The Latest Buzz on NYC Pollinator Week
June 4, 2009. New York, NY: June 22-28, 2009 will be the third annual National Pollinator Week. Just Food is coordinating NYC’s first Pollinator Week celebration, highlighting the importance of local pollinators – especially honeybees – and how they positively affect our lives and the urban environment. Hard-working honeybees contribute to productive NYC gardens, farms, and parks, a thriving local economy and healthy urban communities.
The celebration will feature a Beekeeper’s Ball, New York Nectar, free activities, honey tastings, and talks for all New Yorkers to enjoy. Some of the events include:
- The Beekeeper’s Ball: This fun-filled kick-off to NYC Pollinator Week takes place on Monday, June 22nd from 6:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. at the new Water Taxi Beach at South Street Seaport in Manhattan. Indulge in a 100% honey-infused menu of passed hors d’oeuvres including Mini Honey-Glazed Ribs, Chicken Skewers, Honey Ginger Veggie Skewers, Honey Glazed Veggies, plus plenty of honey-drizzled sweets. Local beers and mead donated by Brooklyn Brewery, Kelso of Brooklyn, and Long Island Meadery. Beekeeper and bee costumes encouraged. Prizes will be awarded for best costumes. Dancing and DJ. Food and one drink included with each $25 ticket.
- New York Nectar: Chefs and mixologists from across the city will create special dishes, desserts and drinks featuring local honey as a key ingredient in celebration of Pollinator Week. Available from June 22 to 27 at: Aureole, Back 40, Bobo, Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, Free Foods, Little Giant, Jimmy’s No. 43, Mae Mae Café, Marlow & Sons, Palo Santo, Rose Water, Savoy, Sotheby’s Terrace Café, Trestle on 10th, Txito, and Wave Hill Café.
- Honey Festival: Union Square’s Greenmarket is the perfect setting to taste the sweetest local honeys, meet local and urban beekeepers, see a demonstration hive and learn about NYC beekeeping efforts and organizations. Friday, June 26 from 11a.m. to 7 p.m.
- Hidden Hives: Explore the incredible hidden world of urban beekeeping without leaving the comfort of your bar-stool. On this virtual tour, you’ll visit rooftop, backyard, and community garden hives and hear the tales of intrepid urban beekeepers. Discover how hives operate safely in a major metropolis. Find out what all the buzz is about. Thursday, June 25, 7pm at Jimmy’s No. 43
Legalizing Beekeeping in NYC
Honeybees are in crisis. Throughout the country, honeybee colonies have been disappearing. One of our environment’s humble heroes, the honeybee plays a vital role in the health and viability of any sustainable agricultural system. As pollinators, they help grow fruit, flowers and vegetables in more than 500 community gardens in New York City.
In progressive cities such as Atlanta, Chicago, Portland, Paris, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto, and Vancouver, urban beekeepers are selling honey to supplement their income in these tough economic times. But here in New York City, raising and caring for honeybees is illegal. The importance of bees to the urban environment and for urban food production makes this law a serious impediment to the city’s sustainability initiatives.
Just Food has been working together with NYC beekeepers and policy makers to legalize beekeeping in NYC since 2008. In the past year, Just Food has successfully supported City Councilman David Yassky in his efforts to introduce a bill that would legalize NYC beekeeping. Just Food is also providing the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene with the data they need and gathering petition signatures to encourage the reversal of this detrimental city code.
More information about NYC Pollinator Week 2009 events can be found on www.justfood.org/bees.
More information on the campaign to legalize beekeeping in New York City can be found on www.justfood.org/issues.
Just Food
Just Food is a non-profit working to create a just and sustainable food system for the New York City region, supporting small-scale urban and regional farmers and advocating to make healthy, affordable, and sustainably-grown food accessible to all New Yorkers.
More information about Just Food’s mission and programs, including community supported agriculture, community gardening and urban farming, farm to food pantry, community food education, and food justice advocacy, can be found on www.justfood.org
Contact:
Amy Blankstein, Grants and Communications Manager, Just Food
amy@justfood.org / 212.645.9880 ext 243
