Renewing the East Side
Nonprofi ts partner with Menin to bring more composting
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
The offi ce of Councilmember
Julie Menin has
partnered with nonprofi t
organizations GrowNYC and
Asphalt to call on the city to
create a composting site on the
East Side of Manhattan.
Residents of the East Side
have brought the issue of the
lack of food scrap drop-off
sites in the district to Menin’s
offi ce on a weekly basis.
Though there were three food
scrap drop-off sites within the
district prior to the pandemic,
it has been reduced to one site
operated by GrowNYC, located
at 96th Street and Lexington
Avenue, that operates
on Fridays from 7:30 to 12:30
p.m. With help from GrowNYC
and Menin’s offi ce, Asphalt
Green has now committed to
opening a composting site, allowing
composting to take
place on two different days a
week, at two different locations,
near public transportation.
“We need more composting
sites now more than ever. The
city’s proposed cuts to curbside
composting services are
disappointing, but organizations
LOCAL NEWS
A steady stream of ecology-minded New Yorkers bring their kitchen scraps for composting.
such as GrowNYC are
providing ways for New Yorkers
to continue helping the environment
and fi ghting climate
change. Having Asphalt Green
step in to provide this location
helps our community to keep
our city cleaner,” said Menin.
“Asphalt Green is proud
to partner with GrowNYC
and New York City Council
Member Julie Menin to host
a Food Scrap Drop-off site on
our Upper East Side campus.
We are excited to become a
space where our community
FILE PHOTO/TEQUILA MINSKY
can come together, not only
to play, but also to compost,”
said David Ludwig, Senior
Director, Asphalt Green
Community Programs.
Starting Monday, March
13, GrowNYC will administer
the site at Asphalt Green and
provide large 64 gallon bins to
collect the food scraps on Sundays
from 7:30 a.m. to 12:30
p.m. at the southeast corner of
91st Street and York Avenue,
located near the slope into the
soccer fi eld of Asphalt Green.
Compost consists of organic
material, such as yard waste,
grass clippings, houseplants,
fruit and vegetables, coffee
grinds, paper, hair, cotton
rags, and fi replace ashes. Acceptable
materials includefruit
& vegetable scraps, non-greasy
food scraps (rice, pasta, bread,
grains, cereal), coffee grounds
& fi lters, tea bags, eggshells
& nuts, cut fl owers & houseplants,
soiled brown paper
products and potting soil. The
site cannot accept meat, fi sh,
bones, dairy, fat, oil, greasy
food scraps, animal waste,
charcoal, coconuts, plastics,
twist ties, rubber bands, receipts,
insect-infested plants,
vines, and excavated soil.
According to the city’s Sanitation
Department (DSNY),
approximately one-third of
the residential garbage in New
York City is organic waste.
Composting keeps this waste
out of landfi lls and reduces
the draw of rodents to garbage.
Locally made compost
can also be used in the city’s
green spaces.
The Mayor’s proposal for
the preliminary city budget includes
halting the re-introduction
of curbside composting
pickup, which would save $18
million dollars of the proposed
Applicants can now seek funding in
Chinatown revitalization program
BY ISABEL SONG BEER
Manhattan Borough
President Mark Levine
and Chinatown Partnership
Executive Director
Wellington Chen jointly announced
an open call for project
proposals to be considered
through the $20 million Chinatown
Downtown Revitalization
Initiative (DRI).
The announcement on
March 4 signaled an opportunity
for any organizations or
individuals to submit proposals
for any project seeking funding
within or adjacent to the
Chinatown DRI area.
To be considered for the open
call, applicants must meet the
following criteria: Be a capital
construction project such as the
development or rehabilitation
of real estate or an improvement
to public space; have a
project sponsor with the ability
to lead project planning and
implementation and to cover
project costs while awaiting
reimbursement from the State;
have a defi ned scope and budget
based on professional plans
or comparable estimates; demonstrate
ownership or control
of the project site, either by the
proposer or a partnering entity,
and support from any required
private partners or government
agencies; be fully funded once
funds requested through DRI
are included; and be able to
break ground within 2 years.
This new open call initiative
adds onto projects already
included in the city’s DRI proposal
through New York State.
Project applications will
be reviewed through the Chinatown
DRI Local Planning
Committee (LPC) – a group of
community leaders nominated
by New York State Governor
Kathy Hochul and is co-chaired
by Borough President Levine
and Chinatown Partnership
Executive Director Chen –
which will then recommend a
slate of projects for funding by
the state.
In addition to this public
open call, there will be numerous
opportunities for members
Community leaders and electeds visited Chinatown shops
in August 2020 to meet owners and hear their challenges.
of the Chinatown community
to learn about as well as provide
input on the DRI’s strategic
investment plan in the
coming months.
This will include meetings
FILE PHOTO/TEQUILA MINSKY
of the LPC which are open to
the public.
Visit https://www.chinatowndri.
com for more details,
including the full schedule of
LPC meetings.
Schneps Media March 10, 2022 3
/www.china-towndri.com
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