Boulevard Houses

Brooklyn

NeighborhoodStat

For over a year, a team of residents from Boulevard Houses has been meeting with neighbors, city agencies, and community-based organizations to prioritize the community safety issues most important to their development. These teams are at the heart of NeighborhoodStat (or “NStat”). The NStat team meets regularly and has been trained in surveying their community and generating solutions with concrete implementation plans. Through this process, the NStat team is developing a comprehensive youth engagement program centering arounds the basketball court and nearby green space as hubs for social programming, community art and stewardship, and skill-building activities.

The Boulevard Nstat Team led a participatory budgeting process through Local NeighborhoodStat in which residents were invited to submit their own ideas to strengthen safety and build community through built environment projects and/or social programming. The Boulevard Houses NStat team collected 420 responses from neighbors. The most popular project and top priority for investing $30,000 was Parks and Playgrounds, in which small upgrades to playgrounds will be designed and installed with residents through public design workshops, and paint, plant, and build days.

MAP Agency Programs

Since its launch in 2014, MAP agency partners have focused their programming to meet a variety of needs, ranging from support of seniors and kinship caregivers, mentorship of young adults, family-friendly programming of playgrounds, safe spaces for teens, assistance with public benefits, youth employment, and more.

Participate

The Boulevard Houses Nstat Team is currently building a digital network to stay connected to one another during this time and to develop platforms to reimagine digital public space, co-create safety responses, support community building, and convene city agencies to leverage resources and collaboratively solve local problems.

To learn about selected projects or to participate in Boulevard Houses ongoing campaign, click here.

Youth Development

Strong programming for Boulevard’s young people is offered through the CAMBA Community Center, Prince Joshua Avitto Community Center (PJACC), and other organizations. However, youth and caregivers aren’t always aware of these programs or how to access them. Overall, there is a need for more diverse outreach for the existing programs and for even more activity that meets young people’s needs throughout the development.

Activation and Maintenance

There is a strong need for safe spaces to host community nighttime activities, not only to build community relationships but also to activate spaces during times when people feel less safe. Residents avoid certain “hotspot” areas within Boulevard out of concern for their safety and these same spaces need revitalization and improved maintenance. One such space is the basketball court, where young people often hang out during the evening hours.

Justice

While Boulevard residents have a good relationship with their NYPD Neighborhood Coordination Officers (NCOs), there is a need for other NYPD officers to engage with residents, especially young people, in positive ways. This is particularly true for officers policing areas the NStat team has identified as “hot spots”, where there is a higher concentration of drug use and homelessness. There is a need for NYPD to partner with service agencies like the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) and the Department of Homeless Services (DHS) to build out an effective, non-enforcement process for responding to people with behavioral health issues and in need of housing support.

MAP Programs

Please note: In response to the COVID-19 emergency, some programs have been modified. For more information about modified program activities and availability, please click here.

  • Human Resources Administration (HRA) Outreach Specialist is based at Boulevard Houses on Mondays and Wednesdays from 10am to 4pm. The Outreach Specialist can help with benefits navigation, SNAP, Cash, and Emergency Assistance for rent arrears. HRA also holds pop-up events at Boulevard to make sure as many people have access to public benefits support as possible.
  • Department for the Aging (DFTA) Community Advocate is based at Boulevard on Fridays. The DFTA Community Advocate offers Parenting a Second Time Around groups, support groups and individual counseling for seniors and kinship caregivers. The DFTA Community Advocate also hosts intergenerational activities and more.
  • Conflict Mediation through the New York City Peace Institute offers free conflict mediation for pairs or groups and they also have different training opportunities for those interested in learning mediation skills.
  • Next STEPS Mentoring for Youth through Good Shepherd Services offers group mentorship for young people between the ages of 16-24 who may have experienced conflict and trauma. During group sessions, young people learn skills and build relationships with each other over hot meals.
  • CAMBA Cornerstone Community Center offers free and engaging programming to Boulevard youth and teens. The community center is located at 726 Stanley Avenue, Brooklyn.
  • Green Job Training through Green City Force (GCF), an Americorps service-year program, trains young NYCHA residents (18-24 years of age) in clean energy and urban agriculture, and pays a monthly stipend and metrocard to Corps Members for their service.
  • Shape Up NYC through the Department of Parks and Recreation offers free, drop-in fitness classes in or near MAP developments. Shape Up classes don’t require any advanced registration or fee and are conveniently located for MAP residents to engage with each other and enjoy low-barrier fitness activities.

Contacts