KRB Youth Rock the Hook

Many folks know about the wonderful party KRB hosted at the Bath House (the old powerhouse for the quarrying operations) at Hook Mtn in Upper Nyack this spring. We showcased this charismatic building, with help from the Palisades Parks, and the group Artists in the Parks. See the KRB website for more info –  great turnout, special honorees, dozens of paintings by local artists hung around the ballroom, live bluegrass music… really a special and magical evening. However, of all the scenes that stick in my memory from this evening, my favorite will always be the youth who volunteered to serve food, decked out in black and white with red aprons. They worked so hard, learned a lot from our caterer Ula Robertson, and really charmed the guests. What a great opportunity for them, and what a contribution they made to this event — an event that was “historic” for KRB and for the Bath House. We are truly blessed with wonderful kids in our community, and unleashing their creativity and productivity is a great responsibility for us all, including KRB, where our programs for schools and civic organizations help kids find their place in the community, both in terms of environmental knowledge (what watershed do you live in?) and in terms of service and leadership.

In memory of Bobby Caggiano

On Thursday, December 4th, Bobby Caggiano died of a heart attack at home in Congers, NY. At age 62, he was looking toward retirement from the Clarkstown Highway Department, performing regularly with his oldies band “Special Blend,” DJ-ing parties, and spending time with his fiancee Robin, family and friends.

Bobby C.

Not a week before his death, in the height of busy “leaf season,” Bobby came bounding down the hall to KRB to say “hello,” bolster our spirits and pass on some pressing news about his litter prevention and beautification efforts. Bobby and I regularly coordinated our efforts in Clarkstown, whether it was tackling an illegal dumpsite at the end of Albacon Drive in Nanuet, supervising kids from Blue Rock School doing a cleanup in West Nyack, reporting “litterbug” license plates for KRB to send warning letters or helping us find, or helping to clean and deliver blank steel drums to artists participating in the trash can painting project.  “Bobby C” was a tireless advocate for cleaning up and supporting volunteer efforts, a great friend of Keep Rockland Beautiful, and a personal friend to me who I miss very much. 

L to R: Andy Stewart, Bobby C., ??, Wayne Ballard, ??

There are many who knew Bobby C . much better than I, folks like Clarkstown Highway Superintendent Wayne Ballard and his assistant Nancy Willen, and many other longtime Clarkstown employees and residents. Two of Bobby’s admirers have made small contributions to KRB in Bobby’s memory, in recognition of his efforts on behalf of both the organization and, more importantly, the mission, and I feel we should create a fitting memorial of some sort, starting with this “blog” entry and any comments, pictures or other memories others would like to leave here.

Bobby C. sings in W. Nyack

Bobby believed everybody has a role to play in making Clarkstown a great place to live, work and play. Please register to receive updates from this blog and send in your memories as a way of honoring Bobby, and together we will preserve his important work.

Shortly, I will post a photo of Bobby singing with his band at an outdoor performance at West Nyack Hamlet Green, and it would be great if somebody could post, or bring to me, a sample of Bobby’s music, or a video clip of his band. In the meantime, I invite others with fond memories of Bobby C. to tell us about them here. 

Thanks, Andy Stewart, Keep Rockland Beautiful

Trash Can Painting Bonanza in Congers!

On October 7,  all ninety employees of John Mini Distinctive Landscapes gathered at the company’s Congers headquarters to celebrate their award winning interior landscape projects and to complete an ambitious and

John Mini folks paint cans

never-before-attempted community service project: paint 20 beautiful trash cans in two hours. The cans were completed, and this charming video of the event  is on YouTube for your viewing pleasure.

So far, KRB artists have produced almost 300 barrels, installed at bus shelters, parks and playgrounds around Rockland County, and we are always looking for more artists.

Do you have a favorite trash can you notice when you are out and about town? Use this blog to let us know your thoughts about this project. -Andy

Journal News publishes KRB “Community View”

 Follow this link for a Journal News “Community View” piece on KRB’s Dumpster survey, Bottle Bill, need for more state-level leadership on the litter issue. The survey found 22 shopping centers with overflowing Dumpsters. – Andy

Sullivan Renaissance

Wow! Check out Sullivan Renaissance’s link at right, and you will see an outstanding beautification effort just an hour from Rockland on Rte 17. Bottom line – they run a competitive grants program for beautification efforts, supported by expertise in community organizing (that’s a good word!), landscape design, youth development and accounting. Supported by the Gerry Foundation and state grants, Sullivan Renaissance is creating incentives for local groups to join together to make Sullivan, a tourism-dependent county, more attractive. Demolishing abandoned properties, building pocket parks (see my picture of a lovely pocket park in Liberty, and otherwise economically hurtin’ downtown), beautifying school entranceways, and on and on.

Can I hear you say, “Rockland Renaissance”  !!????

Hello world!

From Andy Stewart, Executive Director of Keep Rockland Beautiful,

Welcome to the Keep Rockland Beautiful “blog,” a place to find out what is going on at KRB and among KRB’s “friends and relations.” We will use this space to pass on information that we think may be of interest to community cleanup volunteers, code enforcement agents, teachers and others involved with KRB programs or interested in building environmental awareness, eliminating “eyesores” and boosting community pride. Feel free to comment about KRB programs or Rockland County issues.