Above: Cover for the CreateNYC Cultural Plan.

New York City recently unveiled its first ever cultural plan. Over the course of 11 months, Hester Street worked with the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Naturally Occurring Cultural Districts-NY and local organizations, institutions, experts and advocates in all five boroughs to develop a roadmap for a more equitable, inclusive and resilient cultural future for our city. Nearly 200,000 New Yorkers participated in the development of the plan.

In the Plan, the City committed to ensuring that the staff and leadership of arts and cultural organizations reflect the diversity of New York, and promised increased support for arts and culture in under-resourced communities throughout the city. CreateNYC addresses critical issues of affordability; education in arts, culture and science; social and economic impact; and public space. Check out all that is #CreateNYC and download the full plan here.

Above: Participants map community assets in Morrisania.

Hester Street is working with the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice, NYPD, NYC Department of Design and Construction, Studio Gang Architects, Brownsville Community Justice Center, Claremont Neighborhood Center and BronxConnect, among other local organizations, to design interventions that make the areas surrounding the 73rd precinct in Brownsville and the 42nd precinct in Morrisania more vibrant and safe. The Neighborhood Activation Study is part of the Mayor’s Action Plan for Neighborhood Safety.

We have held two focus groups and three public meetings to date. Focus group topics include: public space, jobs and economic development, youth, and police and community relations.

Above: Hester Street Senior Project Manager Isella Ramirez facilitates a small group discussion in East Ferry.

Hester Street, in collaboration with Newark, New Jersey’s Ironbound Community Corporation (ICC), recently held the first East Ferry Neighborhood Plan community meeting. Working together with community organizations and local residents, we will develop a comprehensive vision for the future of the neighborhood.
 
The meeting, held at Hawkins Street School, was attended by over fifty residents who told us what they love, what they would like to improve and what they would like to create in East Ferry. A Steering Committee made up of neighborhood residents and leaders from local businesses and community organizations is leading the development of the plan.

Above: Visioning Board for the Gowanus All-Arts Forum on August 30th.

Hester Street is working with local artists, cultural organizations and public housing residents to bridge the gap between the abundant arts and cultural resources and the 4,000+ public housing residents in Gowanus. For the past two months, Hester Street has been hosting the grassroots, NYCHA resident-driven, multigenerational Gowanus All-Arts Forum.

The Steering Committee guiding the project along is made up of local nonprofits, arts organizations, artists and residents deeply invested in making the voices of public housing residents heard in the face of dramatic neighborhood change.

Already the project has resulted in a major win for the community – the Steering Committee is in the process of gaining permissions to temporarily re-open the NYCHA-based Gowanus Community Center, which has been closed for the past 10 years.A short documentary is also being made as a part of the project to capture the journey and re-establish the significance of cultural resources in NYCHA communities.

The final event/ performance/ exhibition at BRIC on August 30th will feature the Gowanus Wildcats an all-female drill team, active in the houses for more than 40 years. Save the Date!

City Lab featured Hester Street’s work on the Prospect Park Rose Garden – an attempt to make public parks more welcoming for immigrants through community-driven planning and design.

Executive Director Betsy MacLean was selected to join the Senior Advisory Team for Attorney General Schneiderman’s Cities for Responsible Investment and Strategic Enforcement (Cities RISE) program. Cities RISE is designed to empower cities and towns to use data to address housing issues by investing $10 million over two years in neighborhood revitalization. Read the press release here.

Some press about the Cultural Plan:
Mayor de Blasion announces CreateNYC: A Cultural Plan for all new yorkers. Office of the Mayor.

De Blasio, with 'cultural plan,' proposes linking money to diversity. New York Times.

City unveils Culture Plan to increase inclusion, diversity. WNYC.