Underpaid Genius

Jon Miles and People’s Bicycles donated a tree to the Clearwater Foundation’s ongoing re-treeing project for Beacon. This particular tree was planted in front of Mr V’s Deli on Main Street, during a ceremony proclaiming 27 April 2012 as Arbor Day.. A member of Green Teens spoke (I couldn’t get a picture), and the Mayor, Randy Casale, and Karla Raimundi of Clearwater read an Arbor Day proclamation. Dan Fiege read some Ferlinghetti. Other trees are being planted along Main.

Beacon was once called ‘The City of Trees’ and it would be great to see the downtown area with more.

Jon Miles of People’s Bicycles

Council Member George Mansfield chatting with the people planting the tree

Dan Fiege reads Ferlinghetti

Karla Raimundi of Clearwater Foundation reading the proclamation with Randy Casale, Beacon’s Mayor, who expressed hopes that the Mets might win a pennant again, before this tree is grown. (I bet against that.) Casale also thanked all involved, and pointed out that these activities have a real impact on the community, and don’t cost the taxpayers.

Here’s the press release:

Clearwater, City of Beacon, and Sargent-Downing Gardens Invite the Public to Celebrate Arbor Day on April 27
 
BEACON, NY - The public is invited to an Arbor Day Celebration taking place on Friday, April 27, 2012 from 6:00 PM- 7:00 PM and hosted by Hudson River Sloop Clearwater together with the City of Beacon and Sargent-Downing Gardens & Nursery. The event will take place at 297 Main Street in Beacon (in front of Mr.V’s Deli). Mayor Randy Casale will welcome attendees and Karla Raimundí, Clearwater Environmental Justice Associate, will read the Arbor Day proclamation. As part of the ceremony, a youth from Green Teen Beacon, a program of Cornell Cooperative Extension, will dedicate a tree to the next generation of environmental leaders, signifying the benefits of Arbor Day that reach far beyond the seedlings of today to the shade and beauty of the mature trees of tomorrow.
 
During this Arbor Day Celebration, a “Thundercloud” flowering plum donated by Sargent-Downing Gardens and People’s Bicycle Shop will be planted. Thunderclouds are upright spreading trees and adapt to most climate regions. These trees are recognized for their beautiful red foliage and grow to height and width of 25 feet to bear simple 2”- 4” long elliptical-shaped leaves. In the spring, fragrant single pale pink to white flowers appear before leaves emerge. All through summer months the foliage retains its reddish coloration.
 
Clearwater is participating in the City of Beacon’s Arbor Day Celebration as part of a New York State Department of Environmental Conservation grant awarded to the organization earlier this year.
 
Clearwater is committed to implementing a successful Urban and Community Forestry project dedicated to providing support and assistance to the City of Beacon in comprehensive planning, management, and education in order to create healthy urban and community forests and enhance the quality of life for Beacon residents.
 
The community is invited to participate in the Arbor Day celebrations and support efforts to protect Beacon’s trees and woodlands by welcoming our newest tree member to our community.
 
For more information regarding the City of Beacon Urban Forestry grant and Arbor Day Celebration please contact Karla Raimundí at karla@clearwater.org or 845-265-8080.
 
Or contact Richard Cabo at Sargent-Downing Gardens & Nursery at  info@richiecabohorticulturist.com
 
Or contact Mayor Randy Casale at the City of Beacon at  mayor@cityofbeacon.org
 
About Clearwater
For over 40 years, Hudson River Sloop Clearwater has been at the forefront of the environmental movement as champion of the Hudson River, working to pass landmark legislation like the Clean Water Act, providing innovative educational programs, environmental advocacy, and musical celebrations, including the renowned annual Clearwater Festival, to inspire, educate, and activate millions of people.  Founded by music legend and environmental activist Pete Seeger, the organization began with the launch of the sloop Clearwater in 1969 —a majestic replica of the sloops that sailed the Hudson in the 18th and 19th centuries. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the 106-foot-long sloop is among the first vessels in the U.S. to conduct science-based environmental education aboard a sailing ship, creating the template for environmental education programs around the world. More than half a million young people and hundreds of thousands of adults have experienced their first real look at an estuary’s ecosystem aboard Clearwater. The organization’s strong connection to youth, environmental education, and its agenda to create the next generation of environmental leaders, are all part of building and strengthening a Green Cities Initiative for a green economy and a more inclusive and diverse environmental movement. Utilizing the greatest natural resource in the region, the Hudson River, Clearwater has become the grassroots model for producing positive changes to protect our planet.

I find that I am walking more and hardly ever driving — except for a weekly shopping trip, or buying lumber. But it’s not just about decreasing gas use: walking is good for us, healthwise, and at a neighborhood level, financially.

A Data-Driven Case for Walkability - Kaid Benfeild via The Atlantic Cities

• A one-point increase in Walk Score [based on number of destinations within a short distance] is associated with between a $700 and $3,000 increase in home values. [CEOs for Cities, 2009]

• A 10-point increase in Walk Score increases commercial property values by 5 percent to 8 percent. [University of Arizona &Indiana University, 2010]
• Homes in walkable urban neighborhoods have experienced less than half the average decline in price from the housing peak in the mid-2000s. [Brookings Institution, 2011] (See also this analysis.)

My town, Beacon NY, is pretty walkable, although there is more work to be done. And we need some parks in the central area of town, too, which is one of the things I am going to put some energy into.

When a Parking Lot Is So Much More - Eran Ben-Joseph via NYTimes.com

The parking lot also has an underutilized architectural function. A parking lot is the first part of a space you visit or live next to. It is typically the gateway through which dwellers, customers, visitors or employees pass before they enter a building. Architects and designers often discuss the importance of “the approach” as establishing the tone for a place, as the setting for the architecture itself. Developers talk about the importance of “first impressions” to the overall atmosphere conveyed to the user.

Yet parking lots are rarely designed with this function in mind. When they are, the effect is stunning. For instance, the parking lot at the Dia art museum in Beacon, N.Y., created by the artist Robert Irwin and the architecture firm OpenOffice, was planned as an integral element of the visitor’s arrival experience, with an aesthetically deft progression from the entry road to the parking lot to an allée that leads to the museum’s lobby.

For something that occupies such a vast amount of land and is used on a daily basis by so many people, the parking lot should receive more attention than it has. We need to ask: what can a parking lot be?