It’s a green affair at Stuyvesant
Square
By
Andrew Park
The
west end of Stuyvesant
Square Park
was put into green spirits on Saturday, April 25 with local businesses and
schools participating in the first annual “Green: Earth. Community, You” fair.
“We
decided to do an Earth Day event from brainstorming,” said Phyllis Mangels, a
member of the Stuyvesant Square Community Alliance, which organized the green
festivity.
“The
whole point of this event is to educate the community to what’s available to
them to live not only a greener life, but a healthier life,” Mangels continued.
“There’s a whole network of people who are into the green movement including
businesses that are all from the neighborhood.”
Local
businesses included the Puppy Love & Kitty Kat Pet Services where organic
treats were offered to pets and Sal Anthony’s Movement Salon, which drew the
curious passer-bys with yoga demonstrations and free samples of vegan cuisine
from sister restaurant Adelina.
“We
had a lot of questions from people because it’s unusual to find raw zucchini
pasta and movement that you’ve never seen,” said Sal Anthony, the owner of the Third Avenue-based
establishments.
One
of the senior class gifts to Friends Seminary, a private school located by Stuyvesant Square Park
on 16th Street,
was put on hands-on display with visitors able to pedal up energy upon a
modified bicycle generator.
“Basically,
you get on and pedal so when the back wheel spins it spins a little generator,
which you can then plug into a little appliance like a cell-phone charger or a
laptop charger,” said Friends Seminary senior Zaid Aftisse.
“And
they’re talking about integrating the bike into lower middle school science
classes to teach about sustainability,” added classmate Sam Seagel. The other
senior class gift—a solar panel—did not appear at the fair.
Information
tables ranging from harnessing wind energy to permaculture and composting
offered plenty of discourse.
“It’s
a chance for girls to be greener people and everything,” said Justine Koyumba
of the Lower East Side Girls Club’s “Girls Gone Green” program. “I come from a
country [Congo]
where everything is bad like pollution,” Koyumba said. “I wanted to do
something where I don’t have to do things that might lead to harmfulness in my
body and to society.”
Based
on the strong turnout, the Stuyvesant Square Community Alliance planned to
setup “Green: Earth. Community, You” into an annual event. “It’s a good time of
year to do an event when the park looks beautiful and it’s a good tie-in since
everyone is so aware of Earth Day,” Mangels said. “It’s a natural outgrowth of
the whole green movement.”
Source: Town & Village