Thursday, July 26th 7-9PM
Flux Factory workshop in partnership with SP Weather Station
Newtown Creek: Past, Present, Future
with Eric Sanderson, Wildlife Conservation Society’s Welikia Project
and Kate Zidar, Newtown Creek Alliance
Flux Factory: 39-31 29th Street, Long Island City
Free and open to the public
SPWS is pleased to partner with Flux Factory on the third workshop in Flux’s yearlong initiative, The Future of Your Neighborhood: Who Decides? This ongoing monthly series invites New Yorkers to effectively envision and enact their advocacy skills through open dialogue, and to unpack the assumptions that frame how we address neighborhood concerns.
The July workshop will focus on Newtown Creek: one of the most polluted industrial sites in America, bordering Flux Factory’s Long Island City neighborhood. Eric Sanderson of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Welikia Project will share historical research he’s collected on the creek and surrounding watershed, with the aim of making information available to artists, designers, city planners, and other interested parties for widespread use in restoring its original splendor. Kate Zidar, Executive Director of Newtown Creek Alliance, will present information on the current state of the creek, including how community members can participate in materializing visions for its future.
The Future of Your Neighborhood: Who Decides? will continue into 2013 with workshops on urban agriculture, historic preservation, sustainable transportation, and other topics near and dear to New Yorkers. If you have an idea for a workshop, please email christina[at]fluxfactory[dot]
This educational initiative is organized by Christina Vassallo, Douglas Paulson and Lacey Tauber. It is supported, in part, by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. The Welikia Project’s work on Newtown Creek is supported by the NYCEF Newtown Creek Fund administered through the Hudson River Foundation.
Thanks to Eric Sanderson of The Welikia Project and Kate Zidar from the Newtown Creek Alliance for illuminating discussion of the Newtown Creek’s unique landscape, history & post-industrial challenges — and for pointing out avenues for future engagement. Also many thanks to Flux Factory for hosting the event, as part of their yearlong educational intiative: The Future of Your Neighborhood: Who Decides?
Thanks in particular to Christina Vassallo, Douglas Paulson and Lacey Tauber from Flux, and to all of the concerned citizens and neighbors who came out to the event.
