Hester Street

“Art is at the forefront of so many movements… we’re asking for what the arts contribute to the city, just like every other industry does.” Have you tuned in to our podcast with Next City? Too often, artists of color and people of color-led cultural institutions are overlooked and underfunded in New York, despite their far-reaching impact in community-building and fueling our creative economy. Guided by the vision of the HueArts initiative, our partners Stephanie Johnson-Cunningham at Museum Hue and Marco A. Carrión at El Puente discussed the importance of supporting artists and sustaining a vibrant #artsandculture ecosystem in New York. In 2022, Hester Street, Museum Hue, and The Laundromat Project launched #HueArtsNYC. Our HueArts NYC Digital Map and Directory captures critical information about the work and opportunities offered by over 400 POC arts entities across the city. In accompaniment, our HueArts NYC Brown Paper outlines recommendations to close the cultural equity gap in NYC. Building on this work in 2023, HST and Museum Hue launched the #HueArtsNYS Map and Directory and follow-up Brown Paper to catalog the POC-led arts entities that work to shape our state’s cultural fabric, and to share action steps on how to ensure the longevity and sustainability of these organizations statewide. Listen to the podcast to hear from our partners and learn about the HueArts NYC and NYS initiatives here: https://lnkd.in/eMYa6PZy

“When I was a runaway, when I had no community at all… I came [to Riis Beach] and witnessed something that I never even knew existed. That was a sense of family. ” Did you catch Hester Street and GLITS on ABC News? As we close out #PrideMonth, we’re excited to share an update from GLITS, one of our Year 2 Radical Imagination for Racial Justice (#RIRJ) grantees working to advance racial and environmental justice through the lens of arts and culture. 🏳️🌈 We spoke with ABC News about GLITS’s new Community Ambassador program for Jacob Riis Beach in the Rockaways, Queens. With generous funding from Con Edison and Surdna Foundation, Hester Street has supported GLITS in their campaign to preserve Riis Beach as a safe public space for the #LGBTQ+ community since 2021. Currently, GLITS is working to hire Community Ambassadors this summer who will provide safety & accessibility resources, de-escalation support, and mitigate harassment of the queer community and interactions with the police where possible. They’ve also recently purchased wheelchairs and stationed an accessibility mat on the beach by Bay 1 to improve access for beachgoers of all abilities.    Stay tuned for more updates as HST and GLITS continue to work to preserve Riis Beach and its history as a safe space for 🌈 LGBTQ+ community members! Read the story here: https://lnkd.in/eq586sfR

Hester Street is pleased to offer the second year of the #JimDiegoFellowship – an immersive, 10-week program for graduate students of color, LGBTQIA+, women, and other underrepresented voices in the fields of architecture, urban planning, and design. Named for our beloved and admired late colleague Jim Diego, the fellowship provides graduate students with hands-on experience working on HST’s innovative projects, and mentorship from our staff. Meet our newest #JimDiegoFellow: Remy Chong. Remy joins us from Rutgers University where she is pursuing her Masters of Landscape Architecture. Read about her hopes for the fellowship and help us welcome Remy to the team this summer: https://lnkd.in/eZWqSGpW

Join Hester Street's Executive Director Eva Neubauer Alligood and Board Member Shawn Watts at tomorrow's AGENCY symposium, organized by the AIANY Future of Practice Committee and hosted by AIA New York | Center for Architecture. Register here to be part of this important discussion: https://lnkd.in/eXHD3cwC

Tomorrow, Hester Street’s Director of Community Engagement & Capacity Building, Isella Ramirez, will serve as a panelist at the NEEP Summit 2024, organized by Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships (NEEP). The summit will convene energy practitioners, state and local policy makers, utility experts, and industry leaders at a critical time for maximizing new federal funding opportunities, as community-based organizations and other stakeholders collaborate to drive #energyefficiency and #decarbonization. If you’re joining #NEEPSummit2024, don’t miss Isella speaking alongside incredible community-based leaders on the importance of centering marginalized communities in all aspects of the design and strategy of community-based decarbonization efforts.

Hester Street is pleased to share that our Executive Director, Eva Neubauer Alligood, and Board Member, Shawn Watts will serve as panelists for “AGENCY: The Power of Architects Inside, Beside, and Beyond Practice,” a symposium organized by the AIANY Future of Practice Committee and hosted by the AIA New York | Center for Architecture on Saturday, June 15th. Panelists will explore how architects can find agency via conventional and non-traditional forms of practice and innovation, as part of a larger discourse that aims to probe how architects leverage their power to impact social change. We look forward to sharing our ideas about how architects can collaborate with communities to ensure that people are able to shape their built environment. Don’t miss this event! Register here: https://lnkd.in/eXHD3cwC

As we close out #AAPIHeritageMonth, HST is pleased to share another spotlight from one of our Radical Imagination for Racial Justice (RIRJ) grantees: Chhaya Community Development Corporation. Over the past several months, Chhaya CDC has been working to activate and transform Lt. Frank McConnell Park for Richmond Hill community members, in celebration of the area’s rich Indo-Caribbean and Punjabi heritage. The team has collaborated with local partners and engaged high school youth to activate and design a summer of engagement for the park, which is situated on Lefferts Boulevard and Atlantic Avenue. In celebration of #AAPI and #IndianSurvivalMonth, Chhaya CDC hosted their Spring Festival (and first-ever Open Mic) on Thurs, May 23rd at Lt. Frank McConnell Park. Richmond Hill residents joined together for a night of storytelling, music, open mic performances and community joy. Look out for more events and programming as Chhaya works to reclaim public space for community building. Thanks again to Surdna Foundation for generously funding #RIRJ. HST is proud to honor this year's cohort of grantees for their efforts to unite communities and advance #environmentaljustice through arts and culture! Photo credit: Chhaya Community Development Corporation

Happy #AAPIHeritageMonth! As we honor AAPI heritage, we’re excited to share highlights from Little Manila Queens Bayanihan Arts, one of our Radical Imagination for Racial Justice (RIRJ) grantees working to advance racial and environmental justice in Queens through the lens of arts and culture. HST is proud to partner on #RIRJ, a national regranting initiative generously supported by Surdna Foundation. The #LittleManilaQueens team is currently visiting Luzon Island to explore the flow of secondhand clothing and textiles to the Philippine islands and the climate justice implications of the secondhand economy (ukay-ukay) for the Filipinx diaspora. While visiting Metro Manila, the team interviewed community partners from local organizations and ukay-ukay workers, customers and business owners to learn about their relationship to the clothes they buy and keep, their thoughts on the secondhand economy, and its impact on their lives. The team will bring their findings back to NYC to inform a June 29 ukay-ukay event in Queens. Stay tuned for our next spotlight featuring Chhaya Community Development Corporation! Read more about this year’s cohort and the work our grantees are leading here: https://lnkd.in/eFS6cynp Photo credit: Jaclyn Reyes, Little Manila Queens

This Thursday, May 30th, Hester Street’s own Kristen Chin, Director of Community Economic Development, will serve as a guest panelist for “AAPI in Planning: Addressing Part Harms”. Led by staff at NYC Department of City Planning for Racial Equity (DCPRE), this initiative seeks to reduce and ultimately eliminate racial inequity within the agency and our City through DCP’s planning practices. As we honor #AAPIHeritageMonth, Hester Street is committed to working with government agencies, community-based organizations and leaders, and residents themselves to imagine a racially just New York City. Many thanks to Kristen for being part of this important work! 

Hester Street is #hiring a Project Associate to support our work to build a more just and equitable NYC! Join our collaborative team to support a wide range of community initiatives that advance environmental justice, bring about equitable development, foster arts and culture, and contribute to thriving communities. This is an exciting opportunity for an early career professional committed to racial and social justice and seeking opportunities for professional growth. Applications will be accepted through June 4. Apply online at https://lnkd.in/gJnHmKDa.