A conversation with
the Prince George, 15 E 27th St, Manhattan
Coordinator: Common Ground
Members: Open to all; Residents and Neighbors
Partner Farm: Norwich Meadows Farm
Optional: Fruit; possible a la carte items such as eggs, cheese, granola, meat
Pick-up: Thursdays 4:30-7:30pm, 22 distributions June-Nov
Payment: $395; SNAP available
Website: http://www.princegeorgecsa.com/
the Prince George, 15 E 27th St, Manhattan
Coordinator: Common Ground
Members: Open to all; Residents and Neighbors
Partner Farm: Norwich Meadows Farm
Optional: Fruit; possible a la carte items such as eggs, cheese, granola, meat
Pick-up: Thursdays 4:30-7:30pm, 22 distributions June-Nov
Payment: $395; SNAP available
Website: http://www.princegeorgecsa.com/
photos courtesy: the Prince George, Common Ground
The Prince George – Norwich Meadows Farm CSA plants its roots deep in a commitment to social inclusion through collaboration and revitalization.
Less than two decades ago, the Prince George Neo-Renaissance lobby, now an elegant and pleasant place of CSA pick-up, was languishing due to many years of neglect. The Prince George, built in 1904 as a premier hotel, had been allowed to fall into a decrepit state that seemed almost beyond repair.
Enter the founder of Common Ground, a New York City non-profit dedicated to strengthening individuals, families and communities by developing and sustaining supportive and affordable housing. A renovated Prince George emerged from the founder’s vision for ending homelessness with buildings that are an asset to the community. For financial support to refurbish the Prince George, Common Ground collaborated with the New York City Department of Housing Preservation, the New York State Office of Mental Health, the State Department of Social Services, and low-income housing and historic tax credits.
Since 1999, the Prince George has welcomed home adults who are low-income, mentally ill, formerly chronically homeless, or who are living with HIV/AIDS. Permanent housing for the 416 tenants at the Prince George is holistic: the Center for Urban Community Services provides case management, recreational activity opportunities, and self-sufficiency workshops for the tenants.
The Prince George – Norwich Meadows Farm CSA that brings fresh fruits and vegetables to the front door of the Prince George constitutes an essential part of the community, increasing residents’ access to organic produce and sharing with the neighbors the institution that is the Prince George. At the same time the CSA aims to support sustainable farming practices in the State of New York and has the claim to fame of being the first CSA recipient of Norwich Meadows Farm that has greatly expanded since the collaboration was conceived in 2002. In fact, the CSA is comprised of more neighbors who commute to the vicinity of West 28th St. and Madison Ave. than tenants themselves.
“Common Ground tries in most of our buildings to not only do housing that is affordable and available for the community, but also has some type of community space element,” said Shana Wertheimer, the Senior Building Director of Housing Operations and Programs at the Prince George, explaining the emphasis that the organization places on the physical plant, as also exemplified by Common Ground’s value for historical restoration and priority for LEED certification. “In some of our newer buildings, we have a black box theater, we have a community garden; we have a community room people can use. The CSA is one way we can be a good neighbor here.”
The stately lobby of the Prince George as site of CSA pick-up serves as a dignified common ground for people who are otherwise experiencing different socioeconomic circumstances. “I think people have a lot of misconceptions about what supportive housing is, so it’s also a great vehicle to kind of get people in the building, seeing how we operate, and what the building is like, to try and expand people’s minds on what this environment can look like,” said Ms. Wertheimer. “When I talk to [our new] CSA members, sometimes they don’t even realize what the building is; they think it’s just market rate housing. I don’t think they realize often what else is going on.”
Lauren Jung, Common Ground Tenant Services Coordinator at the Prince George, explained that it’s not an uncommon occurrence for a community member new to the CSA to express surprise to learn that their tenants live at the Prince George. “People will walk in, and our tenant will walk by or they’ll pause to ask a question about the CSA, and they’ll say, ‘Oh, they live here?’ And we say, ‘Yeah! We’re low-income supportive housing.’ ”
“The CSA is a great way for our community members to meet our members within our building.” Some of those community members who have joined the CSA not knowing the history and mission of the Prince George, have become interested in participating in other events at the Prince George, such as the annual Thanksgiving Dinner or the art show of tenants’ work, said Tenant Services Assistant at the Prince George, Anduriña Panezo.
All Prince George – Norwich Meadows Farm CSA members are asked to volunteer to work at pick-up or contribute recipes to the weekly newsletter created by the CSA member and Prince George tenant, Mike. They add those recipes to a binder that that’s also an archive of weekly vegetable nutrition, storage, and cooking tip-sheets, available for consultation at pick-up. Kohlrabi and Jerusalem artichoke tip-sheets are among the most popular for new members, said Ms. Jung, Ms. Panezo, and Ms. Wertheimer. “Who knew Jerusalem artichokes could be kind of like potato, that you could slice it up and make little chips?” said Ms. Panezo.
The CSA will continue to provide those resources at pick-up, as well as seeking ways to creatively strengthen the Prince George community. “We’re always trying to think of ways to revitalize,” said Ms. Jung, who explained that she and her colleagues are considering offering additional cooking demos such as that held by the non-profit Just Food, or another pickling class. “We want to make the CSA more than just a pick-up and drop-off activity[errand?], make it hands-on, interactive, something that people would want to stay for.”
Programming for the CSA runs in parallel to Common Grounds programming for Prince George tenants that focuses on health, including a recent workshop called Healthy Eating on a Budget. The cooking demos specifically for Prince George tenants are designed for the tenants’ individual unit apartments that have a cookstove but no oven, said Ms. Jung. Alongside the weekly CSA pick-up occurs a Prince George Farmer’s Market, where the CSA coordinators welcome those tenants who are interested in fresh produce but aren’t in a position to commit to or buy an entire season of a CSA. Common Grounds coordinates the Farmer’s Market, buying and selling the vegetables from three shares it has purchased especially for the Market.
The cost of a full share can be quite pricey, Ms. Wertheimer explained, and while the CSA accepts SNAP as a form of payment (made possible in part by a New Wave grant from Just Food), there are folks for whom either option is not feasible. The sliding scale, one of a few different approaches that the Coordinators have tried, in addition to a Member Advisory Board, just couldn’t slide far enough.
So far the Farmer’s Market has been a popular place for folks to pick up a bunch of carrots or try something new, said Ms. Jung, noting that it’s a topic of conversation with many tenants.
Ms. Jung said that now that she, her colleagues, and their CSA members know the possibilities of kohlrabi, they continue to enjoy learning together.
Ms. Wertheimer herself also enjoys the pickled and fermented vegetables of her share-partner, Common Grounds colleague Brian. She says that participating in the CSA, she has also become more open-minded –and open-mouthed!- to vegetables that she wasn’t before eating; and between CSA seasons she is more inclined to cook on her own.
At the end of the day, the CSA sends its surplus vegetables to City Harvest. Prince George tenants participating in the newly formalized volunteer system gather the produce and pack it onto a truck, wrapping vegetables up to be redistributed beyond their community, nourishing a common commitment of social inclusivity.
Less than two decades ago, the Prince George Neo-Renaissance lobby, now an elegant and pleasant place of CSA pick-up, was languishing due to many years of neglect. The Prince George, built in 1904 as a premier hotel, had been allowed to fall into a decrepit state that seemed almost beyond repair.
Enter the founder of Common Ground, a New York City non-profit dedicated to strengthening individuals, families and communities by developing and sustaining supportive and affordable housing. A renovated Prince George emerged from the founder’s vision for ending homelessness with buildings that are an asset to the community. For financial support to refurbish the Prince George, Common Ground collaborated with the New York City Department of Housing Preservation, the New York State Office of Mental Health, the State Department of Social Services, and low-income housing and historic tax credits.
Since 1999, the Prince George has welcomed home adults who are low-income, mentally ill, formerly chronically homeless, or who are living with HIV/AIDS. Permanent housing for the 416 tenants at the Prince George is holistic: the Center for Urban Community Services provides case management, recreational activity opportunities, and self-sufficiency workshops for the tenants.
The Prince George – Norwich Meadows Farm CSA that brings fresh fruits and vegetables to the front door of the Prince George constitutes an essential part of the community, increasing residents’ access to organic produce and sharing with the neighbors the institution that is the Prince George. At the same time the CSA aims to support sustainable farming practices in the State of New York and has the claim to fame of being the first CSA recipient of Norwich Meadows Farm that has greatly expanded since the collaboration was conceived in 2002. In fact, the CSA is comprised of more neighbors who commute to the vicinity of West 28th St. and Madison Ave. than tenants themselves.
“Common Ground tries in most of our buildings to not only do housing that is affordable and available for the community, but also has some type of community space element,” said Shana Wertheimer, the Senior Building Director of Housing Operations and Programs at the Prince George, explaining the emphasis that the organization places on the physical plant, as also exemplified by Common Ground’s value for historical restoration and priority for LEED certification. “In some of our newer buildings, we have a black box theater, we have a community garden; we have a community room people can use. The CSA is one way we can be a good neighbor here.”
The stately lobby of the Prince George as site of CSA pick-up serves as a dignified common ground for people who are otherwise experiencing different socioeconomic circumstances. “I think people have a lot of misconceptions about what supportive housing is, so it’s also a great vehicle to kind of get people in the building, seeing how we operate, and what the building is like, to try and expand people’s minds on what this environment can look like,” said Ms. Wertheimer. “When I talk to [our new] CSA members, sometimes they don’t even realize what the building is; they think it’s just market rate housing. I don’t think they realize often what else is going on.”
Lauren Jung, Common Ground Tenant Services Coordinator at the Prince George, explained that it’s not an uncommon occurrence for a community member new to the CSA to express surprise to learn that their tenants live at the Prince George. “People will walk in, and our tenant will walk by or they’ll pause to ask a question about the CSA, and they’ll say, ‘Oh, they live here?’ And we say, ‘Yeah! We’re low-income supportive housing.’ ”
“The CSA is a great way for our community members to meet our members within our building.” Some of those community members who have joined the CSA not knowing the history and mission of the Prince George, have become interested in participating in other events at the Prince George, such as the annual Thanksgiving Dinner or the art show of tenants’ work, said Tenant Services Assistant at the Prince George, Anduriña Panezo.
All Prince George – Norwich Meadows Farm CSA members are asked to volunteer to work at pick-up or contribute recipes to the weekly newsletter created by the CSA member and Prince George tenant, Mike. They add those recipes to a binder that that’s also an archive of weekly vegetable nutrition, storage, and cooking tip-sheets, available for consultation at pick-up. Kohlrabi and Jerusalem artichoke tip-sheets are among the most popular for new members, said Ms. Jung, Ms. Panezo, and Ms. Wertheimer. “Who knew Jerusalem artichokes could be kind of like potato, that you could slice it up and make little chips?” said Ms. Panezo.
The CSA will continue to provide those resources at pick-up, as well as seeking ways to creatively strengthen the Prince George community. “We’re always trying to think of ways to revitalize,” said Ms. Jung, who explained that she and her colleagues are considering offering additional cooking demos such as that held by the non-profit Just Food, or another pickling class. “We want to make the CSA more than just a pick-up and drop-off activity[errand?], make it hands-on, interactive, something that people would want to stay for.”
Programming for the CSA runs in parallel to Common Grounds programming for Prince George tenants that focuses on health, including a recent workshop called Healthy Eating on a Budget. The cooking demos specifically for Prince George tenants are designed for the tenants’ individual unit apartments that have a cookstove but no oven, said Ms. Jung. Alongside the weekly CSA pick-up occurs a Prince George Farmer’s Market, where the CSA coordinators welcome those tenants who are interested in fresh produce but aren’t in a position to commit to or buy an entire season of a CSA. Common Grounds coordinates the Farmer’s Market, buying and selling the vegetables from three shares it has purchased especially for the Market.
The cost of a full share can be quite pricey, Ms. Wertheimer explained, and while the CSA accepts SNAP as a form of payment (made possible in part by a New Wave grant from Just Food), there are folks for whom either option is not feasible. The sliding scale, one of a few different approaches that the Coordinators have tried, in addition to a Member Advisory Board, just couldn’t slide far enough.
So far the Farmer’s Market has been a popular place for folks to pick up a bunch of carrots or try something new, said Ms. Jung, noting that it’s a topic of conversation with many tenants.
Ms. Jung said that now that she, her colleagues, and their CSA members know the possibilities of kohlrabi, they continue to enjoy learning together.
Ms. Wertheimer herself also enjoys the pickled and fermented vegetables of her share-partner, Common Grounds colleague Brian. She says that participating in the CSA, she has also become more open-minded –and open-mouthed!- to vegetables that she wasn’t before eating; and between CSA seasons she is more inclined to cook on her own.
At the end of the day, the CSA sends its surplus vegetables to City Harvest. Prince George tenants participating in the newly formalized volunteer system gather the produce and pack it onto a truck, wrapping vegetables up to be redistributed beyond their community, nourishing a common commitment of social inclusivity.