Neighborhoods Now
Dear friend,
for small businesses on how to apply for relief loans. They drafted legal templates for short-term leases to occupy vacant storefronts. They collaborated with senior staff at City agencies to help neighborhoods access programs like Open Streets and Open Restaurants.
As the pandemic took root in our city in March, its uneven impact on the lives of New Yorkers quickly became painfully clear. While our city’s well-resourced communities and businesses benefit from the ability to purchase expertise, the neighborhoods where many of our essential workers live do The work is far from over. Many of these firms are committed not have the same access and resources. to continuing these partnerships in service of long-term efforts to address systemic inequities and greater community In response, the Urban Design Forum and Van Alen Institute ambitions. The need for this work is profound, and we hope tapped into our collective network of architects, designers, this effort inspires the design community to come together in and engineers. In a matter of weeks, more than 65 firms continued service of New York’s neighborhoods. Ultimately, mobilized to support the recovery of four neighborhoods the long term value of this approach will be the alliances hit particularly hard by the pandemic: Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn; forged across demographic and professional boundaries. Jackson Heights, Queens; Kingsbridge, Bronx; and Washington Heights, Manhattan. To date, these firms — We are humbled by this outstanding display of teamwork, including architects, planners, engineers, graphic designers, creative problem solving, and immense generosity. We and attorneys — have contributed thousands of hours of pro thank the 200+ community experts and practitioners who bono expertise to support fellow New Yorkers. have given their time and passion, and we look forward to continuing the work. In partnership with community leaders, they piloted open-air extensions for restaurants, created neighborhood signage With gratitude, with COVID-19 health protocols, and developed proposals for relocating community events and educational programs Deborah Marton into open space. Executive Director, Van Alen Institute Our partner neighborhoods’ needs also went far deeper than design, so our working groups expanded their support beyond physical interventions. They organized a seminar
Daniel McPhee Executive Director, Urban Design Forum