Metropolitan Gardening

T he River Garden based in Cairo, NY gives us floral bouquets grown locally on their farm. Click the read more link for a bouquet of photos.

G reener Pastures sells (among other things) grass four days a week in the Union Square Farmers Market. When I asked if this was their only retail outlet they said - yes! Talk about wonderful and rare hyper-local economy - here's a successful example. On such a bright sunny day this yellow bus and bright wheat grass is squeezed into little shots of green organic goodness. Such a deal!

H ertz On Demand is a new service that provides easy all inclusive car rentals for short periods of time with short notice. There's a web application and a membership card is sent. Scheduling is done through the website. My trip in the SmartEV overall was pleasant. And as much as I want to rave about the vehicle - because it's an awesome little ride - I do have to mention some details.

T he last couple weeks have brought a flurry of interest and news headlines to a peaceful uprising in NYC. At Liberty Plaza (aka Zuccatti Park) the folks who march put their signs on the sidewalk at the end of the day in a tapestry of messages. Most of the signs are very homemade looking and each slogan is unique. If you wondered what the messages of this protest were, here is an opportunity to read some of them for yourself. My time at the park was as a quiet reflective observer - I listened to a drum circle and witnessed human mics relying messages of hope and cheer. This was a polite well mannered and organized group. The participants were haphazardly strewn about the plaza chatting, lounging, eating, sharing. This was an honor to experience and wide open to the public, truly a historic event. RSS FEED to PICS

W hile waiting to have the electric bike serviced I wanted to get perked up a little. So I walked over toward Delancy St. On the corner of Allen and Delancy was an indy coffee shop / cafe that boasted of a really good iced latte on a sandwich board. The shop had rough hewn seats and the barista controlled the operation with an ipad mounted on the counter. The latte was amazing. My gut was telling me this place was super eco-conscious so I asked the question... "Are you proud of any of your business practices being particularly green"? The owner said he was and began to elaborate on the recycling and food prep routines. I gave him my card and he smiled. He said, "These walls in here were originally an old barn in my family and the stools are from stumps. We really wanted to make reusing and conservation a distinct part of the plan here." I'm looking forward to hearing more from him, I have a list of questions a mile long about how coffee shops can be run green.

H ere's another shout out to Electric Bikes shop in LES. I have been very pleased about the Ebike I purchased for my wife and have been waiting a few months to provide a complete review on the performance and durability of the bike. But I woke this morning to find the bike wouldn't go. It was charged up, and the throttle wouldn't engage. A few weeks ago the bike was dropped onto it's side a bit roughly and the right brake handle broke. That time Electric Bikes  fixed the problem right away and I wondered if it might have something to do with the previous damage. So... I took a cab with the bike in the trunk to Hester St. and while I was having an iced latte (see the next post)  my ride was fixed perfectly within an hour, he tuned up the brakes and even put a new lens on my headlight. I can't say enough good things about this excellent Electric Bikes dealer.  (94 Hester St. between Allen St & Eldridge St) 

S o when you're going to scope out some potential urban garden sites to renovate what do you do? Browsing ecologically stressed sites is geographically more challenging in NYC that visiting web sites. I visited the sites the first time on my wife's electric bike, but this trip would be uncomfortable riding with two. So the thing to do would be drive a ZIPCAR !  I looked to see what electrics or hybrids were in the neighborhood. Outside my loft the bus runs two blocks from where a Honda Insight hybrid lives. I booked the car for a couple of hours to take a look with an associate who is also interested in scoping out vacant lots for renovation. When she called to confirm the time she asked if we could extend the reservation because she needed to make a run to redhook to get a bookcase. Sure enough the reservation was super easy to change from 2 hours to 4 and just called her back within seconds to give the good news. Karma was my friend when I went out the back door of my buildi