EcoJustice Summer!

This Summer, the Radix Ecological Sustainability Center along with A Village Inc., will conduct its five-week EcoJustice Summer Youth program for youth ages 14 - 18.  Participants will have the opportunity to earn an income while being engaged in hands-on work and learning related to local ecological and social justice issues.  Based out of the Radix Center, youth will be employed in food justice  activism through the maintenance and operation of Radix’s one-acre urban farm as well as numerous gardens throughout Albany’s South End.  Produce harvested from these gardens feeds local residents and supports Radix’s educational programs.  Days also consist of educational opportunities, with workshops, guest speakers, and outdoor field trips to local sites. The dates for the program are from Monday July 3^rd through Friday, August 4^th.

Ezra Tenants Association Reactivates In Face of Legal Action Around Oil Trains

Ms Charlene Benton, the long time president of the Ezra Prentice Tenants Association, has decided to retire from her position due to ill health. Bebe White, vice president of the Tenants Association, has called for a meeting of all tenants to discuss holding elections for new officers.

The meeting will be at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, March 29, in the Ezra Prentice Community Room. This will be a Tenants Association meeting, not an AVillage meeting.

Under HUD rules, all tenant associations elections must be monitored, administered and verified by an independent organization in order to be official. The meeting on March 29 will be so interested residents can learn more about the process and express their interest in serving as an officer. The date for an election will be set after that.

At the meeting last Wednesday, Rev. Marc Johnson, who is serving as Interim Executive Director of AVillage, said this is a particularly important time for tenants to get involved. He said word has reached the Tenants Association officers that Global Partners LLC, the company that owns the black tanker cars that carry crude oil and fuel products to the Port of Albany, is discussing a negotiated settlement with the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation. 

Fourth Annual Celebration of Progress

  It was an opportunity to rekindle old friendships and make new ones; it was a night to remember that we are more than just a group of people who share the same zip code, but a unified family; it was a chance to acknowledge and appreciate everyone’s hard work in making the South End a better place; it was a celebration of our progress.