July 2010
Staten Island's first fruit and vegetable "Green Cart" stand opened its umbrella last week at the ball-park-side entrance to the St. George Ferry Terminal.
Potatoes and eggplants, berries and mangoes, aloe vera leaves and organic bananas displayed in handsome baskets with other produce, arrived as a result of the city's Green Cart Initiative, a Department of Health program designed to bring healthy foods to underserved neighborhoods.
June 2010
Almost 50 volunteers gathered in East New York on Saturday to build a greenhouse on a recently acquired lot behind Euclid 500 Garden. The participants assembled planters with fruits, vegetable and herbs — which will be donated to a local food bank — and also built picnic tables and painted a mural. The project was sponsored by the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund, whose mission is to increase access and opportunity for all New Yorkers. The project was held just two days before the National Conference on Volunteering and Service.
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Reopened this Spring after extensive renovation, the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College has received generous support from donors to sponsor new initiatives and programs. One of the first initiatives to benefit is The Joan H. Tisch Legacy Project made possible with a $1.2 million five-year grant from the children of New York City humanitarian activist, Joan Hyman Tisch.
Street-food culture in New York has long been as vibrant and diverse as the city’s residents. Falafel, bulgogi, chorizo, jerk chicken, biryani, arepas, and other cheap and exotic dishes can be found on many street corners.
The Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund will receive the 2010 Award of Merit. While only a few years old, the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund has already left a significant, positive mark on New York, by making the city smarter, healthier, and more inclusive. Under the guidance of the dedicated community leader and philanthropist Laurie Tisch, the Fund has been responsible for public interventions such as the Lawn at Lincoln Center campus. It also supports health initiatives like the NYC Green Carts and City Meals on Wheels.
May 2010
Skidmore has received a $1.2 million grant from the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund in support of the Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery's museum-based learning program.
The Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund grant will virtually fulfill a three-to-one matching grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, guaranteeing that the college will achieve the $4.8 million endowment needed to ensure the continuance of key components already in process at the Tang.
On Wednesday, May 19, Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund hosted a photography reception for Aperture photographers working to document the Green Carts project. The event was widely attended by city officials and non-profit partners of the Fund. Attendees included Deputy Mayor Gibbs, DOHMH Commissioner Farley, Juan Garcia de Oteyza, Aperture Executive Director, as well as other partners, and showcased the work of five emerging photographers who have spent the last year photographing Green Cart vendors.
Along Jamaica Avenue there are many fast food options - from McDonald's to Burger King, Taco Bell to Wendy's - this bustling business corridor has it all. But lately a new and healthier sight has been greeting shoppers - fresh fruits and vegetables sold from Green Carts.
For Laurie Tisch, New York philanthropy is practically a profession. This week alone, the heir to the Loews Corp. business empire is highlighting four gifts to further her mission of giving access and opportunity to underserved New Yorkers in the form of health, education and the arts.
April 2010
On April 20th, the Children's Museum of Manhattan (CMOM) held a gala to honor Executive Director Andrew S. Ackerman for his 20 years of leadership and service. Guests were warmly welcomed by Mr. Ackerman, along with CMOM Board Chair Halley Harrisburg and Honorary Board Chair Laurie Tisch. For more information about the event, click here.
Without the generous donations from the following organizations, the establishment and work of NYC Service would not have been possible: David Rockefeller, Bloomberg Philanthropies, The Carnegie Corporation of New York, The Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund and the Lizzie and Jonathan M. Tisch Foundation.
Volunteers have spent weeks trying to convince residents of one New York neighborhood to fill out their Census forms. An accurate count can bring in government services and funding for projects, but many residents in and around Corona, Queens, don't want to be counted.
February 2010
Concerned about the serious long-term political and financial consequences of an inaccurate census count for New York City, The New York Community Trust has joined with the New York Foundation, the Open Society Institute, and other funders to launch the 2010 Census Funders NYC Initiative. Because immigrants, African Americans, Latinos, and other minority groups have traditionally been undercounted, the funders’ group has awarded $562,000 to 35 grassroots and advocacy groups which will work in communities throughout the five boroughs to explain the importance of the census and dispel fears about how census data is used.
As part of this year's census, the city has launched the biggest grassroots campaign in history to count immigrants who're here illegally. One focus of the effort is northwest Queens: neighborhoods like Jackson Heights and Elmhurst, where there’s been a surge of new Hispanic immigrants since 2000. In the past, many have failed to send in their census forms. As part of our occasional series Feet in Two Worlds, Annie Correal went to see how the campaign is going.
Joan Tisch and her sons Steve Tisch and Jonathan Tisch, and daughter Laurie Tisch were honored with MoMA's David Rockefeller Award Tuesday afternoon, in recognition of their generosity and advocacy of the arts. Connie Chung and Maury Povich, Jo Carole Lauder and Thelma Golden were among those gathered for a luncheon in the museum's lobby. The atmosphere was so reserved that Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones slipped in nearly unnoticed.
"We're dear friends of the Tisches, known the family for a long time," said Douglas. "Just admire Joan Tisch so much and have known both Jon and Steven for years."
MoMA trustee Marie Josee-Kravis acknowledged the family's contribution to the museum as well as other cultural organizations around the city. "They've been great contributors in buying works of art and supporting our education programs," she said. "Laurie Tisch supports the Center for Arts Education, they've supported the Met, NYU school of the arts. You could ask what would New York be without the Tisches and I think a lot of institutions would be different." Or, as one guest saw it, "It's good to be a Tisch in this room."
January 2010
They're known as the food deserts. Low-income neighborhoods in the five boroughs of New York City where people live below the poverty level amidst busy business districts. Fried fast food is the norm. Fresh produce is harder to come by.
That's why New York City launched its Green Cart program. It's one component in a larger program to fight obesity in the city. Get these green carts into the hands of burgeoning entrepreneurs, most with a knack for street vending, and they'll provide fresher produce than most other stands or bodegas in the neighborhood, making for a healthier community.