Guardians of Flushing Bay

Advocacy Update: the City Planning Commission voted in favor of Queens Future's massive casino and hotel development proposal. The project continues to move through ULURP and is now at the City Council stage, aka the second-to-last phase of the city land use review process. NOW is the time to share your concerns with your council member and urge them to vote no on demapping and rezoning public parkland for a casino! We're working on a call script you can use when reaching out to your city council member. In the meantime, check out our recent newsletter to learn how you can email them your concerns. https://lnkd.in/eHMZJ6PP

Check out this op-ed deconstructing the "casino or nothing" narrative and spotlighting issues the project presents! https://lnkd.in/dMtSrVDE "Cohen frames Metropolitan Park as an all-or-nothing choice, but we don’t have to settle. When asked why green space cannot be created without a casino, Metropolitan Park spokesperson Michael Sullivan told community boards that the casino would ensure year-round visitation to the entire development. But a casino that would increase congestion, prey on Asian communities and exploit the earnings of the working class should not be used to justify the creation of green space. A park should be shaped by the community — not used as a bargaining chip in negotiations for corporate greed."

ICYMI our team got bigger (: We're so thankful for the opportunity to grow and expand the ways we advocate for Flushing Waterways and our watershed communities. Thanks for being part of our journey. ???? ??: Neha Gautam

Excited to introduce another member to our team—Jaegi Lissade, our new Finance and Development Coordinator! Jaegi has lived in Flushing for several years and has her B.A.s in Economics and Environmental Studies at CUNY Queens College. While pursuing her studies, Jaegi became an active community member across the Flushing Waterways watershed, participating in past GoFB events as a volunteer and stewarding her community garden in Corona as a core member. Additionally, she is closely engaged with sustainable fashion and circular economy groups across Queens, Brooklyn, and Manhattan. Jaegi is an advocate for preserving green (and blue!) spaces and sustainable financial practices. In her role, she works closely with the Executive Director to ensure that GoFB is a healthy and sustainable organization through financial administration and development coordination. Welcome to the team, Jaegi! ?? ??: Neha Gautam

Introducing Vonne Davien Wilson, our Stewardship Organizer! Born and raised in New York City, Vonne Davien has had a deep love for green spaces and waterbodies, as well as the arts and social activism her entire life. She traces her passions to her mother's, grandparents', and their community's history of activism through the Clay Avenue Block Association in the 1980s, where they transformed an abandoned lot into what is now known as Peace Park. An alumna of Bard College ('24), Vonne Davien brings to GoFB a range of experiences from her work over the last decade in entertainment and performance, academic scholarship, laboratory and natural sciences, the youth development and nonprofit sector, and the outdoor and environmental restoration fields. In her role with GoFB, Vonne Davien works to deepen existing green infrastructure partnerships, establish new sidewalk stewardship collaborations, develop pedagogical/learning materials for GoFB's programming, maintain rain gardens in the Flushing Waterways watershed, and ultimately support GoFB's coalition-building and advocacy toward a healthy and equitably accessible Flushing Waterways. Welcome to the team, Vonne Davien! ???? ??: Neha Gautam