Bees in the City? New York May Let the Hives Come Out of Hiding

On Tuesday, the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s board will take up the issue of amending the health code to allow residents to keep hives of Apis mellifera, the common, nonaggressive honeybee. Health department officials said the change was being considered after research showed that the reports of bee stings in the city were minimal and that honeybees did not pose a public health threat.

The officials were also prodded by beekeepers who, in a petition and at a public hearing last month, argued that their hives promoted sustainable agriculture in the city. from the NY Times..

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LIC Boathouse Fundraiser Tomorrow, 3.11.2010

initially posted on my own blog - thought I'd put it here, too.

D'OH! I had meant to post about this MUCH sooner! The Long Island City Boathouse is having their annual benefit on Thursday, March 11th (tomorrow night, at the time I'm writing this) at the Foundry, half a block south of the Long Island City end of the Queensboro Bridge. Full info is available on licboathouse.org.

This event is personally & enthusiastically endorsed by Sebago clubmate Walter. He's one of the founding members & grand Poo-Bahs of the Sebago Cruising Committee & believe me, the Sebago Cruising Committee knows a thing or twenty-seven about having fun. If Walter says it's a good party, it's a good party!

DEP opens microbiology lab at Newtown Creek plant

City officials today announced the opening of a new $2.3 million microbiology laboratory that will improve operational efficiency and enhance monitoring of local waterways.

The new lab, located at Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant in Brooklyn, will consolidate bacteriological analyses for all 14 city wastewater treatment plants, increase DEP’s ability to compare test results across its facilities, and help achieve the highest levels of pollutant removal and disinfection from the 1.3 billion gallons of wastewater that New Yorkers produce every day, according to a press release.

“This new microbiology lab will substantially increase our monitoring and testing capacity, giving us the vital information we need to meet and exceed treatment standards, and continue the resurgence of New York City’s waterways that is central to Mayor Bloomberg’s PlaNYC vision.” said Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Cas Holloway.

The new 2,000 square-foot lab will also allow for a significant increase in the number of water samples that can be analyzed with existing staff.

Dolphin spotted in Brooklyn's polluted Newtown Creek

A dolphin was spotted Wednesday in Brooklyn's notoriously polluted Newtown Creek.

"We were just amazed," said Roy Arezzo, one of two teachers from the Urban Assembly New York Harbor School who saw the 7-foot dolphin swimming deeper into the filthy water.

Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn Is Given Superfund Status

From the New York Times: The federal Environmental Protection Agency announced Tuesday that it was designating the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn a contaminated Superfund site, paving the way for a cleanup of the decades of pollution there.
The decision comes as a blow to the Bloomberg administration, which had proposed a cleanup that would avoid such a designation. The city argued that the designation could set off legal battles with polluters, defer completion of a cleanup and torpedo construction by developers deterred by the stigma of a Superfund label.

The E.P.A. estimated that the federal cleanup would last 10 to 12 years and cost $300 million to $500 million. Read the rest of this click here