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Hunts Point Residents Fighting for Repairs and Respect
Tenant leaders on Spofford Ave. and Hunts Point Ave. are sick of the mold, lead, and other urgent issues they are forced to deal with everyday because of their landlord's negligence. He is one of NYC's biggest and worst landlords and so they are working hard to grow their teams bigger. Over the past couple months, they have been connecting with other tenants on Ritter Pl. and W Farms Rd. to document 184 repair issues in 54 different apartments across four of the landlord's buildings. Now they are meeting with top officials at the Department of Housing Preservation & Development in order to take action together and hold their landlord accountable! Stay tuned!
Open Streets Programming on Forest Avenue
At our last Resident Council meeting, we heard a presentation on the Open Streets Program, a state initiative introduced during the pandemic to help the community to set up small businesses for economic growth, empowerment, and community outreach. The part of Forest Avenur between E 156th St. and Westchester Ave. should be closed to traffic everyday in order to host programming and community events, but this has not been happening. Juliana Leit Neri, a Brazilian arriving in The Bronx, helped residents brainstorm ideas and collaborate in order to create the program they would like to see. This included: health fairs, green markets, healthy cooking demos, and workshops for youth. Everyone is welcome in this process, which seeks to strengthen our social and economic relationships, so stay tuned for more upcoming visioning sessions! Next up: Forest Ave. Walking Tour on Sunday March 21st @ 3pm. Contact igraystack@bkcianyc.org for details.
Neighborhood Now Project
In the South Bronx, community gardens are some of the most important assets we have in the fight against dire health disparities that unfairly burden the low-income communities of color we serve. With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, this fight is more important than ever, which is why Banana Kelly is excited to participate in the Neighborhoods Now project to develop resident power by safely reactivating our garden spaces through infrastructure improvements and community organizing. We are so fortunate to be a part of this project with Urban Design Forum, Van Alen Institute, MVVA, BD Feliz, and The Greenest Firm who are offering their wide range of expertise to make suggestions on structural and programmatic improvements. Stay tuned for opportunities to share your vision for these spaces as Banana Kelly works to organize virtual visioning sessions in the upcoming months.
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