THE 32nd BRONX PARKS SPEAK UP!

THE POWER OF PARKS: FUNDING THE FUTURE

 11:00              Registration & Exhibits, Foyer, East Dining Room

 

12:00              Lunch, Faculty Dining Room

           

12:40               Welcome, Faculty Dining Room
Ed Garcia Conde, Founder and Editor
Welcome2TheBronx

                         Daisy Abreu, Bronx Regional Lead, Office of Representative Alexandra Ocasio Cortez

                         Iris Rodriguez-Rosa, Commissioner Emerita, NYC Parks

  Commissioner Tricia Shimamura, NYC Parks

Parks 2030
Adam Ganser, Executive Director, New Yorkers for Parks

  Bronx River Alliance 25th Anniversary
Siddhartha Sanchez, Executive Director, Bronx River Alliance
Christian Murphy, Ecology & Education Manager, Bronx River Alliance

 Speaking Up: Live Data Collection for Advocacy
Nilka Martell, Co-chair, Bronx Coalition for Parks and Green Spaces
Founder, Loving The Bronx

1:45                Workshops, Panel, and Networking

 

3:00                Workshops, Panel, and Networking

                       

4:15                Wrap Up & Raffle Drawing

 

A HUGE THANK YOU to Lehman College and the Bronx Parks Speak Up Planning Committee.

The Bronx Parks Speak Up is generously funded by Con Edison.

WORKSHOPS / PANEL – 1:45pm

 

Listening With: Harlem River (SP-205)

Join us for a reflective workshop exploring our relationship with the Harlem River through memory, movement, writing, and storytelling. Grounded in the principles of the Rights of Nature movement, this session invites us to consider the Harlem River not as a resource to be used, but as a relative, a witness, a neighbor, and a carrier of histories. Together, we’ll explore what it means to listen to the river—through our bodies, our memories, and our imaginations.

Alethea Pace, Artist in Residence, Bronx and Harlem River Urban Waters Federal Partnership

 

Meet Our Urban Forest Stewards (SP-204)

We invite you to “think outside the mulch” his session! Join Partnerships for Parks Urban Forest Program and Bronx Tree Stewards to explore what it can mean to be a tree steward in the Bronx; including ways to educate your community on the urban forest, access low-cost tree guards, and keep trees healthy all year long. Learn directly from Bronx community leaders what strategies have worked for them, and help us grow this community of urban forest stewards.

Sarah Balistreri, Senior Program Manager, Urban Forest Program, Partnerships for Parks

Nasyah Price, Organizer, Urban Forest Program, Partnerships for Parks

Julie Jenkins, Founder, Stewards of Ewen Park 

Craig Meisner, Co-founder/CEO, Catrock Ventures and Washington’s Walk Coalition

Anieto Henvill, Founder, Sovereign Beings

 

Pelham Bay Park Access Study: Public Input Workshop (Faculty Dining Room)

NYC Parks is developing an access study to identify recommendations to improve overall access and address flooding in Pelham Bay Park and its key destinations. Join us to learn more about the study and share feedback on priorities.

Hazel Magoon, Urban Planner, Starr Whitehouse

Michael Haggerty, Principal, Starr Whitehouse

Laura Melendez, Planner/Project Manager, NYC Parks

 

Lowering the Temperature with Nature: Prioritizing Parks for the Future, Panel Discussion (SP-203)

BETTER FUND our parks as an efficient, economical, & best practice to offset extreme & hazardous weather impacts.  CHOOSE GREEN spaces & natural solutions that can capture carbon, calm climate impacts, & increase biodiversity.

ACT NOW to ensure those goals are met & make sure parks and natural areas protect the public’s health.

 

Adam Ganser, Executive Director, New Yorkers for Parks (NY4P)

Adam has spent his career as a leader advocating for, designing, and developing creative urban scale public realm ideas that emphasize economic, environmental, and social impacts. He was vice president of planning and design for the High Line. During Ganser’s 10-year tenure, the High Line became one of the world’s most visited and celebrated public parks. Adam received a Master of Science in Real Estate Development from Columbia University, a Master of Architecture from Yale University, and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, his hometown.

 

Liam Kavanagh, Former First Deputy Commissioner, NYC Parks

In 1980, Liam began his career at the Mayor's Office of Operations and then joined Parks as an Assistant to the Brooklyn Borough Commissioner. He served as Director of Brooklyn Forestry, Deputy Chief of Operations in both Brooklyn and Manhattan, and was Chief of Operations in Manhattan.  In September 2003, NYC Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe named Liam Kavanagh as the First Deputy Commissioner of Parks & Recreation where he oversaw the operations of all parks, playgrounds and beaches, including emergency response, the ParkStat Plus program, and efforts to improve horticulture and horticulture training.  He received his BA from Lehman College.

 

Qiana Mickie, Director, Mayor’s Office of Urban Agriculture

Qiana is the first director of the Mayor’s Office of Urban Agriculture.  For the past 15 years, her work has thrived at the intersection of equity, food systems, resiliency, and agriculture. Qiana previously served as the Executive Director of Just Food and she is a graduate of Hampton University and received her Food Hub Management Certification from the University of Vermont.

 

(Moderator)

Karen Argenti, Member, Bronx Council for Environmental Quality, Bronx Speak Up Planning Committee

Karen has a wide range of experience in NYC government and politics.  She is a passionate long-time community advocate for parks, waterfront access, and clean water. Her successful projects include protecting the Jerome Park Reservoir as a community amenity and advocating for the Daylighting of Tibbetts Brook. Karen has an MPA from John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and a BA from Lehman College.

 

 WORKSHOPS / PANEL – 3:00 pm

 

Activating Bronx Parks through the NYC Green Fund (SP-204)

Join us for a conversation highlighting how Bronx-based parks and green space enthusiasts have used the NYC Green Fund Grassroots grant. Through reflective conversation and audience Q&A, panelists will share how they have activated Bronx parks and open spaces through the NYC Green Fund with community mural painting, planting events, wellness workshops and more. Attendees will gain insight into community programs, learn more about the NYC Green Fund Grassroots grant program, and connect with peers. 

Knakisha Candanedo, Founding Member, Friends of Echo Park

Laura James, Co-Manager, Bronx River Community Garden

Atapon Savitz, Garden Coordinator, Eastchester Road Community Garden

Sana Khader, Training and Resources Manager, Partnerships for Parks

 

Build Your Own Indoor Worm Condo (SP-205)

Turn food scraps into soil indoors. Participants build a worm condo, learn the basics of vermicomposting, and leave ready to reduce waste at home.  Hands-on assembly of an indoor worm condo, Live demo: feeding worms and management, Small-group troubleshooting and Q&A.

Judi Desire, Executive Director, Uptown & Boogie Healthy Project 501(c)(3)

 

Getting from Greenway to Waterfront: Gateways and Bridges of the Harlem Riverfront Greenway Plan (SP-203)

With the release of the NYC Department of Transportation Harlem River Greenway Implementation Plan, the Harlem River Greenway is close to, yet still far from the Harlem River waterfront. How can we get from the street to our new waterfront parks? Learn about the new greenway plan from NYCDOT, compare it to the National Parks Service Harlem Riverfront Plan, and discuss the obstacles and visions for making connections to and along the waterfront.

Robert Fanuzzi, Board Member, BCEQ and Member, Harlem River Coalition

Chauncy Young, Board Member, BCEQ and Coordinator, Harlem River Coalition

 

The Importance of Community Gardens – Panel Discussion (Faculty Dining Room)

Join our panel discussion to learn about the importance of community gardens for open space and community building in The Bronx.

Caroline Abreu, Secretary, The Bronx Land Trust

Caroline is a leader of the Fordham-Bedford Lot Busters. The Bronx Land Trust is a nonprofit organization that embraces a family of 18 gardens established by gardeners to support and sustain community gardening throughout the Bronx. Slated for sale by the City of New York in 1999, today these gardens are vibrant thriving open spaces that are safe havens in their communities. 

 

Corey Blant, Director of Urban Agriculture, New York Restoration Project

Corey Blant is a born-and-bred New Yorker with 15 years of experience of working and teaching at the intersection of urban agriculture and food justice. He has worked on community-based farming projects in Brooklyn, Wisconsin, and Managua, Nicaragua. He currently oversees an urban agriculture-focused education and technical assistance program for NYRP, where he works alongside hundreds of gardeners across more than 100 different growing spaces each year.

 

Melinda Figueroa, Coordinator of Urban Agricultural Projects, Bronx Green-Up   

Bronx Green-Up is the community gardening outreach program of the New York Botanical Garden. They provide horticulture education, hands-on training, and technical assistance to Bronx residents, community gardeners, urban farmers, schools, and community organizations.

 

Carlos Martinez, Chief, NYC Parks GreenThumb
Carlos is an urban planner with over two decades of experience leading, supporting, and sustaining community development programs that connect people to their local environment. Carlos currently serves as the Chief of NYC Parks GreenThumb, the nation’s largest urban community gardening program.

 

(Moderator)

Dart Westphal is a past President of the Bronx Council for Environmental Quality and one of the founders of the Bronx Parks Speak Up. He currently teaches Environmental Studies at Manhattan University and is an Affiliate Consultant with the Support Center for Non-Profit Management.