For More Information                                                  Peter Wirth pwirth2@verizon.net 315-637-0331 www.bulbproject.org

Westcott Neighborhood Bulb Project 2012 Season

Started in 2003, the Westcott Neighborhood Bulb project, www.bulbproject.org a project of the Westcott Community Center, announces its city wide beautification plans for 2012. Since we started the project over 90,000 spring blooming, perennial bulbs have been planted.

We hope by providing low cost, quality perennial . . . → Read More: Bulb Project goes city-wide]]> For Immediate Release

For More Information                                                 
Peter Wirth
pwirth2@verizon.net
315-637-0331
www.bulbproject.org

Westcott Neighborhood Bulb Project
2012 Season

Started in 2003, the Westcott Neighborhood Bulb project, www.bulbproject.org a project of the Westcott Community Center, announces its city wide beautification plans for 2012. Since we started the project over 90,000 spring blooming, perennial bulbs have been planted.

We hope by providing low cost, quality perennial bulbs neighbors will work together to beautify their neighborhood and strengthen their community. All community organizations and individuals we work with are requested to write a brief report which we post on our web site. The bulbs are to be planted where they can be seen from the street for all to enjoy.

This year we are offering 3 types of bulbs:

1. Daffodil
Narcissus Trumpet Dutch Master
www.netherlandbulb.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=bulbs.plantDetail&plant_id=20

2. Tulipa Darwin Hybrid “Tequila Sunrise Mixture”
www.netherlandbulb.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/plants.kwSearchPost?search=Tequila+Sunrise+Mixture&submit =

3. Tulipa Darwin Hybrid “Oxford”

All bags of 100 bulbs are $23.00. August 1 is the cutoff date for orders.

The focus of the project within the Westcott neighborhood has been to assist individuals and community organizations from the Westcott neighborhood by providing spring blooming, perennial bulbs free of charge to neighbors who are willing to plant them where they can be seen from the street for all to enjoy. The first Saturday in October (October 6, 2012) at the Westcott Community Center has been designated Bulb Give Away/Garden Extravaganza Day. In the past few years 300 people attended and picked up 5,400 bulbs.

For a brief overview of the Bulb Project see our new video produced by Deirdre Reed, Photo Editor for National Geographic. The video entitled, “An Active Life for Peace” was her project for a 5 day intensive workshop at Syracuse University hosted by the National Press Photographers Association. Go to https://vimeo.com/channels/336738/42733613 to view this 3 minute video.

For more information go to www.bulbproject.org, visit out Facebook page,  http:// on.fb.me/oldOwr or call 637-0331.

Yesterday morning, Margaret McVicker stopped by . . . → Read More: Margaret McVicker Writes Again]]> One of the things I love about Eastwood is the ease with which I can actually see my neighbors. They’re not virtual, we don’t “friend” each other on Facebook. They stop by, on purpose or by happenstance, and I see them while out gardening or while sitting on our open porch.

Yesterday morning, Margaret McVicker stopped by to show me her new book, Did You Know? More History And Memories of Eastwood. I asked to read it, thinking it would take me a couple weeks. Oh no. I simply could not put it down. So I finished it this morning.

Margaret writes with an engaging, down-to-earth style that is a perfect reflection of the community she loves.  She covers a good number of topics, such as fires, home deliveries, trains and unusual houses, to name a few.

One of my favorite sections is the “How Times Have Changed” chapter toward the end of the book. While there are plenty of Eastwood residents who remember watching coal shoot the chute into the basement, there are many more who have no idea what life was like on a daily basis. This section makes me grateful for the good new days, despite the fact that technology has brought social isolation along with not having to mind a wringer washer.

I have often harped on the importance of maintaining our built history – buildings such as the Wittigs Ice Cream (former Steak & Sundae) building that give us a sense that we are here, in Eastwood, and not just anywhere.

But far more interesting is the remembered history in books like this one, comments on this blog (see “You haven’t lived in Eastwood if you…“) and, perhaps more importantly, the older people in our midst who won’t tell you if you don’t ask questions like…

• Do you miss the trains?
• Did you ever play in the mucks?
• Where’s the smallest house in Eastwood?
• What were ice boxes like?
• How did the Paine Library catch fire?

You can buy this book from Margaret by contacting her directly.

I can’t think of a nicer gift you can give someone who lives in or has lived in Eastwood. Even if that’s you!

CLICK HERE FOR SLIDE SHOW

After lots of great music, great neighbors and friendly faces, Gustav the street puppet, created in 2010 by “Walkable Eastwood” neighbors, brought up the rear. A special thanks to the Walker Family . . . → Read More: Memorial Day Parade 2012]]> Thanks to Chuck Lochner, we have a great slide show of the parade before noon! Thanks, Chuck, for putting this together!

CLICK HERE FOR SLIDE SHOW

After lots of great music, great neighbors and friendly faces, Gustav the street puppet, created in 2010 by “Walkable Eastwood” neighbors, brought up the rear. A special thanks to the Walker Family who did most of the work and to Dave Chu for carrying and controlling what amounts to a big heavy sail in a breeze.

Dave fits Gustav under the wires

Quake Outbreak Tied to Drilling Wastewater

Oh, what . . . → Read More: Hydrofracking causes earthquakes]]> Does it really make sense to actually inject a lot of stuff into the earth? Do we really know how the earth would react to these kinds of massive changes? Well, we’re finding out. Oklahoma is experiencing a significant increase in the number of earthquakes and it’s because of hydrofracking.

Quake Outbreak Tied to Drilling Wastewater

Oh, what the heck. Let’s try it here and see if it happens. I mean, it’s only the earth we walk (and build) on and the water we drink. What could possibly go wrong?

We used to have these places right in our business districts, too. Here is one of them. Do . . . → Read More: A place of great beauty]]> We’re fortunate here in Syracuse to have a great parks department, amazing parks atop every drumlin and tucked away in corners of every neighborhood, and dedicated, resourceful volunteers who insure that we have places of great beauty to enjoy.

We used to have these places right in our business districts, too. Here is one of them. Do you recognize it?

The comments from people who remember growing up in Eastwood are so touching and often so funny. I’m asking myself – what was it about that Eastwood that people here remember, long for, . . . → Read More: A heart attack in Eastwood]]> The most popular Walkable Eastwood blog post is turning out to be this one – “You haven’t lived in Eastwood if you…”

The comments from people who remember growing up in Eastwood are so touching and often so funny. I’m asking myself – what was it about that Eastwood that people here remember, long for, try to recapture, and actually are still living?  What is the heart of Eastwood and how do we keep it beating?

Eastwood is not lacking for good, civic-minded people. There’s a lot going on in various groups and we see the results of their efforts all the time. But I still wish there was more of whatever that is, a feeling of connection to one’s neighbors. You have to bump into them – physically be near them, happen upon them in public and semi-public spaces like the sidewalk and the cafe, the neighborhood store or diner.

Every time we allow designers of our public spaces to give more importance and resources to the needs of people sitting in cars, we take away the opportunity to bump into each other in spaces that are scaled to humans and friendly to the human body. Crossing a drive-in/drive-out sea of asphalt is dangerous and humans walking avoid it when possible. This is why James Street is still so devoid of the people who should be meeting each other, even if only in passing.

It takes an effort of will to keep James Street from sliding further into the 20th-century automobile-centric mold of street design. It takes live humans in front of live humans, expressing their desire for a place where the heart of Eastwood can beat in safety and comfort. If you can take the time on Monday, April 2, to go to the planning commission meeting and express your opposition to yet another auto-centric business design (and uphold the existing design guidelines in the process) then please do so.

It really is up to you. The person reading these words.

The City of Syracuse has done a fantastic job of making its workings more transparent. You can now easily find all the information needed to help the commissioners make good decisions by going to this web page: http://www.syracuse.ny.us/Planning_Commission.aspx
Click on the number of the issue you’re concerned about and you’ll find the application with drawings, images, the works.  The one we’re concerned about clearly details what exceptions to the overlay district guidelines they’re looking for.

Remember: every exception approved is legal precedent for ANY future development. You let it in once and everyone will get to do it. Whatever is allowed here could be allowed throughout our business district, the heart of Eastwood.

Let’s prevent this heart attack.

3) CLICK HERE–>SP-12-02 (Continuation of 3/12/12 Public Hearing) LH,SK,RC,GM,RL
Special Permit–Restaurant
2649 and 2659-67 James Street
Cleardogg, Inc (owner/applicant)
Business, Class A

If you don’t know this guy to the left, you should. He’s . . . → Read More: Annual litter cleanup April 20 and 21]]> Our Eastwood neighbors are featured on the front page of OCRRA’s spring newsletter, in which “members of the Eastwood Baptist Church collect litter during the Earth Day Cleanup in 2011. Help beautify Onondaga County and register your group by April 6 at OCRRA.org.”

If you don’t know this guy to the left, you should. He’s not only a one-man beautification committee, he knows how to rally the troops to get the job done. (He’s also wearing a Walkable Eastwood – Pitch-In! t-shirt. Thank you, Matthew!)

The photo, has been shamelessly lifted from the OCRRA newsletter, which you really should read; there’s interesting and useful stuff in there.

But mostly how about registering your group for the April  20 and 21 clean-up days? You can register online here or print out the form in the newsletter.

Thank you to all you hard-working people who make Eastwood a beautiful and desirable place to live!

A new proposal at the former funeral home (aprox. across from Books & Memories).  The same developer (from Cortland) who’s done some “Five Guys burgers & fries” proposes a “Carroza’s pizza & wings.”  They would demolish and rebuild.   They “require” a . . . → Read More: Demolish, build in a sea of asphalt. Again.]]> A neighbor who attended the Planning Commission meeting on Monday, March 12 sent me the following:

A new proposal at the former funeral home (aprox. across from Books & Memories).  The same developer (from Cortland) who’s done some “Five Guys burgers & fries” proposes a “Carroza’s pizza & wings.”  They would demolish and rebuild.   They “require” a drive-thru, with in and out driveways. (They like to emphasize that they’d be reducing curb cuts from the existing 3 to only 2.)

They’re requesting a number of exceptions, including: building setbacks (front and sides), building coverage (12% of lot, versus 50% minimum), windows (22% of facade, versus 50-75%).  In front of building, between driveways, they have some kind of sitting space they like to call a “vest pocket park(-like).”  [The (mis-) use of buzz words is annoying.]  This may or may not be an “amenity,” as it was described.  Surely, it’s unusable space turned into an attempted selling point, in lieu of building closer to the sidewalk.

The hearing was left open to be continued on April 2nd.

Folks, if you don’t get to planning commission meetings in support of adherence to the overlay district guidelines, you’re going to get a James Street full of seas of asphalt, auto-centric design, a loss of walkability, a loss of what character remains on James. Building MUST take place up to the sidewalk. Period. The guidelines must be followed or you will end up with the waste land and its accompanying crime that took over South Salina at Ballantyne. Parking lots and drive-thrus are antithetical to the kind of human activity that keeps crime down. Drive through there sometime if you care at all about Eastwood. This is where it’s headed.

And do we really need yet more pizza and wings? It’s getting boring!