 Urban agricultural producers in New York City must submit ballots by Jan. 31, 2023, to elect members for their new urban county committee, which helps deliver USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) programs.
Urban committee members are nominated and elected to serve by local urban producers in the same jurisdiction. Urban county committee members will provide outreach to ensure urban producers understand USDA programs and serve as the voice of other urban producers and assist in program implementation that supports the needs of the growing urban community.
Elections began Jan. 3, 2023, and producers must return ballots to the Orange County FSA office or have their ballots postmarked by Jan. 31, 2023, in order for those ballots to be counted.
Anyone growing an ag product, such as vegetables, fruits, honey, mushrooms, or flowers can vote in the election. To become an an eligible Urban County Committee voter in NYC, you need to fill out an AD-2047 form (you do NOT need to enter Social Security Number or EIN) and return it to lynnette.wright@usda.gov. Here is the form in Spanish: AD-2047 in Spanish.
Please email your AD-2047 by January 20th, so we can get a ballot in the mail to you, and you can return it by the January 31 deadline.
USDA is committed to working with farms of all sizes and in all locations, including those in urban areas. Agencies across USDA including the Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production, which stretches across multiple agencies, have programs and resources available. Learn more at farmers.gov/urban.
Biographies provided by each candidate in the three voting areas (LAA):
LAA1 – Brooklyn
Barbara Adamson
My name is Barbara Adamson. I’m a mother of 3 and raised 9 children in total. I retired from NYC transit Authority in 2010. Being stricken with diabetes in 2011, I became health-conscious – not only eating healthy but looking up medicinal plants and herbs as an alternative to prescribed medication. Since starting that diet of medicinal plants, my diabetes has gone into remission.
In 2013 I met Brenda Duchene, the director of the Isabahilia Ladies of Elegance Foundation during a course for Community Food Education, a training course for becoming a Certified Community Chef. Seeing so much information, I became obsessed with plants and their medicinal purposes, so much so I researched, mixed and matched various herbs and plants to use as opposed to the medicines prescribed by doctors. Google was an indispensable tool for this research
My success with my searches is that I no longer take any medication for my diabetes and seldom have asthma attacks. I feel that the teachings of the Isabahilia Foundation as a whole can help teach future generations the ways of old and hopefully find ways to incorporate them into today’s automated society.
Sawdayah Brownlee
Sawdayah Brownlee is a farmer, educator, and artist originally from Detroit, Michigan (by way of South Carolina), but calls Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn one of her homes. Sawdayah is a proud community gardener at Central Bainbridge Community Garden in Bed-Stuy. She is an alum of Howard University and received her BA in Africana Studies and studied Agricultural Education at North Carolina A&T State University. As the former Board President of the Brooklyn-Queens Land Trust, an organization that preserves and conserves open space as community gardens in Brooklyn and Queens, NY, she was responsible for representing the mission and vision of the land trust in various city and state level policy workgroups, managing the internal relationships between gardeners, board members, staff, and partner organizations, and guiding the team in safeguarding their gardens through capacity building. In her work as a farmer and agricultural/environmental student and educator, she has taught classes and workshops in sustainable agriculture, botany, agricultural history in the African Diaspora, and food systems to intergenerational groups at D-Town Farm in Detroit, MI, The Youth Farm (formerly located in E. Flatbush, Brooklyn), Farm School NYC, the DreamYard Project, and other community spaces since 2011. Sawdayah continues teaching and building community members' capacity to organize for their needs as the manager of Community Organizing and Special Initiatives at the DreamYard Project.
Jason Green
Since the printing of the ballot, Jason Green has asked to have himself removed from consideration.
Annie Quick Mintun
Annie Quick Mintun is the owner of Saint Millay Tiny Farm, a micro no-till flower farm in Brooklyn, and the founding member of an informal meetup of micro flower growers in Brooklyn and Queens. Annie is passionate about urban farming, and the challenges and rewards it offers, and about building community for urban farmers.
Anastasia Cole Plakias
Since the printing of the ballot, Anastasia Cole Plakias has asked to have herself removed from consideration.
LAA2 – Bronx & Queens
Sheryll Durrant
Sheryll Durrant is an urban farmer, educator, and food justice advocate. She has been the Resident Garden Manager at Kelly Street Garden since 2016, and is the Food and Nutrition Coordinator for New York New Roots Program, managed by International Rescue Committee (IRC). Her work has included developing community-based urban agriculture projects, providing expertise and technical assistance for gardens within supportive housing developments, and she currently serves as Board President for Just Food. Sheryll has led workshops and spoken on issues related to urban agriculture for many key organizations, and was part of the 2019-2020 HEAL School of Political Leadership. As a former Design Trust fellow for the Farming Concrete project, she is now responsible for communications and outreach for the data collection platform that helps urban farmers and gardeners measure their impact. Previously, Sheryll spent over 20 years in corporate and institutional marketing.
Joél Mejia
Joél Mejia is an Afro-Latino New York-based artist, pedagogue, activist, and social entrepreneur. A 2002 graduate of Lehman College with a degree in Economics, Joél has spent the last 20 years building his network and skills. The passion for spirituality, art, and community building has led to two distinct companies: Things Are Changing Productions and Mi Oh My Hydroponic Farms. Things Are Changing Productions is an independent media company that publishes original music, videos, and documentary films.
Mi Oh My Hydroponic Farms, started in July 2020, is a worker-owned cooperative that grows and distributes microgreens and mushroom products in the Bronx.
Above all, it is his relentless pursuit of truth, equity, and justice that fuels his creative projects, his cooperative economics initiatives, and urban agriculture work. A former high school media literacy teacher in New York City, starting the worker cooperative Mi Oh My Hydroponic Farms has been an opportunity to fulfill his debt to the many mentors that have helped him along his journey.
Danny Morales
Danny Morales grew up in Jackson Heights in NYC and has been farming for 8 years in the northeast. He holds an undergraduate degree from Binghamton University in Environmental Studies, with a focus on Ecosystems, and studied Conservation Biology for a graduate degree before pivoting to farming. He has spent the past 4 years in farm management and is currently the Director of Agriculture at Queens County Farm Museum. Aside from farming, he enjoys basketball, good food, and hanging with his border collie, Nori.
Nicole N'diaye
Nicole N'diaye, the Founder of NAHE LLC, OGAM INC, and BOSSIEE BUDZ LLC. Currently, she manages over ten hemp/cannabis farms in the State of New York. Nicole led the company in developing and operating a multi-crop operation. She works with the community in building relationships with Amish farmers in upstate New York to use their land and labor.
Ms. N'diaye is also the Coordinator/ President at Bathgate Community Garden and a member at Cooke’s Community Farm in the Bronx. At both locations, she manages several beds of fruits and veggies. The food is grown and donated to local farmer's markets and the community. NAHE LLC hosted and sponsored annual events using the outdoor space. The initiatives went and were well structured around small groups to educate and provide resources to underserved urban communities.
Nicole is passionate about advocating for environmental justice and giving back to the community. Adjunct Professor at Medgar Evers College. She joined the Black Farmers United, and Nicole sits on the Social Equity & Sustainability Committees at CANY. In March of 2022, Nicole was appointed Chair of the New York City Committee at CANY formerly known as NYCGPA. (New York Growers & Process Association).
LAA3 – Manhattan & SI
Renee Keitt
Land steward/community gardener/farmer/grower, master composter/mushroom grower. I am a member of Chenchita’s Garden, Lydia’s Magic Garden, La Finca del Sur, New Roots, steward of a rooftop garden at Prime Produce - The Guild for Good, a graduate of Farm School NYC, and Assistant Garden Manager of Kelly Street Garden. I am studying housing, community organizations and organizing, nonprofit leadership, and public policy at the CUNY School of Labor and Union Studies. I am running for New York City USDA Urban County Committee LAA3 Manhattan/SI to craft programs that speak to the needs of urban growers.
Monti Lawson
Monti Lawson loves food. Growing. Cooking. Using as a means of bringing folks to a shared table.
He has been a community garden member in gardens across the city for over a decade. He is also a Community Chef and has led Skill Shares for topics ranging from propagation to preserving the harvest.
Monti served over 50 garden groups as the Urban Agriculture Coordinator for New York Restoration Project in 2021. As a 2022 graduate of Farm School NYC, he is excited to continue the fight for Land, Food, and Social Justice.
Monti is an active member of Black Farmers United of NYS, The Hood Incubator, and several Green Spaces.
Ezra Pasackow
Ezra began his Urban Agriculture career as the Farm Manager at the Heritage Farm in February 2020. At the onset of the pandemic he helped pivot the farm to a direct to consumer model with weekly farm stands and a 20 week CSA with over 70 members each year. In collaboration with community partners, the farm hosts hundreds of volunteers, school groups, and work force development programs, most notably the Summer Youth Employment Program and Department of Probation’s YouthWrap program. Ezra also oversees compost processing through the NYC Compost Project Hosted by Snug Harbor. As a midscale compost facility, the Heritage Farm processes over 35 tons of residential waste each year.
He looks forward to continuing to build community amongst urban growers to collectively create and access resources for growers of all sizes throughout NYC. Ezra believes access to fresh local produce is a right not a privilege, and growers should be working together to find innovative, equitable, and sustainable solutions to making that a reality. Ezra has a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies and Spanish from Allegheny College in Pennsylvania and has worked on farms in Guatemala, Mexico, and in his home state of Vermont. In his free time he enjoys biking NYC’s bridges and trying new restaurants.
|
