BUT.  There is Good News!

The Good News is, you can prevent future FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) by going to the Calendar, checking out all the events, making a note of things that appeal to you, and making sure to sign up during the sign up period!  There are lots of goodies on there already, fun things to do in the summer sun.  Go look!

NOW:  Sign up for Volunteer Orientation on Sunday May 6th!  Do it NOW!  Go to the Calendar, click on the event, read all about it, and participate!  Request that Trip!  We’d love to see your shining face and big smile as we go through all the steps to becoming a superstar LICCB volunteer.  We will practice, drill and rehearse the things you’re sure to get good at as you do them.  Gain all manner of practical skills that fold over into your everyday life.  And yes, you can enjoy yourself while learning cool stuff!

Plus, it’s merciful timing for weekend nighttime fun lovers…you can even sleep in on Sunday and STILL make it down to the boathouse (at 2pm) and onto the water and over the river for some paddling and on-water skills demonstrations!  (Very refreshing too.)

It won’t be as much fun if you don’t come!  Sign up for this weekend AND next weekend’s episode on Saturday May 12th.  Remember, only YOU can prevent…FOMO!

See you there!

Dear Bob, Clemeth, Danika, David, Dedric, Edward, Ezra, Johana, John, Keith, Larry, Maura, Priscilla, Richard, Steve, Steve, Ted, Wes  (we’re working from the sign-in list plus memory — we apologize to anyone whose name is not listed!),

Thanks to all of you, much was accomplished!   Of note:

• Canoes washed, repaired, loaded on trailer ready for the Great Bronx River Flotilla this Saturday
• Bowlines fabricated and attached to all of our canoes and kayaks
• Ocean Kayak seats inventoried and organized — we have enough, yay!
• 3 new pairs of paddle hangers installed
• Paddles matched, inventoried, organized.  Oh, oh, we don’t have enough to use all of our kayaks at once.  We’ll have to get busy raising funds so we can buy another dozen or so paddles.
• All the kayak carts inspected, tightened, tires pumped up — ready for use
• Complete inventory of parts needed for the Ocean Kayaks.  We have to raise some funds for purchase of straps, plugs, handles to make our boats complete
• Changing room cleared out, thoroughly cleaned.  Still need to figure out a decent light in there, and add benches, shelf, hooks — but at least it’s useable as a changing room and better than it’s ever been.
• Smoker (storage room) cleared out, organized, functional.
• LOTS OF JUNK thrown out!!!!

By the end of the day the boathouse and boats were declared in good shape to start the on-water events of 2012.  We’re ready!

THANK YOU to all of you who gave up a big part of your weekend, rolled up your sleeves, and made all this happen.  We look forward to having you come out for some great kayaking with LICCB this season.

 The New York State Department of Health (NYS DOH) and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) are holding public meetings to discuss the recently released Newtown Creek Public Health Assessment. These agencies are looking at environmental information from the Newtown Creek Superfund site and how it relates to public health. The meetings will be held on:

Monday, May 14, 2012
7:00 to 9:00 pm
at
LaGuardia Community College
31-10 Thomson Ave
Long Island City, NY 11101
Conference Room E-242

Thursday, May 24, 2012
7:00 to 9:00 pm
at
Polish National Home/ Warsaw
261 Driggs Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11222

For questions about the meetings, please contact Bettsy Prohonic, New York State Department of Health, at 518-402-7530 or at ejp04@health.state.ny.us.

For more information and copies of the draft public health assessment document, please visit the NYS DOH website at: http://www.health.ny.gov/environmental/investigations/newtown/index.htm

And thanks to all the stout-hearted men who made our new boat racks.   They look great!  These snazzy structures made the cleaning process even more thorough this year.

NOW it’s time to get a few more things in place for the season.  Please come by on Sunday afternoon April 29th from 1-5pm (or any portion of that time period) and contribute your efforts to some fine-tuning and organizational tasks.  No heavy lifting, but you may get a little dusty and dirty, so bring clothes you don’t care about too much, and work gloves if you have them.

We’re preparing for the Volunteer Orientations May 6th (Sunday) and the following Saturday May 12.  Look at the calendar to sign up for those, and in the meantime, come on down this Sunday afternoon to contribute your energy and effort.

Thanks for all you do!

Kick off Meeting

March 26, 2012

6pm – 8pm

Location: South Street Seaport Museum

12 Fulton St. (Level 5 Galleries)

New York, NY, 10038

Map

 

Click here to RSVP

MWA’s City of Water Day brings together thousands of mariners, paddlers, rowers, activists and families to celebrate our waterways and to bring the Waterfront Action Agenda to life.

This year City of Water Day returns to Governors Island and Liberty State Park, NJ on Saturday, July 14, 2012.

We need your help to make City of Water Day great.  At this first planning meeting individuals, organizations, boaters, and volunteers will discuss ways to improve the event and discuss ideas for activities and programs.

We want your ideas! Join us and other Alliance Partners, vendors, participants, boaters, and volunteers!

Please note, this meeting will not be held at MWA’s offices. Meeting location:

 South Street Seaport Museum

12 Fulton St (Level 5 Galleries)

New York, NY, 10038

I look forward to seeing you on March 26, 2012. Please remember to RSVP here.

Sincerely,

Roland Lewis
President & CEO
Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance

Please take a look at the latest edition of the newsletter, delivered to subscribers’ inboxes as of now.

The following topics are featured:
–The Hudson River Foundation awards LICCB a major grant to fund dock improvements in Anable Basin!  Thank you NYCEF Newtown Creek Fund!
–Socrates Sculpture Park agrees to renew LICCB’s Hallets Cove public walk up paddling program for Summer 2012
–LICCB has six new boats!
–Volunteer Orientation planned for Sunday May 6 and Saturday March 12 at the boathouse
–Calendar is filling out with fun events!
–Save the Date for Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club’s annual fundraising event Saturday September 29, 2012
–Chair’s OVeRBoaRD Awards and the Jersey Paddlesport Show!

To subscribe to the newsletter, please go to the field over there in the left hand column and fill in your info and you’re good to go!  The newsletter comes out in a somewhat irregular fashion…often enough to keep subscribers up to date with programs and events, yet not so much that your inbox explodes because of LICCB news and happenings.

Thank you for all you do!

Victoria Olson

Chair LICCB 2012

Dear MWA Alliance Partners,

Tomorrow presents an opportunity for MWA and Alliance Partners to keep the New York City Comprehensive Waterfront Plan front and center in the current and future administration’s plans.  Please join us at tomorrow’s hearing covering the one year anniversary of the Comprehensive Waterfront Plan and Waterfront Action Agenda.  Make sure your voice is heard about the importance of the plan and making it come to fruition.

Tomorrow’s City Council hearing will be:

Date:    Friday, March 16, 2012

Time:    1:00 p.m.

Location:  14th Floor Committee Room, 250 Broadway, held by the New York City Council’s Committee on Waterfronts

MWA will be presenting testimony on the strengths and weaknesses of the plan and the challenges going forward.    If you are planning to provide testimony please come with 20 copies and arrive early to make it through security and register.

We hope to see you tomorrow.

MWA stands for bringing life to the harbor.  One way we can accomplish this is to testify at these hearings. Another is to engage in discussions regarding pressing matters facing the harbor at events like MWA’s 2012 Waterfront Conference.

The 2012 Waterfront Conference will be held on May 18th and 19th, 2012.  Panels on Friday the 18th will discuss waterfront access and equity, ferries, waterfront financing, the Harbor Coalition, and the effects of climate change on waterfront communities.  Saturday May 19th will be a morning of discussions for the recreational community about wakes, water quality notification, and public access design guidelines.

To find out more about the conference and to register, go to  http://waterfrontconference.eventbrite.com/and look for upcoming emails for details.

Ahoy Dredgers and former Dredgers,

We seek new volunteers and would like to offer reward programs to attract more volunteers including special outings and kayak skill enhancement classes.  We look forward to another fun season in 2012 and if you cannot attend on 2/27, we hope to see you on the water!

The Steering Council was established in the fall of 2010 to address issues around growth and development of LICCB.

A position on the Steering Council entitles its bearer to the following: an open-ended, self-chosen role of even greater responsibility and stewardship of LICCB programming, projects, possibilities, direction.  And…the inestimable enjoyment of giving prodigious amounts of free advice, with someone listening to you, giving due weight and consideration to what you say.  (What’s not to love about that.)

Steering Council responsibilities entail: your availability to the process of shaping and forming best practices and direction of the organization.  Also, the sometimes superhuman effort to make sense of extraordinary silliness.  Seriously…it gets pretty weird sometimes…in ways you’d never suspect…

Requirements of a volunteer in good standing include, but are not limited to, the following:

• meaningful service to LICCB, including contributions to any and all programming and events on and off the water for at least one day (6 hours)
• a sincere desire to serve this community organization
• a balance of appropriate behavior around other volunteers and participants during any and all events
• demonstrated ability to resolve differences amicably
• ability to adhere to meeting protocols
• willingness to work together
• commitment to moving the conversation forward
• demonstrated lack of disruptive and divisive behaviors, including attempted and actual misappropriation of any and all LICCB resources (i.e. time, energy,  funds, volunteer morale, good will, equipment, reputation, community property, etc.)
• availability to the exciting process of leaving something better than you found it
• conscious awareness
• impulse control and empathy
• preferably, you can also swim.  But it’s not strictly necessary.

The following volunteers in good standing have submitted requests to serve on the Steering Council of the LICCB 2012:

Robert DiMaio

Steve Ellis

Ted Gruber

David Matten

Keith Ott

Turid Peters

Out of four additional candidates who applied, two are still under consideration.

Thanks to all who have expressed willingness to build and grow with LICCB.  And thank you for your patience with the process of establishing best practices around leadership direction.  Frankly, this ain’t easy!  But then, you knew that.  That’s why you’re here.

Your presence is appreciated.

Sincerely,

Victoria Olson

LICCB Chair 2011-2012

Thanks for all you do.

• Volunteer Coordinator
• Correspondent
• Photographer
• Concessionaire
• Graphics Artist
• Writer for post-event summaries
• Trip Leaders
• Hallets Cove Paddling Program Deputy Coordinator
• Boat Painters
• House Manager
• Equipment Manager
• Waiver Manager
• Sign Maker
• Communications director for public events

These are just a few of the things that Steering Council 2011 members attended during the past season.  Your assistance and input is welcome, you can make the experience of community building even more rich and varied!

Your interest in LICCB is appreciated.

Best,

Victoria Olson

Chair LICCB 2012