But now with the launch of The UPPER GREEN SIDE website, I will have separate homes for these two efforts. Many thanks to TOD reader Damek for all his hard work on setting this up.

I am in the beginning steps of putting together a local urban environmental action group for my neighborhood to start putting words into actions. I'm going to start applying for some grants to get this off the ground. Eventually, we will try to go for full non-profit status, but in the meantime, just getting a solid group of people together will be good.

Anyone who lives in the general area of the Upper East Side is invited to sign-up. I already have 22 registered members and I am hoping to get up to 100 over the next couple of months. Please send this to anyone you know in the area.

I'm still working on the mission statement, but here's my first attempt:

"Helping make the Upper East Side more environmental sustainable by bringing together a community of neighbors interested in: Community Supported Agriculture, Pedestrian-Biking-Mass Transit improvements, Energy efficiency / Renewable energy, Recycling/Waste reduction, and other ways of reducing our community's negative impact on the environment."

As the implications of peak oil starts to come closer to home, reducing NYC's dependence on  single occupancy vehicle automobile traffic (low value) and allowing higher volume (more valuable) traffic through is critical.

That's why I was glad to see that State Senator Liz Krueger's office is holding a forum on the proposed Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) next Tuesday, April 18th at 7pm at 8th Floor Meeting Room at Marymount Manhattan College, 221 East 71st Street (between Second and Third Avenues). The proposed route would run the full length of First and Second Avenues and then across 125th Street in Harlem. They expect 65,000 passengers to take this everyday.

The problems with current bus service were outlined in a study by Bruce Schaller sponsored by Transportation Alternatives and the Straphanger's Campaign (who will also be at the forum next week):

1. Buses spend as much as 30% of their time waiting for passengers to board and exit.
   
2. Increased crowding on buses due to ridership growth has lengthened delays from boarding and exiting.
   
3. Traffic signals are not synchronized with bus speeds, so buses are delayed by red lights between bus stops.
   
4. Drivers often have to slow down to stay on schedule even when traffic is light.
   
5. Bus field supervisors lack the tools to prevent bus bunching.
   

So how does BRT fix these problems?

Here are the two sites under consideration by the Community Board:

P.S. 6 - Schoolyard on the 82nd Street side, b Mad/Park, Every Saturday, July 1, 2006- November 18, 2006

St. Stephen of Hungary Parish - 82nd Street, b 1/York, Every Sunday, July 2, 2006-November 19, 2006

Jessica Lappin, the local Councilmember deserves a lot of credit for helping make this happen, including getting the priest at St. Stephen's to sign a letter endorsing the idea.

BUT, this is not yet in the bag. Despite the fact that almost every other NYC neighborhood has a greenmarket, there is one person who might try to thwart this. Who's against a greenmarket? Eli Zabar, who was not only responsible for removing the one at All Souls Church, but also thwarted past attempts to install one at Carl Schurz Park, 86th and Fifth Ave. If he succeeds in stopping either of these, it will be a loss to the community and he and his stores should be shunned for it.