About the Association | History of Sunnyside Gardens | Historic Preservation
Our mission is to promote and nurture a welcoming atmosphere among our members by organizing neighborhood committees and events dedicated to natural preservation, historical integrity, community building, and to address issues of common concern to residents.Snowy Sunnyside

Upcoming Events


Saturday, December 2th 2023—10:00 AM
Annual Family Leaf Raking Event (Rain Date: 12/9/23)


The air is crisp and the leaves have changed! Let us give thanks to the beauty of our community and lend a hand to your neighbor at the Annual Leaf Raking Event!

Please join the Roosevelt Court Association for leaf raking in the open courts. Together we will rake and bag leaves for composting, tidy up flowers boxes, and footpaths.

Early refreshments will be served at 10am in Jordan’s (President) backyard. (39-27 47th Street). Enjoy connecting with your neighbors and start the day with warm apple pie, cider, and coffee/tea. You are also welcome to bring any goodies you would like to share!

We also ask that if you have any tools to share such as rakes, extra paper bags, mowers, twine, etc. please let your neighbors know.

Ongoing Programs


Besides our regular meetings where we address emergent issues, the Roosevelt Court Association has a number of ongoing and regular projects and activities:

Snow Removal

Seniors, Disabled Or Those With Health Issues Qualify for Services

The fine print: By law, snow must be cleared from the sidewalk within four hours of when the snow stops falling or by 11 a.m. if the snow stops falling after 9 p.m. It is illegal to shovel snow into the street. If snow is too hard to clear, saw dust must be placed on top of it so that it is safe to walk on until the snow can be properly cleared. Those who fail to do clear their sidewalks are subject to a summons from the Department of Sanitation or NYPD. Complaints should be made by calling 311.

Our volunteers will do their best to work their assignments in time. If you need help clearing your sidewalk please also consider making direct arrangements with your tenants (if you have any) or with your neighbors in order to keep the load on our volunteers manageable.

Help your neighbors-in-need and join RCA’s snow removal team! In the sprit of “neighbors working together”, join our team, have fun and provide a needed service. Tenants are as welcome as homeowners and landlords. RCA provides ice melt. If you need help with shovelling or you would like to lend a hand, please contact Chris Casey, snow removal coordinator.

Sidewalk Planters



Fighting Back Poison Ivy

Since last Summer, we at RCA have become aware of the presence of poison ivy in our courts. Dietmar is working on stamping out poison ivy at three locations in our court and one in Jefferson Court, on 48th ST. Apparently, Dietmar achieved great success in killing this poison ivy plant on a home in our court by rubbing it down with glyphosate (round-up) and two weeks later it's DEAD. No other nearby plants were harmed!
poison ivy two weeks after rubbing it down with glyphosate
Be vigilant! Click here for more information and contact Dietmar Detering if you think you find more plants!

Care for Open Courts and Sidewalks



Tree Pruning

Thank you to John Liebmann for spearheading our tree pruning initiative over many years! We have now updated our tree-pruning program to offer a 25% subsidy for this important work and we include work done to street trees on your property. These trees are the city's responsibility, but, unfortunately, city contractors rarely come around to do the work. Keep in mind that you do need a city permit to work on these trees. You do not need to be a dues-paying member of RCA to qualify for our subsidy. Reach out to Jesse Nover to learn more about the program and to get tips on vendors that we can recommend!

New: Sidewalk Planting Strip Restauration

RCA approved a new program to restore the planting strips between the sidewalk and the street along our homes. In many places, the planting strip has been covered with concrete or bricks, preventing plants from growing there and, more importantly, air and water from seeping into the ground. Opening up these strips where paving is not needed for crossing to the street will allow more rain water and air to reach the roots of our trees, reduce heat island effects in front of our doors, and keep some more rainwater out of our sewer system. RCA will pay homeowners $30 per linear foot of concrete, and $10 per linear foot of other pavement removed and restored as a planting strip. (Please note that you might need Landmarks, and perhaps Department of Transportation, permits to do the work. Please share your experiences in the Facebook group.) If you want to take advantage of this program or have questions, please reach out to Dietmar Detering.

News

Roosevelt Court Spring Clean-Up 2018

A big thank you to all volunteers who came and helped at our Saturday, 5/5/2018 Cinco de Mayo Spring Clean-Up in our Open Courts and our sidewalks! We've distributed the broken-down leaves from last fall's leaf raking event as mulch for our shrubs. In the afternoon, Chris Casey had many neighbors over for our Campfire Social.

Roosevelt Court Street Tree Initiative

We've been petitioning the NYC Department of Parks to fill in the gaps in our tree-lined streets and this winter they have delivered with two new trees and, hopefully, many more to follow this year and next. The picture shows the new London Plane in front of 3980 and 3978 48th St. The bucket is loosely tied to the tree and has holes in it. When it is dry, the neighbors are filling the bucket with water allowing the five gallons to trickle into the soil slowly in order to reach the tree, not the gutter.

Remembering Charles Thompson

Our good friend, neighbor, and former Roosevelt Court Association Treasurer Charles Thompson passed away in April of 2017. In his memory, us neighbors planted some tulips in Charles backyard and in the surrounding areas in the open court. They have come out well!


RCA’s 10th Anniversary Celebration Beautification Project
View planter design sketch
Get involved or sponsor a planter

Photos

View more photos from recent events