We were just thrilled to be a part of this fantastic public art project that brought together Livable Streets Education, Community Roots Charter School, P.S. 67 and local muralist extraordinaire Ellie Balk to create a street mural for the community of St. Edwards Street. This mural is the first of its kind in the city, and the very first project under the Department of Transportation's "Arterventions" program.

Check out the fantastic Streetsblog video of the project, or visit Flickr for highlights of the day, including a performance by the precious P.S. 67 cheering squad.

Council Member Tish James and Attorney Jed Marcus held a press conference Tuesday afternoon to announce the new Green Fort Greene & Clinton Hill spring greening initiatives.

They were joined by students from the Academy for Young Writers (AYW) and other elected officials and community members. AYW students helped conduct research and outreach on several of the green initiatives.

Green Fort Green & Clinton Hill is a volunteer organization, which is helping to make our neighborhoods more environmentally friendly through programs which focus on reducing our community's contribution to global warming as well as our use of non-renewable resources.

Other subjects discussed at the press conference include recycling in local parks: this project is taking place on a pilot basis in Fort Greene Park, Cuyler Gore Park, as well as Underhill Playground. Bins will be placed first for paper, and then for bottles and cans later this month. Lawn Litter Act signs: GFGCH is distributing free waterproof signs to prevent unwanted paper waste and to encourage businesses to promote themselves in a more green way, such as through their websites. Tree bed expansions: in order to maintain the health of trees that line the streets of Fort Greene/Clinton Hill - GFGCH with Council Member James want to expand tree beds to 50 square feet. This project called Take Back the Pavement will create longer living trees and more shade, safer sidewalks, as well as jobs for the community.

The area under the BQE has long been seen as an eyesore – it’s dark, dirty and generally, well, unpleasant. If you’re like us, you’ve probably looked at that area and thought, “Look at all that space! That would be the perfect place for ______.” We want to hear your ideas!

Join us on April 25th for a community workshop under the BQE.

That’s right, we said UNDER THE BQE.

The workshop will take place inside the SpaceBuster, in the area under the BQE in Clinton Hill

at Park Avenue at Washington Avenue
Saturday, April 25th
from 3-4:30pm

SpaceBuster is a mobile inflatable art installation that expands and organically adjusts to its surroundings (like a highway overpass).

We invite you to participate by brainstorming creative permanent and temporary uses and physical improvements for the space under the BQE with the help of volunteer facilitators from Pratt Institute’s Planning program. The event is free and open to the public, but RSVPs are strongly recommended as space is limited.

To RSVP to participate in the community workshop, click here.

Can’t make the workshop? Stop by during the “Open House” after 4:30pm, and mingle with SpaceBuster architects raumlaborberlin.

Sponsored by Storefront, the SpaceBuster will travel throughout New York City hosting various community events from April 17th to the April 26th. For the complete SpaceBuster schedule visit www.storefrontnews.org.

Yesterday morning’s sunny weather was the perfect backdrop for the inaugural installation of the Great Wall of Brooklyn. Charlotta Janssen, owner of Chez Lola, artist and founder of the Great Wall, filmed (movie forthcoming!) as the crew hung the first mural to be featured at the site, Achtung Baby… Here Comes the Next great Depression.

The Great Wall of Brooklyn, new to Fort Greene, is an artist-run public art organization that will host quarterly artwork and showcase the work of local, Brooklyn-based and international artists.

The project aims to create “dialogue between artists, local audiences and public spaces.” You can check out the Great Wall in person at Myrtle Avenue and Vanderbilt or if you prefer cyber-space, greatwallofbrooklyn.org. Either way, feel free to report back to us here with your comments!

A large public art installation is going up on the eastern side wall of 387 Myrtle, the home of Chez Lola's, over the weekend. It was slated to go up today, but with the rain and all, looks like the project will be delayed a bit.

Stop by the corner of Myrtle and Vanderbilt this weekend and take a peek. In the meantime, read more about the Great Wall of Brooklyn project here: greatwallofbrooklyn.org.

Myrtle Avenue's in this week’s TimeOut New York. The block between Clermont & Vanderbilt is billed one of the "New Yorkiest" blocks in the city. Lots of wonderful small businesses mentioned, including Kiini Ibura, Tres Elegante, Duncan's, Chez Lola, RC Discount (aka Home & U), Benhadi Supermarket (aka Hala Hala), and Century 21 Nail Salon.

Check out the full story here!

Myrtle Avenue has recently seen two street tree casualties. On Tuesday, a street tree between Hall and Washington was struck and about a month ago, another young tree’s trunk was split between Vanderbilt and Clermont. These trees were amazing additions to our Avenue; they worked to improve the neighborhood in every way possible and, sadly, were plucked too soon from our world.

Today, to memorialize Myrtle’s beloved street trees and to encourage tree love in the neighborhood, we have prepared a list of a few of the benefits of street trees:

• Street trees extend the life span of our infrastructure, in some cases by 40 to 60%. They absorb precipitation, allowing it to evaporate back in the atmosphere, minimizing storm water runoff. They also shade the pavement and asphalt, which reduces heat, and all of the expansions, contractions and cracks that accompany it.

• Street trees raise property values and profits (businesses on streets with trees show 20% higher incomes). Not only do they help you earn, they help you save. Overtime, trees reduce required street maintenance and, by providing shade and cool air, they save you money on energy bills.

• Street trees are good for you inside and out (they block the sun and lower your blood pressure). They also lower the air temperature (5-15 degree temperature differentials are felt under trees), protect you from the elements and reduce harm from tailpipe emissions and ozone (pollutants linked to asthma) by converting these dangerous gasses back to oxygen. That is good for you and good for the environment.

• On trees with streets motorists and pedestrians enjoy a higher level of security. Treescaped streets facilitate slower traffic and create well defined roadways. As a pedestrian, this distinct edge protects you from car traffic and provides a pleasant space to stroll the avenue.

In honor of our fallen trees, I encourage you to request a street tree for your block! Call 311 to request a tree or report any tree damage.

Mayor Bloomberg and Citizens Committee for New York City invite volunteer-led neighborhood groups to apply for a $1,000 cash award to transform the public spaces on their block.

Twelve groups from across the five boroughs will be selected as finalists, and each finalist will receive a $1,000 grant to beautify their block. The group that demonstrates the most impressive transformation will win an additional $3,000 to be used towards future block improvements.

Groups will also be supported by services from multiple city agencies including the Mayor’s Office and its Community Affairs Unit, and the Departments of Transportation, Sanitation, and Parks.

Download the Love Your (NYC) Block Contest application

For more information, contact Arif Ullah at aullah@citizensnyc.org

Yesterday was the opening reception for Anne Lafond's work in the just launched Myrtle Windows Gallery. The show will be exhibited until November 18th. A preview of the pieces is below, but please come by Myrtle between Clinton and Hall to see the pieces in person. A guide to the gallery and pricing is available inside each gallery storefront.

More information on our Myrtle Avenue Public Art program is here.

As part of the Partnership’s effort to improve or create new public spaces for community programming and for the neighborhood to enjoy, we’ve taken on the restoration of the Belgian Block plaza at the northeast entrance to Fort Greene Park at Myrtle Avenue and Washington Park. This underutilized entrance to the park has long been a treacherous path with uneven Belgian blocks sticking up out of the ground this way and that. We approached the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation a number of months ago to see if we could take on a basic and affordable renovation of the plaza using funds we had raised for streetscape improvements on Myrtle Avenue. The Parks Department and the Fort Greene Park Conservancy liked the idea, we put the project out to bid, the permit came through on Tuesday, and work has already begun.

If you walk by the site, you will notice that a group of diligent workers have been removing the Belgian blocks at the entrance, creating organized piles of blocks in the central oval. The scope of work for this project includes removing and resetting the Belgian blocks (by hand – no machines for this delicate job) using the existing pattern, and creating larger pits around the trees in the central oval to give adequate space to the tree roots. The blocks will be removed completely in the area immediately adjacent to the park’s stone wall, and that area will be mulched and eventually planted. Neither the hex pavers nor the granite stairs into the Park will be touched at this point given our limited budget. Of the $30,000 total project budget, $25,000 is being paid for via MARP’s New York Main Street Program, which is funded by New York State’s Division of Housing & Community Renewal, with the Myrtle Avenue BID contributing the $5,000 remaining balance. Work should be completed in three weeks.

The driving force for this project really came from community members who attended our community planning workshops in 2007, facilitated by Project for Public Spaces and co-sponsored with the Ingersoll and Whitman Tenant Associations. These workshops were organized to get local input on improving public spaces on Myrtle, with one workshop in particular focused on the Ashland Place to Carlton Avenue area. Participants felt strongly about improving this entrance, and saw potential in the possibility for a vibrant public space. We started small by using the plaza this year as the distribution site for the Fort Greene CSA every Wednesday afternoon and evening. We hope be leveling the Belgian Blocks, there will now be opportunities for more and diverse programming and activities. If you have ideas that would help us to activate this newly renovated public space, drop us a line!