Earth Day - Introducing The Brooklyn Neighborhood Beautification Project

Way to go, Lake Neighbors! Her's the the first of many great median and neighborhood improvement projects brought to you by The Brooklyn Neighborhood Beautification Project - our local non-profit dedicated to improving our public spaces! Okay, so THIS was a beautiful weekend!
To support this amazing project - please read about ways to volunteer below or offer financial support by sending your check to: Brooklyn Beautification Project C/O Steve Kopff 1218 E. 21st Street, Oakland, CA 94606.  We need everyone's support here!

a note from sasha and some pix from the kickoff project this weekend!

We went over and caught part of the beautification event that went on today thanks to Steve Kopff's organizing with his neighborhood non-profit "Oakland's Brooklyn Neighborhood Beautification Project."  All that showed up vastly improved a median over on 20th St/12th Ave...and a strip over on 19th.  Get involved with this!!!  We can do this all over and around where we live here by the lake.  : )   

Not only is it fun -- REALLY FUN -- to work together and meet people in this way, but you feel connected and great and so much more comes from it exponentially.  Get to as many of these events as you can to support all they do and make more happen.  Pick areas you want to see developed and beautified and let Steve K. know and lets get everyone behind it.

Seeing this today -- seeing how highly organized, knowledgeable and skilled they were at transforming spaces just made me want to motivate us all to get this whole place cleaned up and perked up.  They had a library box (that was to be honest, a work of art) that maybe you saw in an earlier email and it would be great to see those in several spots.  While we were working I saw a girl and her dad walk up and get a book.  

Good to make one over by E. 18th and 3rd someplace that also has a place to put up flyers and info for us neighbors to share...a message board and library box.  ?

We also talked about potlucks, chickens, gardens, bees (lots of blocks are doing this -- if you want help making it happen on yours write me).  We are also planning another outdoor movie @ Regen (with a swap/give-away beforehand) after Javier has done his Parkway projections. 

We plan to have a neighborhood artist's show in October with SO many immensely talented people living here so people can take that in and also purchase gifts for loved ones before the holidays.  If you are a neighbor and would like to be a part of that...get in touch with me.  More about that in a little while.

Write with your ideas and what you want to make happen -- and/or get tied into what we have coming up.

We are planning on having a Mother's Day Outdoor Street Party coming soon -- likely on the "dogleg" block of E. 17th because it is like a giant sidewalk (between 3rd & 4th Aves)...write me if you want to help with that one.

FYI, here is a narrative by Steve K if you want to get signed on with them directly...

"...I'd like to start talking up the next phase of our beautifications happening this summer. We would like to focus on a block or two at a time and landscape the sidewalk strips of everyone on a block interested in participating. We will use plants that are drought tolerant to ensure that what we put in survives and looks good...SO shoot me an email atskopff@sbcglobal.net or give me a call at  510 479-3660 so we can get this going for your block."  Steven J. Kopff, CPA (1218 E. 21st Street, Oakland, CA 94606 510 479-3660 Fax 415 651-8565

Happy Spring Everybody.  See you a lot.

MUCH Friendship,
Sasha

Earth Day Median planting

On Saturday we will  landscape the median at E 20th and 12th Ave as well as a sidewalk strip on E 19th ST at 11th Ave (in front of 1033 E 19th street). More plantings already are lining up and will be announced in the near future.   Directly following the planting our gracious neighbors, Christina Molcillo and her housemates, will host a potluck at their home at 1044 E. 19th Street around noon. We ask everyone to bring a dish- a casserole, empanadas, dim sum, sandwiches, pizzas, your favorite dessert, side dish, salad, or beverage to share with all. Give me an email or call at510 479-3660 to let me know what dish you plan to bring so we don't have too many of the same dish.   And stop by the intersection of E 20th and 12th Avenue- the incredible 12th Ave neighbors have already installed their Neighborhood Library Box in a portion of the median and it is fun and quirky and something we can call our own. A huge round of applause for Chris Houchin for constructing it, Kelley Lamsens and Goose Manriquez for watering the new plants, and the house full of teachers in the third of these three households who pushed the idea and donated the books.    And a huge thank you to our neighbor Debra Capitan for her generous cash donation to help fund a portion of this weekend's planting as well as providing clipping from her garden as well as to Todd Smith and Michael Clancy for their contribution of clippings from their garden. You guys rock and are an asset to the neighborhood!     If you want to see more neighborhood beautification projects as well as help fund this weekend's planting please make a tax-deductible donation made payable to our neighborhood non-profit, "Oakland's Brooklyn Neighborhood Beautification Project", and mail or drop off at our home at 1218 E 21st Street, Oakland 94606. Invest in our neighborhood- any amount will help so ensure the likelihood that we can continue this going forward.   And I'd like to start talking up the next phase of our beautifications happening this summer. We would like to focus on a block or two at a time and landscape the sidewalk strips of everyone on a block interested in participating. We will use plants that are drought tolerant to ensure that what we put in survives and looks good. Attached is a pic from a recent magazine showing a sidewalk in Berkeley where all the neighbors landscaped their sidewalk strips. Imagine how our blocks will look! SO shoot me an email atskopff@sbcglobal.net or give me a call at  510 479-3660 so we can get this going for your block.   Josh and I have met some incredible neighbors over the last 2 and a half months since we moved in, some who have been carrying the flame for decades. We all thank them for their efforts and hope to reignite their desire to contribute to the neighborhood even some more. You all should come out and meet them this Saturday and each other. You'll be surprised at the wonderful folks right around the corner from you that you've never met. We all are truly lucky to be living in this neighborhood. :)  Hope to see you all Saturday or in upcoming plantings. Steven J. Kopff, CPA