The space in front of the Walgreen’s at Church Avene and Beverley Road has seemed like the perfect spot for a community gathering spot–some kind of lush plaza–since it was rehabbed by the DOT back in the summer of 2010. At the time, Jole rightly wondered about the prospect of installing a plaza, and she followed up the idea by having a local landscape designer and a architect/planner propose some initial ideas for the spot.

Well, we obviously couldn’t be happier that there is now a real push for a plaza, starting with a meeting on Monday. From Council Member Brad Lander:

Kensington community residents have proposed creating a small plaza on the recently extended sidewalk at the intersection of Church Avenue and Beverley Road – to address the community’s lack of open space and provide a place for people to gather, sit, or enjoy a coffee or ice cream. In response, I have worked with a number of City agencies on a plan to add a few trees, benches, stones, and other street furniture.

Please join me, Community Board 12, West Kensington Action Group, the Albermarle Neighborhood Association, and representatives of NYC Department of Transportation, NYC Department of Sanitation, and NYPD 66th Precinct to discuss the plaza.

The meeting will include a presentation from NYC Department of Transportation on the proposed design, discussion of safety and sanitation issues with NYPD and NYC Department of Sanitation, community feedback, and an opportunity to meet the coordinators and sign up for a volunteer group to help keep the plaza clean.

Discussion of “Kensington Plaza” at Church Avenue and Beverley Road
February 27, 7pm
PS 230 Auditorium, 1 Albemarle Road at Dahill Road

Please RSVP here. If you have questions, contact Catherine Zinnel in Councilmember Lander’s District Office at 718-499-1090 or czinnel@council.nyc.gov.

Start dreaming about fresh lettuce and ripe tomatoes: Sign up for the 2012 Summer Kensington Windsor Terrace CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) has begun. The farm is Garden of Eve, located in Riverhead on Long Island, and you can sign up online here.

There are two pick-up options:

Wednesdays 4-6pm at the East 4th Street Community Garden
Members are asked to commit to one volunteer shift during the season; Wednesday shifts are from 3:30 to 6:15pm. Pick-ups begin Wednesday, June 6 and end on Wednesday, November 14.

Saturdays 10:30am-12pm at the East 4th Street Community Garden
Members are asked to commit to one volunteer shift during the season (which may be on either Wednesday or Saturday); Saturday shifts are from 10am to 12:30pm. Pick-ups begin Saturday, June 9 and end on Saturday, November 17.

Your share can include a vegetable share, full (every week), half (every other week), full combo (vegetables, fruit, eggs and flowers every week, with a discount over ordering these options individually), half combo (vegetables, fruit, eggs, and flowers every other week with a discount over ordering these options individually). You can also add additional shares of flowers, eggs, or fruit.

You can either pay all at once or choose to pay in three installments. Online payment is via electronic payment from your checking account or by credit card. In addition to the price of the share, there is a $15 administration fee.

More information about the season, including Garden of Eve’s CSA member agreement, can be found at their site.

If you have any questions, there are three orientation meetings coming up:

Wednesday, April 18 at 4pm at Brooklyn Commune, 601 Greenwood Ave.

Wednesday, April 18 at 7pm at Brooklyn Commune

Saturday, April 21 at 12pm at the E. 4th Street Community Garden (rain location: Brooklyn Commune)

Or email kwtcsa@gmail.com with any questions.

In celebration of Valentine’s Day, all donations up to $200 to Compost for Brooklyn are matched dollar-for-dollar today only, thanks to the generosity of the J.M. Kaplan Fund and ioby’s Team 365.

Donate at C4B’s ioby site, where they’re raising money to create permanent signage for the garden gates and replicable brochures to inform people about C4B, the composting process, and how they can participate. With the help of DesigNYC’s “Recharging Communities” project, graphic designer Karen Greenberg is volunteering her time and skills to design pictograms for simple, attractive communication, along with clear, easily-translated text, but they need funds for materials.

Flatbush CommUNITY Garden, located at the end of Albemarle and E 16th St in Ditmas Park, is holding a Winterfest fundraiser at Sycamore on Sunday, February 19. Stop by to have a drink, enter a raffle full of local prizes, and to learn more about the garden:

Come for drinks specials, delicious baked goods, pick up some seed bombs or a coupon book to support our garden, and win a raffle prize! We can also tell you more about the garden, as we expect to have spaces for next spring.

Amazing prizes are donated by your favorite local businesses: Qathra, Pilates on Rugby, TB Ackerson, Purple Yam, Brooklyn Banya Russian Baths, Latin Fever Dance Studios, the Castello Plan and the Farm on Adderley.

Flatbush CommUNITY Garden Fundraiser
Sunday, February 19 4 – 8 pm
@ Sycamore, 1118 Cortelyou Road
For more information, email flatbushcommunitygarden@gmail.com

Mamun Ur Rashid, the owner of TDS Insurance, discovered the Islamaphobic vandalism on his store Monday morning and reported it to police.

“We do not want any religious conflict in Kensington,” he said in a statement released by Lander’s office.  “We respect people of all faiths and seek to live together in peace.”

Lander hopes to help build even stronger community bonds by creating “Kensington Plaza,” by adding benches to the space near where the graffiti was found.

Additionally, Lander made sure last night that the 66th Precinct is aware of the other incidents of anti-Muslim vandalism in the area, which appear to have been written in the same handwriting.

The religiously offensive graffiti has been seen around the site of the vigil–I saw some on a phone booth on Beverley, and a neighbor sent in photos of more on a mailbox nearby on Ocean Parkway. In such a diverse and tolerant community, this comes as something of a shock, and one that Lander says we must not let continue.

“Hate has no place in our community. Kensington is one of Brooklyn’s most diverse and vibrant neighborhoods–with strong Jewish, Christian, and Muslim populations, with long-time and newer residents, including immigrants from Bangladesh and Latin America. We celebrate this community’s vitality and cross-cultural exchange.

“We will respond vigorously to bigotry targeting any group. Recently, Brooklyn has seen multiple anti-Semitic crimes–and the community has responded with appropriate outrage. Now, in the face of this Islamophobic attack on a member of Kensington’s Bangladeshi community, we must unite again.”

Lander suggests transforming the space where the vigil will take place into a mini-plaza–which, if this is the space in front of the Walgreens, has been a work in progress for some time–creating a space that would be “created by and for the neighborhood’s diverse communities.”

* The Audubon Center is showing the Discovery Channel series Life at the Boat House all week. Stop by from 12-3pm to learn about the natural history of life on earth, from the strange to the mundane (but all fascinating). Limited seating; groups of 10 or more must call 718-287-3400 x303 for a reservation.

* The Lefferts Historic House is hosting Winter Festival: Coming in from the Cold each day (including the weekends before and after the recess) from 1-3pm. Step back in time and learn some board games that are still fun, even with the advancement of video games.

Bring your husband, fiancee, boyfriend, best friend, neighbor aunt, dad, grandma etc….REGISTER ASAP only SPACE for (10) couples (20)pp.
Only a few spots left, call ASAP.

Space is limited. The cost $50 per couple/$25 per person, which includes a gift bag with two champagne glasses, champagne, and organic chocolate covered strawberries after class.

Namaste Yoga of Kensington
482 Coney Island Avenue, 2nd Floor
347-533-6226 or 6227, Info@mynamasteyoga.com

Contact Inge De Taeye at ingedetaeye [at] gmail [dot] com if can go, and see their website for more information and directions.