Engaged RI - Community Ideas

Community Ideas

to promote environmental understanding and boost sustainable practices

To Connect or Take Action with Engaged Roosevelt Island Click Here

To foster collaboration among residents, community groups, schools, building managers, island businesses, RIOC, RIRA and elected officials, Engaged RI has hosted six engagement events so far across this grant year. Each event involved anywhere from 30 to 100 guests participating together for learning, discussion, or action that will move us toward a cleaner and healthier neighborhood and world.

The following ideas were presented by residents at the Engaged RI events or through the Take Action Survey. These community ideas have been loosely organized according the the Six Transformations to achieve the SDG's that are guided by the two principles of Circularity and Leave No One Behind.

Education, Gender, and Inequality

Create events to bring unity in community

Bring your own dinner potlucks

Create clothing swaps- Promote digital "buy nothing" swap pages

Community based job guidance and connections (ie Island Kids moving forward, NYPL programs, mentoring programs)

Actively advocate to retain both Cornell Tech and Coler Hospital as important varied income and varied purpose bookends from for our community

Investigate Eco-Challenges for community connections around sustainability theme

Post regular positive/ idea posts re solutions on local blogs

Continue work on Island with local Anti-Racism/ Black Lives Matter Advocacy groups

Continue work on Island to raise voices of with local Disabled Advocacy groups

Health, Wellbeing, and Demography

Noise & Air Pollution

Reduce Traffic on Main Street

Purchase electric red buses

Stop leaf blowing by building management (RIOC has done this!)

Encourage/mandate efficient truck deliveries and efficient truck/car travel of building and business and RIOC maintenance crews and PSD

Demography

Actively advocate to improve Coler Rehab Nursing Care Center resources for neighbors/residents in H&H care

Create/maintain sustainable guidelines for new construction or renovation on RI

Find out more from residents in buildings with diverse income housing about needs and interests for sustainability measures

Create more accessible options for all

Energy Decarbonization & Shift to Circularity

Leverage Climate Smart Communities program with NY State as a resource forl community action

Energy

Move to Cogeneration CHP Potential

Tidal water turbines (Verdant)

Solar panels, Solar windows, Solar roofs

Green Roofs, Vertical wind, Geothermal

Circularity & Reuse/Repair

Composting

Create Remakery Program

Pop up Fix-it and Mending workshops and shops and/or Re-open thrift shop

Tap artist/theater/school/senior community for upcycling and kids crafts events

Create building book exchanges

Help businesses learn about and source recycling and definitely composting (chopsticks, fruits/vegetable scraps, etc)

Bring Deliver Zero type program for carry out

Sustainable Food, Land, Water, and Oceans

Sustainable/Healthy Food Sources

Completely reduce food waste or completely use for composting or biomass energy

Work with restaurants and stores for source-reduction of wasted food help food insecure and compost what’s left

Provide menus based on plants at the center of every offering (e.g. Meatless Mondays and other Plant Based meals initiatives)

Improve access to organic and locally sourced food as well as with food stamps program

Boost hyper local rooftop gardens or add garden spaces

RI Nature

Advocate for Trees Stewardship/ Improve Update Tree knowledge and Signage

Support/create permeable pathways surfaces

Promote learning on local ecology, urban wildlife, nature conservation

Improve/Change commercial landscaping practices boost organics composting and keeping leaves etc on RI

Advocate/ teach about native pollinator plantings for urban landscaping

Request buildings businesses stop replacing courtyard plants with gravel/ cement or non- pollinator friendly planting (See Our Best Hope - Doug Tallamy resource book)

Advocate for “wild” sites on RI for pollinators and native plants - with nature viewing and visitor sites included as access options

Bring Cornell Ithaca/NYBG/BBG resources to explore and promote composting, conservation, & other natural treasures

Connect to NYC Parks for Mulchfest in January

Sustainable Cities and Communities

Create and maintain more healthy open outdoor and community cultural spaces for residents of all ages and backgrounds

Teach about loving land/ home and ways to reduce litter

Drastically reduce use of single use plastics in businesses and residences

Move toward recycling in great depth: Terra Cycle bins for every lobby & Clothing Bins that are public

Improve actions by residents, building staff, AVAC with improved signage and follow up for recycling

Improve and reduce handling of all kinds of solid waste including pet waste

Stop residents/visitors throwing bottles/waste onto the soccer field – no plastic into the earth

Continue work on Island with local Anti-Racism/ Black Lives Matter and Disability Advocacy groups - Find intersections for more work together

Harness the Digital Revolution to Help Out

Continue community advocacy and kindness campaigns that have developed due to COVID-19 challenges

Continue public calendar work and community updates

Create Eco-Ambassadors connections possible Climate Action Task Force to spread word connect throughout community

Improved signage inside buildings and out

Recycling/reduction education for building managers and grounds staff

Possible digital Eco-Challenge for community

Actively explore green tech options and use of technology to support natural conservation and education

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