President's Message From Adrian Smith

School's out, friends are on vacation, traffic to and from the beach is heavy despite high gas prices - yes, summer is here. And, the NY ASLA is busy at work. We have been working on plans for many activities and keeping up-to-date with what's important in our world this season.

The mid-year meeting for Trustees was held as usual in Washington, DC May 9 and 10.  This is the meeting where  numerous items, covering a range of topics including the Society's budget, issues regarding dues, programs and various committee are voted on by the Trustees.

Manhattan's High School for the Environment has a rooftop space with plantings, an outdoor class space, and a variety of surfaces to make it safe for student use.  They aspired to a better design, however and in February, Nia Rhodes Jackson, Friends of the HS for Environmental Study invited ASLA New York to assist with designing a new green roof. 

"Ecotones: Mitigating New York City's Contentious Sites," opening May 22nd, tackles the issue of colliding ecosystems within New York City's unique fusion of terrain and waterways - through September 6.

A major port city with a dense population and remarkable islands and waterways, New York faces unique environmental challenges. This is demonstrated most clearly by examining its ecotones – the areas of transition between different ecological communities.

Paesaggio & Energia Conference - Bologna Italy
By Jen Cooper

I had my doubts when I received the email in broken English from a magazine called Paysage asking me if I were interested in writing an article and speaking at a conference in Italy (silly question). But after a month of difficult communication, a lot of http://www.bablefish.com/ usage, and delayed responses from the editor, I got the tickets from the travel agent and knew it was really happening!

Susannah Drake, President-Elect, testified at the Landmarks Preservation Commission hearing on June 17th in support of the protection of open spaces, namely the plaza and Picasso statue on Bleecker Street and LaGuardia Place in the Village.  

Donations of $15 Million for The New York Botanical Garden, $10 Million for Prospect Park are Largest Private "Greening" Gifts in New York City History

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and philanthropist Shelby White today announced that Ms. White's Leon Levy Foundation is awarding $15 million to The New York Botanical Garden and $10 million to Prospect Park, the largest private donation in City history for the "greening" of New York.

Supporters of planting large shade trees along Manhattan's 100-foot wide major cross streets from river to river as part of the administration's Million Trees NYC 2030 Program (Terrain, Spring 2008, p.7) got some encouragement last month.    

Two receptions in June celebrated the start of designing the new park on Governors Island.   The Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation (GIPEC) had invited proposals from leading landscape architects and urban designers in the world.