
guidelines of the LGMA will
be welcomed.
Bronx Community Board
#10 and its advisory vote is
but one step in the Uniform
Land Use Review Procedure
(ULURP) process; that vote
will come in our October or
November meeting. I and our
District Manager Matt Cruz
will give the community
ample notice to attend the
public meetings as required
by the ULURP. In the meantime,
continue to voice your
opinions to the offi ces of the
Bronx borough president and
city councilperson.
Be sure to join our email
list by writing to us at bx10@
cb.nyc.gov. Our Facebook
username is @BronxCommunityBoard10.
Our Twitter
and Instagram username is
@BronxCB10. If you have already
contacted us in some
manner, we thank you.
CIVIC CENTER
Community Board 10
link
link
link
link
link
/gmail.com
/cb.nyc.gov