 | Professional Experience and Personal Reflections by Lisa Bowstead, Founder Collecting and Distributing "A Hill of Beans" for our Neighbors. November 2012 The first entry is at the bottom of the page. Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 Since we are no longer collecting, here's a list of where to donate... The Occupy Sandy Project:
Where to donate CLOTHING: New York Cares -- Coat Drive 2012
MORE INFORMATION:http://www.goodwill.org/news-updates/new-york-goodwill-supports-recovery-following-hurricane-sandy/ Friday, Nov 23, 2012 Checking-in on the status of the hurricane Sandy relief efforts... NYC Restore:
FEMA:
The Red Hook Initiative:
Thursday, Nov 22, 2012 For all of those who could not celebrate the Thanksgiving Holiday according to their regular traditions (there are so many!), we hope that you were able to find people with whom to share a meal, and maybe a new reason to give thanks. Wednesday, Nov 21, 2012 Maria Pagano, President of the Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association, posted this message to several neighborhood e-groups:
Thank you, Maria, for stopping-by the Cobble Hill Think Tank every day to see how you could help out. You were a driving force in our efforts! Tuesday, Nov 20, 2012 Lisa and her dad took a PACKED carload over to the Occupy Sandy Distribution hub at the CHURCH OF ST LUKE & ST MATTHEW, over in Clinton Hill.  The church was a scene out of an old war movie. ...but it was now and it was real. Inside the sanctuary were a series of registrations tables: volunteers, drivers, pick-up supplies (for yourself), register with FEMA, etc. A constant stream of diverse, yet average-looking people carried in heavy boxes and bags creating mountains of donations under the huge stained glass window. As quickly as the supplies came in, volunteers placed them in the pews: each pew was labeled for a different type of item (diapers, sleeping bags, soups, toiletries, cleaning supplies, batteries). Most of the dozens of pews were piled 4-feet high with supplies! 
 Monday, Nov 19, 2012 A few late donations trickled-in as we got back to business. Sunday, Nov 18, 2012 The food and supply donations continued to pour-in, leaving us, once again, with little space for tutoring. ...but we managed. Tonight we sorted and bagged all of the remaining clothes: We have 50 bags of women's teen's, children's and baby clothes!! All of the men's clothing, coats of all sizes and blankets went out last week. We will arrange for Good Will to pick-up after the Thanksgiving weekend. Saturday, Nov 17, 2012 In a general e-mail to the community, Graig Hammerman of Community Board 6 wrote that the 120 homeless veterans who have been staying at the 9th Street shelter will be relocated back to their permanent shelter in Long Island City, which has been cleared for occupancy by the Department of Buildings. Friday, Nov 16, 2012 We posted final e-mail appeal for donations:
Thursday, Nov 15, 2012 We sent 4 BIG bags of coats to Red Hook today and 6 bags of books, games and materials for the 1st grade class that is displaced from their public school in the Rockaways. Representatives from two families in Canarsie whose homes had been flooded visited to collect clothes for themselves and their neighbors. Two residents of the veteran's shelter on 9th Street stopped by to pick up a few things. A request was made for classroom materials for a first grade class that had been displaced from their public school in the Rockaways. Donations are to be dropped at the Cobble Hill Think Tank, for a Thursday evening pick-up. Tuesday, Nov 13, 2012 We sent a car FULL of food, toiletries, diapers, cleaning supplies and blankets to the Red Hook Initiative. Monday, Nov 12, 2012 Today, we filled Brad Lander's own 5-door vehicle to capacity, including the front passenger seat, all the way to the ceiling! He delivered men's clothes, men's coats, over a hundred toiletry kits, socks, underwear and towels to the shelter on 9th street.  A man stopped-by, and asked if we had diapers for a 22-pound boy. He said that the distribution sites in Red Hook were out. He said that he still had no heat or electricity. I gave him the one pack that I had. When I asked if he needed a blanket, he thanked me for the one I gave him two days ago. Representatives from three families in Canarsie visited and told us that their houses had been flooded, but that relief efforts were completely neglecting their neighborhood. They lost all of their things and their furniture, but they were able to clean-out the damaged stuff and dry-out quickly. They filled their car with clothes and coats for all of their family members (for men, women and babies), as well as diapers, food and blankets. Effectively Tuesday, The Cobble Hill Think Tank will no longer take clothing donations and we'll send-out all that we have. We will post the best long-term places to drop such donations. We will continue to collect canned food, boxed milk, diapers, toiletries, soaps and cleaning supplies, which we will deliver to distribution sites affiliated with the Red Hood Initiative. Sunday, Nov 11, 2012 By noon more donations for the shelter were piling up outside. Today, half of the donations were men's clothes and individually wrapped toiletry kits.  By the end of the day, we had so many donations (for the shelter and for others) that we couldn't walk through our space. Through all of this, we continued to work with our students, who didn't think twice about climbing past the piles and moving them aside so that they could take out their books. Only one car picked-up today: it headed to the Rockaways filled to capacity. Several shelter residents and other homeless people stopped by to collect supplies. The most poignant was a local face, a guy named Michael, who used to work as a super in the neighborhood. Following a car accident, he lost his job and then his home. Now he walks with a cane and lives in a doorway in front of Trader Joe's. When he has $30, he spends a night at an SRO, where he can sleep in a bed and get a hot shower. (He tells horrific stories of the shelters and the subway). I gave him two pairs of jeans, some shirts, socks, a light-weight but warm fleece blanket, toiletries and some food, and I gave him a nice rolling suitcase for him to keep it all in. Saturday, Nov 10, 2012 We've collected dozens of pre-packed toiletry kits and piles of men's clothing. Volunteers sorted and bagged everything.   We sent a carload of food, diapers and women's toiletries to the Rockaways, and a several trays of hot food and bottles of water to the Gowanus Community Center. Meanwhile, people continue to pick up supplies for themselves.  The Gowanus Community Center will be closed on Sunday. They are taking a much-needed day off. Water donations may be left on their front stoop. They thanked us for all of the prepared and hot food, but told us that they would only be collecting canned foods starting next week. A local Blog continues to chronicle the local situation: Friday, Nov 9, 2012 We've had a steady stream of donations. We sent a carload of food, diapers and women's toiletries to the Rockaways, and a few trays of hot food to the Gowanus Community Center. And several people came to get supplies for themselves. Thursday, Nov 8, 2012 Lots of clothing donations today. And food and toiletries. We are only asking for certain clothing at this point: - men's clothes, shoes and coats (for the shelter on 9th street) - coats, hats, gloves and scarves (for the Rockaways) - boots and sneakers (for the Rockaways) Please hold all other clothes for a later time. We're expecting generous donations this weekend. We'll need help sorting and delivering to various destinations. With the Nor'easter hitting, we laid low today. Still, people trudged out in the snow to drop off coats and diapers and everything else. We sent a load of diapers and wipes to the Gowanus Community center this afternoon, along with several trays of muffins, cup-cakes and brownies that people had baked from the items that have been donated. Brad Lander's office contacted me to talk about the veterans who have been relocated to the new shelter on 9th street (near court). I want to be very clear: I fully support proper care of NYC's homeless citizens, and I welcome the shelter in my neighborhood. What I object to is the renovations without permits and the occupancy the building in excess of the Certificate of Occupancy of the building. The building codes are meant to protect the residents of the buildings, and homeless people deserve the same protection under the law as NYC's other citizens. In conjunction with an effort spear-headed by Brad lander's office, The Cobble Hill Think Tank will collect men's clothing, coats, shoes, and toiletries, and we will forward them to Sacred Hearts Church (on Carroll and Hicks), where they will be sorted and distributed to the veterans in the shelter on 9th street. We will need volunteers on Friday, Saturday and Sunday to collect and sort all of our donated materials and to make deliveries (with a car or a shopping cart): - food trays to the Gowanus Community Center - food, supplies and children's clothes to the Gowanus Community Center - food and supplies to the Red Hook Initiative - men's clothes to Sacred Hearts - food and supplies to the Rockaways I want to remind people that The Cobble Hill Think Tank is a "for-profit" tutoring and test prep business. In the midst all of the piles of donations, we continue to work with our students, design new programs, and consult with parents. We are happy to have the opportunity to share our prime location and our storage space, and we thank all of the volunteers who have made it all happen. Tuesday, Nov 6, 2012 The Rockaways do not need any more clothing at this point (but they will). As I was posting a sign on my door that says "no more clothes", a family of six dropped by to retrieve supplies. They live in the Gowanus Houses, and are cold and hungry. The Gowanus Houses now have generators lighting the hallways and the stairs, but they are still without electricity, heat and hot water. They loaded their shopping cart with children's clothes, food and toiletries and they took baby items for their neighbors. I didn't post the sign: if I have the clothes, someone will want them. After dark, a man stopped by. He was just moved from a shelter to a hotel on Hamilton Ave. Not only did he loose his house and his mother's house, but he lost his truck full of tools (he's a contractor). He is optimistic about finding work, and rebuilding his life, but today he needed clothes desperately. He took some jeans, a coat, a sweater, a bottle of seltzer, a jar of peanut butter and a good book. We sent four carloads to the Rockaways this morning. One driver reported that people are meeting cars as they arrive at distribution sites claiming to need batteries and diapers, which they then sell on the street. Our drivers report that the distribution sites have been effective in fairly distributing the donated items. Drivers are advised to either deliver door-to-door, or to official staff at the distribution sites. A volunteer sent these photos after she made a delivery to the Rockaways today:   And someone else sent us this video: Monday, Nov 5, 2012 We received more donations today: some people brought one or two items, some brought heaping shopping carts. Trader Joe's brought several huge bags of tooth brushes, tooth paste, floss, deodorant, toilet paper, and cases of peanut butter and jelly. Whether extras from people's pantries or a fresh shopping trip, every single item will be handed by our volunteers directly to the people who need them. Also today, several neighbors came by and filled their carts with supplies for hot meals (and cup cakes) that they would prepare and bring to the community center at the Gowanus Houses and to individual families that are living without electricity, gas, water or heat. We continue to need volunteers to receive and sort, and drivers willing to head-out to the Rockaways on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Sunday, Nov 4, 2012 Volunteers took home carts of food, which they cooked and brought over to the Gowanus Houses. We discovered that they have had no power since the storm, are cold and climbing stairs in the dark. In fact, police officers made a special run to pick-up all of our batteries and flashlights. We sent several more carloads to the Rockaways, especially coats, blankets, cleaning supplies and, of course, food and water. The word is that all of the food is REALLY appreciated, but the urgent items are diapers, adult diapers, flashlights, batteries and toiletries.  Sunday night, we received this e-mail from a driver:
Saturday, Nov 3, 2012 Donations of food, toiletries and clothes started piling up and volunteers went to work sorting, packing and delivering. Sharon Enlow spent the afternoon painting faces for cash donations. There was much confusion about what was needed where. Volunteers brought carloads down to Red Hook, but they reported that the Red Hook Initiative was forwarding their donations to the Rockaways. Instead of transferring our collections to local staging stations, we found people to take the stuff out to Rockaway directly.   Friday, Nov 2, 2012 Lisa sent this message to her contacts and to local e-mail groups:
Thursday, Nov 1, 2012 The consensus is that Cobble Hill has the air of an episode of the Twilight Zone. Life here since the Hurricane Sandy passed has been strangely normal and pleasant. The streets are CROWDED with people, children and dogs, strolling, chatting and laughing. Other than unswept leaves and a few downed trees, the neighborhood was virtually untouched by the storm. Confined to this bubble of pleasant, perpetual Saturdays, people passed the time visiting with friends, working from home, watching TV, going to restaurants and movies. I was struck by the frequency of sound-bites in front of my Court Street store that were woven with complaints of "cabin fever." (Can you get cabin fever from being confined to a neighborhood full of pleasantries? I guess New Yorkers can!) I got angry. Not at them, but at the situation. We have everything that we need right here, and it's easy to forget about what's going on outside of our community. No, I thought, that's not the neighborhood I live in! That's why I started the food drive. And I dubbed it "A Hill of Beans" so that people would remember that for all of the good that we might be able to do, it will never be enough. Lisa Bowstead, Founder The Cobble Hill Think Tank |     |
