Dawn Cherry
Gardener, Parent outreach and coordinator

Dawn lives on Brook Avenue and is a dedicated parent involved in a number of educational concerns.  Dawn helps manage the garden and school groups and conducts enormous amount of outreach for our events and advocacy campaigns.  She and her daughters are often in the garden.

Danny

Danny Chervoni
Head Gardener and O.G. (Original Gardener)
Danny has lived in the area since he was 14, and is a sort of Mayor of 140th Street. He went to junior high school at Alexander Burger, across the street from Brook Park. He then went to De Witt Clinton High School where he swam, and before graduating he joined the Marines. He is a Warehouse Manager in the neighborhood that sells holiday gifts and he coordinates enormous holiday sales events at Jacob Javits Convention Center, Grand Central Station and more. Danny is a skilled Dj and donates his time for local events. When a local resident found an injured red tail hawk, Danny was the person he called. Danny was later recognized by Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe with a letter and glossy photo of the release in Central Park of hawk he helped rescue.

Ray Figueroa

Director of Social-Ecological Community Development Projects and member of the Board of Directors of the New York City Community Garden Coalition. Ray is a food-environment activist and youth-development strategist. His experience creating high-impact food-system-development models in the field dates back to the early 1990′s, when, as founder of the SIEMBRA PROJECT, he was awarded the NEIGHBORHOOD ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION AWARD from the CITIZENS COMMITTEE for NEW YORK CITY for his work organizing the first Harlem Youth-based organic farming project, and for this youth-driven food-system development work, the SIEMBRA PROJECT also received the INNOVATOR AWARD from the CORNELL UNIVERSITY Institute for Community and Rural Development. And check this out, Ray and his youth groups have been invited to present at and/or have had their work published in the following: 1) in 2004, presented at the AMERICAN COMMUNITY GARDENING ASSOCIATION , INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE in Toronto, Canada, 2) the U.S. DEPT. of HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES, NATIONAL YOUTH SUMMIT in Cleveland, Ohio, 3) in 2005, presented at the INSTITUTE of MEDICINE REGIONAL SYMPOSIUM in Atlanta, Georgia, 4) presented at the NATIONAL ACADEMY of SCIENCES Headquarters in Washington, D.C., 5) in 2006, published in the AMERICAN PUBLIC HEALTH ASSOCIATION journal, The Nation’s Health, “Florida and New York Teens Address Health Literacy of Communities” also that same year, 6) the young people’s culturally-informed community vegetable gardening work was cited as an example of progress in the INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE book, Progress in Preventing Childhood Obesity: How Do We Measure Up? [http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=11722&page=93], 7) in 2008, published in the CORPORATION for NATIONAL & COMMUNITY SERVICE Learn and Serve America, [http://www.servicelearning.org/success-stories/k-12-sector/service-learning-action-young-poets-fight-bullying - scroll down to "Aspira...."], in 2009, presented at the SOUTH BRONX FOOD AND FILM EXPO; and that same year, 9) featured in the NEW YORK TIMES, “In The Bronx, Less Asphalt More Vegetables” [http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/07/in-the-bronx-less-asphalt-more-vegetables/], 10) in the MOTT HAVEN HERALD, ” Mott Haven Gardens Reap A Bountiful Harvest”,[ http://motthavenherald.com/2009/10/20/mott-haven-gardens-reap-a-bountiful-harvest-2/], 11) in 2010, presented at the BRONX BOROUGH PRESIDENT’s FOOD SUMMIT as well as, 12) at the ASIAN AMERICANS FOR EQUALITY’ YOUTH GO GREEN CONFERENCE also 13) published in 2010, JUST FOOD “Bronx Food Justice” [http://www.justfood.org/vista/june-2010] and that same year as well, 14) featured in SALON Magazine, “The Bold New Faces of Urban Farming – Friends of Brook Park”[http://www.salon.com/food/feature/2010/05/17/community_gardens_slide_show].

Aaron exploring

Aaron Petersohn
Habitat Restoration Projects Director
Aaron has successfully crafted and led a federally funded brook restoration design phase project. In addition, he manages the fundraising and design of the Bronx Kill and Harlem Rivers Mollusk Restoration Project including coordination with all project partners, project/education data, and oversight. He holds a professional Bachelors Degree in Architecture from Pratt Institute and has worked with Ira N. Pierce P.E., P.C., an engineering firm with a focus on environmental work and building preservation.

Harry J. Bubbins
Gardener, Team Coordinator
Harry J. Bubbins was born in and grew up in the Bronx. After graduating Cornell University he returned to teach at the public junior high school he attended in the Castle Hill neighborhood. Since 1995 he has been living and working in the Mott Haven area and founded Friends of Brook Park in 1999 with other local residents. He has had a direct hand in jumpstarting a number of green spaces in the South Bronx and in helping to spearhead a number of successful environmental campaigns, from preserving community gardens during the Giuliani era to protecting public parkland by defeating a waterpark on Randall’s Island more recently. He has served on numerous civic organizations, from Community Board #1 to the Bronx Solid Waste Advisory Board and was formerly on the Board of Directors for the Bronx Council on Environmental Quality. Among his many honors, he was selected as Bronx Community Advocate of the Year 2001 by Patterson Volunteer Committee, received a Certificate of Recognition for the Municipal Art Society Community Planner Award, and subsequently served on the Judge’s Panel and in 2012 received the Annual Environmental Justice Award from the Professional Staff Congress of CUNY. He has spoken and presented at Columbia University’s Teacher’s College, The New School, CUNY Grad Center, Lehman College and at his alma mater The Bronx High School of Science. His work has been featured in local, national and international media.

Capitan

Capitan/Pirata
Gardener, Site Supervisor

Pirata as he is now known as is a long time Bronx resident from Ponce Puerto Rico and grows cilantro, hot peppers and more.  As the superintendant of the adjacent building he has been very supportive of our efforts over the years.  He and his crew often clean and maintain the garden perimeter.

Steven Dehegger
South Bronx CSA Coordinator
Though born in Chicago, Steven Deheeger grew up in France. Throughout high school, Steven had the honor of working alongside La Union Latina in their opening of the Albany Park Day Laborers’ Center, the JCUA, the Chicago Recovery Alliance, and more. Steven attended DePaul University, majoring in Sociology and Feminist Studies before graduating from the New School University with a degree in Urban Studies, concentrating in labor and immigration. His thesis, “Bridging the Gap: Organizing undocumented immigrants in New York City and the revival of the United States labor movement” focuses on just that. Since graduating, he worked at SEIU 32BJ in the Political and Organizing departments and holds formal labor organizing training from SEIU’s 5-day WAVE as well as the Chicago Renewal Society’s community organizing training. Today he is member of the Friends of Brook Park community working as the Coordinator of the South Bronx CSA where he is pursuing building relationships between regional immigrant farmers, community members and institutions in the South Bronx, and a coalition of food and workers’ justice organizations that will serve to make food systems more affordable and accessible while respecting the dignity of food chain workers. Steven is also a guitarist in the process of forming a cumbia/dubstep/reggae/flamenco/ska band and pursues various art projects around the South Bronx and the world.

Mukaro

Roberto Mukaro Borrero
Indigenous Culture Consultant, Board Chair
Roberto Borrero is an indigenous Taino community leader, historian, artist and activist working to promote his heritage locally, nationally, and internationally. He is currently the president of the Office of International Relations and Regional Coordination of the United Confederation of Taino People, an international indigenous initiative. Borrero also serves as the Chairperson for the NGO Committee on the United Nations International Decade of the World’s Indigenous Peoples and was on staff at the American Museum of Natural History in its Department of Education.

Carol Zakaluk
Arts Coordinator, Board Member
Carol Zakaluk is a 45-year resident of and homeowner in the Mott Haven area of the Bronx, where her family has been rooted for 90 years. She’s held various jobs — assistant teacher in San Francisco’s Chinatown, manager at a furniture factory/showroom, and assistant tour manager for live bands on the road. Recently, she spent five years working in Mott Haven in arts professions, writing grants for and assisting a sculptor, then acting as co-director at an art gallery, and curating non-profit exhibitions. After co-writing a grant proposal that resulted in $100,000 in NYSERDA funding for FoBP , Carol supervised the resulting street tree planting project. As of Winter 2010, Mott Haven and Port Morris have 47 new trees. Carol is also landlady to five human tenants, and caretaker of five feral cats in a city-sanctioned colony she calls “The Rat Pack.”

Maximino Rivera
Community advisor, Board member
Maximino Rivera was born in 1950 in Guayama, Puerto Rico, graduated De Witt Clinton High School in the Bronx and is a Vietnam Veteran. He has lived in the poorest Congressional District of the South Bronx for 48 years. He has been a community organizer and tenant rights advocate for over 37 years. He has served as the Executive Director of Pueblo en Marcha since 1987 to present. Among his many civic leadership roles, he has served on Community School District #7. He recently retired after many years with the United States Postal Service.

Yaocihuatzin
Indigenous Culture Committee, Event organizer
Yaocihuatzin brings a wealth of experience as a volunteer with FoBP in the Bronx and as a scholar and artist and dancer since 2001. As a result of her educational experiences at the University of California at Berkeley (UCB), New York University (NYU), and the University of Rhode Island and Rhode Island College she has gained a lot of knowledge in the field of education. Her coursework in Ethnic Cultures and her knowledge of pedagogical theories, coupled with community activism and Native American involvement has given her the experience to make sure any project is successful. She has gained further experience by dancing with other Native American dance groups in California, Texas, and New York City and is a co-founder of the NYC based Kalpulli Huehuetlahtolli Mexica Dance group. Congratulations to Yao on graduating with her PhD in May of 2011!

Donna and Joseph Franklin McElroy
Bee Keepers
The McElroys are a husband and wife collaborative artist, technology, and business team who bring significant artistic, technology and community development skills to Corporate Performance Artists. Joseph, is a graduate of Computer Science from Duke University and a former team leader at IBM. Donna was an operations manager and PR specialist in the firms they have started together. She has recently been credited by several business leaders in the Bronx as being “top spokesperson for the Bronx.” She is active in many community development projects, such as participating on the Board of the Bruckner Arts and Antique District, and working to promote many Bronx activities through an online newsletter called Cupcake Kaleidoscope.

This is just some of our family and team. More information to come soon!