Community Garden In Danger
Written by Pat Grace, pgrace@antonnews.com Thursday, 07 March 2013 00:00
The Plot Thickens
Glen Anderson and his mother Rose, 93, are a team when they till the soil at their plot of earth at the Peter F. Rickert Memorial Garden, a community garden on the grounds of the 36-acre estate surrounding the Science Museum of Long Island. They fear they may lose their beloved plot of earth on the property owned by Nassau County where one of the four fig trees on their plot was grown from an original clipping secretly transported by Rose’s father around 1900 when he left his home in Mezzojuso, Province of Palermo in Sicily. He carried the shoot with him as he set out to make his way to America.
The 16 gardeners, active there over many years, had been asked in a Feb. 1 letter to remove their plants and equipment - remove everything by Feb. 17, Glen Anderson remembered, but several inches of snow covered the ground. The date was then extended to March 1. The letter, Anderson said, came out of nowhere, and stated, “that effective immediately the community demonstration garden activity at SMLI/ Leeds Pond Preserve has been restructured due to expanding programming needs, child safety and security priorities.” The letter also explained “no new participants will be accepted. All 16 participants will be limited to one 10 foot by 20 foot plot. The 16 current gardeners may select one of the existing plots or it will be assigned to you by lottery.”
There were no prior meetings, Glen reported, when museum management sent letters asking that the gardeners remove everything. They were also informed, he said, that in the future, should community gardening be permitted, qualifying for a plot would be on a lottery basis. The community plots could have different gardeners each year.
“Community gardening implies continuity and longevity; not only of the individual plots,” Anderson said, “but of the communal ties such gardening nurtures. Random lottery luck of the draw annual improbability schemes nurtures nothing and no one.”
The core of the problem, Anderson believes, is the museum administration never respected them enough as a group to consult with them in an attempt to establish a compromise.
Their beloved gardens may become a parking lot. They want to save them but if that is not possible, they need a new home.
Attempts to reach the science museum for comment were not fruitful by press time. More next week.
News
Wednesday, 22 May 2013 00:00
Submitted by Manhasset Post 304 American Legion
Matthew Falcone, commander of the Manhasset Post 304 American Legion, and James Brooks, parade chairman, have announced the parade order and schedule for the 2013 Manhasset Memorial Day Parade and Memorial Services. All Manhasset residents, their families and friends are invited to join the Legion in this remembrance of the great sacrifices of our American heroes. The theme of the parade this year, “Honoring Those Who Serve in Special Operations,” is a reminder that, while Memorial Day honors all deceased veterans, the intention is to remember service personnel engaged around the world in an effort to preserve American freedom and way of life from global terrorism.
Memorial Services
A memorial service in honor of Manhasset’s war dead will be held at the Community Reformed Church, 90 Plandome Rd., on Sunday, May 26, at 10 a.m. Pastor Steven D. Pierce will officiate. All are urged to attend and to join with the Legion in the remembrance of the great sacrifice of our military.
Thursday, 23 May 2013 00:00
That first meeting, culminating in the May 2 ribbon-cutting for organic vegetable and herb gardens at all three Manhasset school campuses, was in September 2012.
Two organizations, both formed under the auspices of the SCA, were involved: Planet Manhasset, which under president Angela Classi and officers Merilyn Donnelly, Zari Ginsburg and Connie Parsons, spearheaded the construction of each site and Project Share, the which will distribute the produce raised to families in need. Classi, during the ribbon-cutting, told the students they were limited only by their imagination, and encouraged each one to embrace the secondary school garden as their own.
Sports
Thursday, 23 May 2013 00:00
Gymnast Alexis Stern, an eighth-grader at Manhasset Middle School, represented New York State in the Junior Olympic National Championships held in the Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek, MI the weekend of May 3. Competing against the top Level 9 gymnasts in the country, Alexis took home a bronze medal on the balance beam with a 9.45 and finished 12th in the country with an impressive 36.80 all around score (bars, beam, floor, and vault). Alexis earned her spot on the Junior Olympic team with a third place finish at the Level 9 North East USAG Regional Championship held in Springfield, MASS and was also recognized as one of New York’s top Level 9 gymnasts. Alexis trains five days a week at Gold Medal Gymnastics Center in Greenlawn under the tutelage of Hall of Fame Coach Tammy Marshall.
Thursday, 23 May 2013 00:00
On April 7, the Manhasset High School Crew Team held its first 5K Walk/Run fundraiser, which started and ended in the Flower Hill Village Park. More than 300 participants came out to race or stroll through Flower Hill, while raising funds for two great causes.
Proceeds from the event will fund additional equipment for the growing MHS crew team, with 10 percent of monies raised contributed to the Manhasset UFSD Fields Initiative, a fund created to re-turf the MHS Stadium Field and create a new field at Shelter Rock Elementary School. Barbara Thermos, who organized and coordinated the 5K event, noted, ”It was a great way for the community to come together for these causes, connecting with neighbors and friends while getting some exercise on a gorgeous, crisp sunny morning. Both causes support healthy athletic opportunities for Manhasset’s youth.”
Calendar
Ceremony And Fireworks
Saturday, May 25
MPWC Kids Fun Run
Saturday, June 8
Sunday Afternoon At The Opera
Sunday, June 9
Columns
Moving Pictures
Written by Mike Barry, MFBarry@optonline.net
Private Power Isn’t Our Only Option
Written by Michael A. Miller, Millercolumn@optimum.net
Building Better Legislators
Written by Michael A. Miller, Millercolumn@optimum.net
