Edie Stone, Director of NYC Greenthumb Speaks....Finally.

**A*@aol.com**

This is Adam Honigman speaking  as an individual community gardener.  

I must say that I am delighted that the NYC Community Gardening fraternity 
has finally been informed by Ms. Stone, Director of Green Thumb,  about our new 
insurance status. 

However, the period between when Ms. Stone knew about NOSC's discontinuation 
of our insurance,  in July/August of this year, and mid-October, when she 
finally decided to let us all know, albeit with some prodding from concerned and 
vocal community gardeners, is extremely troubling. 

Again, this observation is by me, as an individual community gardener. 

NYC's community gardeners are  out there, keeping our community gardens 
clean, safe and welcoming, shovelling snow, hauling garbage, running events, doing 
alot of stuff that makes our gardens and Green Thumb look good. 

The very least I would like, as an individual gardner would like is for the 
Green Thumb, the community gardening organization that I'm involved with to,  
pretty please, disseminate   information on a key issue like insurance to its 
gardeners, in a timely matter. 

I don't like hearing about an adult matter like public space liability 
insurance the way teenagers used to learn about sex - via the grapevine.  

To not have received timely information on our community garden liability 
insurance seems, on the face of it, to be awfully negligent on the part of 
Greenthumb.   Of course, I'm speaking as an individual here. Others may be less 
concerned....

As an individual, I like making Green Thumb look good - they gave me a plaque 
and all, (see,  http://www.clintoncommunitygarden.org ) and I am a longtime 
supporter of NYC Parks Gardens because I believe that under Parks our gardens 
will always be accessible to the communities we serve - not private garden 
clubs functioning under the community garden label. 

However,  timely communication on key safety information, like liability 
insurance coverage, is essential.  

As an individual, I got more timely events information from Lily's Bar, in 
Red Hook, Brooklyn, ( an establishment that Ms. Stone has or had an ownership 
interest ) than I do, or the Green Thumb  garden that I'm associated with got, 
on its liability insurance.

A matter of priorities, methinks.  

Again, speaking as an individual gardener, it seems that  community gardening 
organizations, like Gateway Greening in St, Louis,  or Seattle's P-Patch, 
have managed to do a better job, especially in organizing and keeping gardeners 
informed of issues essential to them, than we have managed to do here in NYC.  
And Gateway Greening and Seattle P-Patch  Publications manage to reach me, via 
snail mail, faster and in a more timely fashion than those from Green Thumb. 

I know that we involved in community gardening in NYC can do better - and 
perhaps in the future, will.
 I know that Ms. Stone and NYC Parks Green Thumb  has worked very hard for 
NYC's community gardens and gardeners - this gardener, again, speaking as an 
individual,  just  believes that this city's gardeners deserve a bit more 
transparency in governance and communication, from a community gardening organization 
funded by our federal tax dollars, via federal block grants, please. 

Happy Thursday,
Adam Honigman, 
speaking as an individual, 
Volunteer, Clinton Community Garden

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